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my wedged heels clunking against the stone. Every so often, we passed a closed door. Nervousness struck me as I tried to keep track of the doors and hallways and turns. I’d never be able to find my suite without casting a location song, something I couldn’t do easily and keep my abilities concealed. Though no one had warned me against using magic, I knew I should not.
    I stumbled, either from fear about finding my way back to Helena or because of my continued exhaustion.
    “You’re not to be alone.” Castillo spoke over his shoulder, his voice sounding deeper and wider than it had in the street. “Either Matu or I will escort you within the compound.”
    “Compound?” I asked, even though I’d meant to say thank you. “Like a prison?”
    “No.” Castillo slowed his step. He turned and pinned me with that same intense stare that found me from darkened doorways and across crowds in the market. His eyes shone like a lantern on a dark country night, and his hair curled slightly over his ears. His skin glowed under the gaslight, and I couldn’t look away from his face. If the Prince looked anything like Castillo, becoming his bride might not be so bad.
    Immediately, I recalled the idea. Olive would warn that such thinking testified of my childishness as well as my country upbringing. Back in Iskadar gossip flew like swift crows, and my girlfriends and I used to twitter over the boys in the village.
    I’d left Oake with an empty promise that I’d write. He’d taught me many spells and chants over the years we’d worked together. He told me I needed to find my voice, and he hoped to be around when I did because it was going to be spectacular, but never once did he tell me how to survive inside palace walls.
    “This is just a very large house,” Castillo explained. “We call it a compound because it is a bit hidden from the public. That’s all.”
    I accepted his answer with a nod, noting that I needed to figure out how hidden this compound was. “Is His Majesty as handsome as you?” The moment the words left my mouth, I covered it with a hand. My eyes stretched wide and breathing became difficult.
    Castillo leaned away from me for a moment before the edge in his eyes melted into something softer. “You’ll have to tell me after you meet him.”
    I shot a look toward Matu, who stood in the hall watching us. Castillo followed the glance, and the guards exchanged a tight-lipped smile at my expense. The unrest building inside of me rose to my throat.
    I lowered my hands and folded them over the too-tight bodice of my dress. “Good looks don’t make up for overthrowing a country and imprisoning young women in compounds.”
    “I never said they did,” Castillo replied. He gestured down the hall behind him. “Perhaps you can judge for yourself whether His Majesty is worthy of your attention.”
    Matu strode forward, his pace matched by Castillo. I scurried after them, feeling much like I had when I’d left Oake and fled Iskadar. Like I had no other choice.
    #
    His Majesty sat too far away for me to tell if he matched Castillo in handsomeness. My face burned at the memory of my troublesome tongue. Why must my every thought fly from my lips?
    Olive often criticized me for such things, but she had no idea that I agreed with her—and that I was no closer to a solution than she’d been.
    The grand ballroom in which I stood held at least four hundred other young women, and seemed to stretch for miles in every direction. Ornate chandeliers dripped golden gas-produced light from the peaked ceiling. The amount of fuel required to simply light this room for a couple of hours would have kept Olive and I in heated quarters for years. Intricately carved tables filled most of the space, with the Prince and his entourage seated at the far end on a raised dais.
    I wobbled on my wedge heels just inside the door where Matu and Castillo had left me. Castillo had whispered, “Table forty-two, princess. We’ll be right here