When Estrella lifted her head, she was able to summon a smile for the hyena. "You honor me greatly, Lord Toby. However..."

And so it went on and on and on. Would—be suitors seeking a private word with her, and Estrella would always acquiesce and force herself to listen to whatever they had to say. Most of them were like Toby, with the way they expected Estrella to be selfish and greedy enough to do whatever it took to keep the throne. That kind, she could readily handle, even if they did annoy her to death. But the other kind?

"My beautiful princess," a voice leered from behind.

Speak of the devil, Estrella thought, even though in this case, she might be doing the devil himself a disservice. She turned around, her smile already in place as she curtsied in greeting. "Prince Pierro, good evening."

"You're even more stunning than I remember."

"You're too kind."

"I'm only saying what's true." And as if to emphasize his point, Pierro's gaze immediately went straight to her cleavage...and stayed there.

She pulled a fan out from the pocket of her skirt and snapped it open. "These things can be so suffocating, don't you think?" Estrella started fanning herself, which effectively prevented the hyena pack leader from ogling her breasts.

"Ah, er, yes." Pierro reluctantly raised his gaze back to Estrella's face. "Would you like some fresh air? Perhaps I can walk———"

Estrella quickly shook her head. "I appreciate the offer, but it might make people talk———"

"About what?" Pierro's voice had become petulant. "It pains me to remind you of this, but your husband has been gone for over two years."

"But he's still my husband," she countered lightly.

"And was he even a good one?" Pierro asked snidely. "Fae are supposedly worse than the most cold—blooded fish of shifters."

The mermaids would kill him for that, Estrella couldn't help thinking.

"The Fae are pretty to look at, sure, but inside the bedroom..."

And this, Estrella thought, was why she always ended up having to go to confession every time she met one of Pierro's ilk. She hated, just absolutely hated the way they made Lysander sound like some sexless dandy, and it always had her feeling positively murderous.

Just because Lysander was more beautiful, elegant, and charming than all of the reigning beauty queens combined didn't mean he was any less male.

"Estrella, my princess..."

I'm not your princess, you jerk. Estrella wanted to snarl the words out loud, but she managed to hold on to her temper and feign a look of distress. "We've known each other for a long time, so I think...it's time I should tell you the truth."

Five minutes later, and Pierro couldn't get away fast enough, his tongue practically stumbling over an excuse to leave her company. She let out an audibly forlorn sigh as he turned his back on her, and it was only when she lowered her gaze to the floor that Estrella allowed herself a grin.

Sucker.

As with all the other men that had tried to woo her into marriage, Pierro had changed his mind as soon as he learned of Estrella's worries about being barren. Keeping one's bloodline from dying out might no longer be as important for most humans, but for their kind, it still remained

albeit unreasonably

a symbol of one's power and strength.

It was close to midnight when the ball officially came to an end, and Estrella cupped a hand over her mouth to hide her yawn. While socializing was no longer a vomit—inducing torment the way it used to be at the start, she still found it particularly draining, and most times, it also made her want to take a long, hot shower. There was just something about having to be friendly with smarmy men like Pierro and Toby that made her feel icky all over.

Taking her phone out, she was about to dial Aluin's number when everything went completely dark.

Screams and cries of terror rose amidst the unmistakably violent noise of a well—planned ambush — the scrambling sound of people trying to escape, the heavy thud of bodies falling to the ground, the swish of metal slicing into flesh. And above it all, another sound rose———

"LET GO!"

The twins tore off towards the sound of the princess' voice, unstoppable and cold—blooded in their pursuit even as they had to fight their way past what seemed like dozens of mercenaries. Heads rolled down and lifeless bodies crumpled in the twins' wake, but despite the impressive speed in which they had disposed of their enemies, by the time they finally found the princess, an armored truck had rammed the steel gates open, and masked abductors had already managed to shove Estrella halfway inside it.

Gunfire exploded as the princess' attackers tried to hold the twins off, and the two men disappeared from view in an instant. Invisibility was their race's most precious skill, but as it also consumed huge amounts of power, time was of the essence, and both men knew they had to find a way to get the princess to safety before they completely exhausted their powers.

Almost there. Aluin focused on dodging bullets. Almost———

A powerful growl rose in the distance.

What the hell?

Another roar followed. Louder this time. Nearer. Fiercer.

Estrella heard it, too, and just like the twins, she found herself turning immobile with shock, all thoughts of struggling free forgotten.

That sound...

There was something about that sound...

Almost as if...

"WHAAAAAT THE FUUUUU———" One of her abductors let out a scream of terror as he suddenly went flying in the air, almost as if someone had flung him away like he was no heavier or better than a piece of carcass. And it happened again and again, with Estrella only managing a startled gasp as the same fate befell the rest of her attackers.

A moment later, she saw the twins shed their invisibility, and she started to call out...when she realized it wasn't just them who was in the process of materializing.

Oh my God.

In front of her, another creature was revealing itself inch by inch — a beast that stood over twelve feet tall, with thick sharp horns and fangs and claws as sharp as blades. Its fur was as thick and rich as sable, and with the beast able to hold itself upright, one would be forgiven for imagining the beast might be the Minotaur coming to life.

But it wasn't.

Her heart started to race, and her feet began moving on its own. She saw the twins tense the moment she moved, and she shook her head at them even as her gaze remained at the beast.

Reinforcements came to arrive, but they were too late, and the twins sharply signaled for the men to keep their distance.

As Estrella came to stand just a few feet away from the beast, it slowly turned its head to look at her.

Violet.

Its eyes were violet.

And she would know those eyes anywhere.

Oh God.

Estrella's body started to shake.

"H—Husband?"