Page 69 of Once Upon an Enchanted Kiss

He wasn’t sure what came over him when he cupped her face in his hands. A sudden urge to kiss her tugged at him. Her heart-shaped red lips beckoned. He would have kissed her, too, if Rowena hadn’t interrupted.

Now, he was faced with an impossible task. Telling her parents she had pricked her finger on a thorn and fallen under the curse. He was not looking forward to that.

Phillip was still awake as the sun broke the horizon. As it rose, he moved to the cart where Rosamund—his Rose—slumbered on. As the sun emerged, the first rays fell upon her face, lighting it in a golden glow. For a moment, he thought her skin shimmered. He moved closer. Pale pink color was high in her round cheeks. Her lashes were long and dark. Her lips red as the rose. Strands of her hair golden hair sparkled in the dawn. As he peered closer, the sparkles of what could only be faery dust glistened on her cheeks.

Touched by Fae magic.

She’d said Charles told her that. He wasn’t wrong. She truly was touched by Fae magic.

When he left Haven Castle, he was determined to forge his own way. He wanted nothing more than to be his own person, to forsake the betrothal to the princess.

And now…now his feelings had changed. Gazing at her, his heart lurched. He found himself eternally grateful the faery queen had altered the curse to keep her alive. He reached a hand toward her face, lightly brushing her cheek with his fingertips. Her skin continued to sparkle in the golden light of morning.

“Have you been awake all night?”

Jeffrey’s voice startled him out of his thoughts. He turned to see his friend rolling up his bedroll.

“Yes. I couldn’t sleep,” he said.

Jeffrey nudged Charles awake. As his brother yawned and stretched, Jeffrey ordered him to break down camp while he made the horses ready.

“It’s going to be a long day of hard riding,” Jeffrey warned. “I hope you’re ready for that.”

Phillip inhaled a breath to quell his ratting nerves, then expelled it. “Ready as I’ll ever be.”

They broke camp and soon were on their way to Myst Hall where he would, at last, face his destiny.

Chapter 26

Itwasearlymorningwhen they arrived at Myst Hall after nearly two days of hard riding, little food, and almost no sleep. Exhaustion hit Phillip hard as they rode up the dirt road to the castle with the sleeping princess in the cart in tow. His gut clenched into a tight knot as he faced the castle. He hadn’t seen it since he was six years old.

He didn’t know what to expect.

Someone must have sounded the alarm that there were visitors arriving for he saw several people exiting the castle. As they neared, he made out his parents as well as King Stephan and Queen Eleanor. His nerves were on high alert as dread coiled tight in his chest, making it ache.

Phillip came to a halt and dismounted from the horse pulling the cart. He inhaled a deep breath to calm his rattling nerves as he approached the four waiting royals, all with expectant looks on their faces. All but Queen Eleanor whose face was pinched with worry and fear.

Halting in front of them all, he bowed low to first his parents then Rosamund’s.

“Your majesties,” he greeted as he rose to his full height.

Stephan’s gaze scanned the other riders and paused on the two riderless horses—one Phillip’s and one Rosamund’s.

“Where is my daughter?” he asked.

Swallowing hard, Phillip gestured toward the cart. Both the king and queen hurried over. As soon as they peered inside, the queen cried out, a sob choking her throat. The king stood at the side of the cart looking down at his sleeping daughter, his face devoid of color.

“What happened to her?”

“It was the sleeping curse—” Phillip began.

“I know it was the sleeping curse,” Stephan snapped.

He turned his glowering gaze on him. The queen openly wept. Phillip’s mother, Queen Adele, hurried to her side to comfort her by placing an arm around her shoulders. She whispered in her ear, trying to calm her.

“I spent nearly eighteen years making sure no rose or thorn would harm my daughter and yet here she sleeps.” Stephan pointed to the cart. “I mean to know how this happened. Where has she been? Withyouall this time?”

Phillip shifted from one foot to the other, his hand clenched into a tight fist as he tried to decide how to answer. While true she hadn’t been with him since the moment she escaped Myst Hall, it was also true she had traveled with him for the last several days.

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