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she had to move quickly. She slid back against the trunk of the giant tree and smiled. Now, to wait.
     

     
    The knocking at the door caused Kazia to tumble out of her chair, flopping on the floor like the most ungraceful of fish.
    “Princess?” Luke pushed the door open, sword drawn, as she scrambled to cover herself.
    “Just a moment, Captain! Good grief,” she screeched.
    He saw her by the fire and smiled, relief lightening his eyes as he lowered his sword. “I’ve been knocking for several minutes. I thought something had happened.”
    “Something did happen. I fell asleep. People do that,” Kazia grumbled, rearranging her robe without looking up, praying that her hair hid her fire-red cheeks.
    “Shall I call Crystali to help you dress?” Was that amusement she heard in his voice? She bit back her indignation.
    “No, thank you. I can manage.” What she really wanted was for him to just be gone so the blush flaming across her cheeks would fade already. She crossed the room and pushed him out the door, wanting simultaneously to smack him and smile at him. She did neither, instead shutting the door and turning the lock. She knew queens were supposed to have assistance dressing themselves, but she was not a queen. She only needed help for fancy ball gowns, especially the kind with a hundred tiny buttons up the back. If she’d needed help with the simple tunic she pulled on now, it would mean she was truly pathetic and didn’t deserve to call herself an adult. She yanked the tangles from her hair and braided it. It wasn’t intricate and beautiful like when Crystali did it, but it stayed out of her way. All she wanted was to eat and go back to bed, and with that goal in mind, how her hair looked didn’t matter. Especially when the only person whose opinion she cared about didn’t even remember she had hair.
    He waited for her in the hallway. “Did you get any rest at all or have you been standing here the entire afternoon?” she asked as she shut her bedroom door behind her.
    He frowned. “You aren’t supposed to worry about that. Worry about being safe.”
    She tipped her head sideways, regarding him for several seconds before she started walking again. “I would assume you would keep me safe much better if you were well-rested.” Behind her, she heard him choke back a reply, and allowed herself a wicked smile.
    Dinner was one of the most boring events in recent memory. She tried to follow the conversation, but they talked about things related to their village and outlying lands and parties they were hosting and décor Kristina wanted and her cats , and Kazia wasn’t familiar with any of it. Not wanting to be rude, she cleared her throat. “You have a beautiful home, Kristina.”
    “Oh, thank you, dear. We try but…” she trailed off with a dramatic sigh.
    “Kristina, please. Don’t start this again.”
    Kazia looked from Jeffery’s scowl to Kristina, who seemed to be tearing up.
    “Well, she should know, shouldn’t she?”
    “Know what?” Kazia asked, not entirely sure she did actually want to know.
    “It was very kind of your father to give us this land, of course,” Kristina said.
    Ah. Kazia was sure now that she didn’t want to know.
    “But it seems this land is…” Kristina dropped her voice to a whisper that Kazia had to strain to hear down the length of the table. “Haunted.”
    Kazia sat back in her chair, trying not to let her jaw drop open in disbelief. Near the door, Benjamin and Luke both choked and sputtered. “Haunted.” Kazia quirked an eyebrow.
    “Yes. It seems the ghost is in love with me. It follows me everywhere.”
    “It… what?” Kazia felt herself on the verge of choking as well. Whatever Luke and Benjamin had was contagious.
    “Kristina, this is ridiculous. There is no ghost.” Jeffery threw up his hands, exasperated. His soup spoon clattered to the table, rolling once and falling to the floor.
    “I know you don’t believe me! But there is a ghost and