The Prince and His Princess

You take in the blackness of air

Lila’s POV

Tobi and his parents disappeared inside, leaving Henry, Oscar, and me standing there, too stunned to speak.

“I’m Matthew Lowell,” the blond man said with a polite bow. “And this is my mate, Mariah Lowell.”

“It’s a pleasure,” Mariah said sweetly.

“I’m Delilah Alden, but everyone calls me Lila. These are my friends Henry and Oscar.”

As Matthew let out a low growl, Oscar reacted instantly, returning a louder one and flashing his teeth. Mariah placed a calming hand on Matthew’s arm, immediately de-escalating the tension. He turned to her, eyes softening.

“We should get them to their rooms,” Mariah said. Matthew nodded.

The absolute love and adoration in the way he responded to her lightest touch made my heart ache. It reminded me—painfully—of how things used to be between Tobi and me. Matthew and Mariah turned and led the way inside without another word. Henry, Oscar, and I exchanged looks. Henry rolled his eyes—I already knew this whole royal thing wasn’t exactly his scene. I tried my best not to trip or make a fool of myself as we followed. This place was wealth on another level. Sure, I’d known Tobi had money, but this? This was something else entirely.

Marble floors peeked out from beneath rich crimson rugs. The walls shimmered with embroidered silk that changed color in the light. Carved furniture lined the halls, topped with ornate vases bursting with extravagant bouquets. Massive paintings and tapestries covered nearly every wall. I tried to take it all in, but it was overwhelming.

Eventually, we stopped in front of a door carved with an abstract flower motif.

“This is your room,” Matthew said, opening the door.

I stepped inside cautiously. The space smelled… stale. It hadn’t been used in a while.

“Wait,” I said, spinning around. “Whose room is this?”

“It’s Tobi’s,” Mariah replied with a small smile.

I frowned. “Where are Oscar and Henry staying?”

“In the guest quarters,” she answered.

“I want a room there. Take me there,” I demanded.

“Lila, please—Tobi is your mate. This is the room he would want you to stay in,” Mariah pleaded.

“I don’t care what he wants. And if you won’t take me to another room, I’ll leave this place immediately.”

Mariah’s face fell. “Oh… okay. Come with me then.”

We followed them back through the quiet halls. It wasn’t even six a.m., so I assumed most of the palace was still asleep.

Mariah found us two rooms next to each other. Henry and Oscar headed to theirs immediately—eager, no doubt, to escape the awkwardness I was radiating.

I turned back toward Mariah. “Thank you. I’m sorry about earlier.”

“We understand,” Matthew said. “Adapting to palace life can be… challenging. Let’s put it that way.”

“Your bags will be brought up shortly,” Mariah added, handing me a slip of paper. “My number’s here. There’s a phone beside the bed. Don’t hesitate to call if you need anything.”

“Thank you,” I said, taking the note.

“We’ll leave you to rest. It was a pleasure meeting you, Princess,” Matthew said, bowing. Mariah followed suit, and they left the room.

This space was much simpler than the first, but still leagues beyond anything I’d ever experienced. A large bed, a wardrobe, a desk—it felt like a high-end version of the Priory. I doubted the sheets would feel like sandpaper or that the bed would squeak when I moved. I was mid-exploration when I heard a knock at the door. My pulse jumped.

I already knew who it was.

I crossed the room slowly and opened the door. Tobi stood there—tall, broad-shouldered, blocking the entire frame. His eyes flickered between dark brown and gold. And damn it, he looked good.

“What?” I snapped.

“This isn’t your room.”

“It’s the one I chose.”

“You’re supposed to stay in my room.”

“I can stay wherever the bloody hell I want, Tobi,” I said, and slammed the door in his face.

I stormed around the room, fuming. Who the hell did he think he was, telling me where I could or couldn’t sleep?

Tobi’s POV

I entered the dining room, ready for breakfast. Mother was quietly scrolling through emails on her phone, while Father was buried behind the newspaper. I served myself and joined them at the table. Father glared at me over the paper.

“What?” I snapped, slamming my fork down.

“Have you seen this?” He turned the newspaper around so I could see the front page. The headline hit me like a punch:

PRINCE TOBIAS ROSTOV RETURNED AT LAST WITH MATE IN TOW?

I snatched the paper from his hands, reading the article.

“The young prince has returned to Aruyios after two years of unexplained absence. Sources within the palace reveal the party arrived at dawn yesterday, the Queen accompanying her son and a human girl named Delilah Alden. However, the honeymoon phase appears to be short-lived, with the prince’s mate refusing to share a bedroom. The pair were reportedly caught screaming at each other in the guest quarters.There has been no official statement yet. Will this mysterious girl truly be the next Princess of Aruyios?”

I slammed my fist on the table. “Who’s the source?!”

“If I knew, I’d take care of them myself,” Father growled. “You know the palace walls have ears. Why are you two fighting in public?”

“Things are just… tense right now.”

“They’d better get less tense, and fast,” Father said, waving his fork. “There’s a welcome home party in five days. You both need to be on your best behavior.”

“Yes, Father,” I muttered.

“Ha! He’ll need more than five days to fix this,” Mother said with a smirk. “Especially if he keeps screaming at her.”

“I didn’t scream,” I muttered, eyes fixed on my plate.

“Something happened between you, didn’t it?” Father pressed, his voice sharper now.

“No. She’s just struggling to adjust,” I said, shutting it down.

I finished eating quickly and stood up. I needed to see Lila—urgently.

Lila’s POV

My first day at the palace had been… a lot. After the run-in with Tobi, I’d been agitated and sore from sleeping in the car. Not to mention starving. I hadn’t even had a chance to check in with Henry or Oscar before Catherine knocked—tailor in tow.

They stood me in the center of the room, measuring me within an inch of my life while Catherine rattled off fabrics and dress styles like I was her personal doll. I didn’t argue. What was the point? I had no idea what passed for acceptable court wear, and Catherine seemed more than happy to take the reins.

Then I was introduced to my ladies’ maid: Prudence. Tall, stern-faced, tightly wound hair, black dress. She looked like a woman who hadn’t cracked a smile since the last century. Apparently, she would oversee gown fittings, dressing, and styling me daily.

I nodded along with every new instruction, too tired to protest. Prudence made me uncomfortable, sure—but she was still preferable to running into Tobi again. The next morning, I asked Prudence to send three breakfast trays to Oscar and Henry’s room.

“Surprise!” I called, bursting into their room.

“Finally, food,” Oscar moaned, grabbing a tray and digging in.

Henry and I laughed as I settled onto the bed beside them.

“How was your first night?” I asked, guilt seeping in. I knew they’d been stuck in that room the whole time.

“This place is a definite upgrade from the Priory,” Henry said, eyeing off the pastries. “It’ll be more interesting when we can actually leave the room.”

They couldn’t risk wandering the palace until they were officially pardoned.

“When’s that happening?” I asked, taking a blissful swig of coffee. God, I’d missed this stuff.

“Oscar’s got a meeting with the king today,” Henry said, picking apart a pastry.

“Huh?” Oscar blinked.

“I said, you have a meeting with the king today,” Henry repeated, rolling his eyes.

“Oh—right. Yeah. At eleven.”

“Guys, come see this.” Oscar flashed the front page of the local paper at me.

I blinked. “Aruyios has its own newspaper?”

The layout was strange—bold fonts, unfamiliar ads: werewolf salons, claw mark removers… And then I saw my name.

I yanked the paper out of Oscar’s hands and read the article in shock. “What the hell?!”

“Palace walls have ears,” Oscar said with a grin.

“It was Mariah. I know it was her,” I growled. She was the only person I’d spoken to.

“Why would it be Mariah?” Henry asked, finishing the article. He crumpled it and tossed it into the bin, cheering when it landed. “You guys probably woke up the whole floor yesterday.”

“Mariah hates me,” I pouted.

“She doesn’t know you,” Oscar said, polishing off his tray. “You’d better get used to it. You’re going to be hot gossip for a while.”

I stabbed my food with unnecessary aggression, finishing in silence while Henry and Oscar argued over what to binge next. Being confined to a room—yeah, I knew the feeling. But at least for them, it was temporary.