“I don’t feel anything,” Sunny lied, determined not to give Cass any encouragement. The younger girl had to learn not to be too open about her ability. It was too powerful…as well as dangerous if the wrong people knew about it.
Cass gave her a knowing smile. “Yes, you did.”
“No. I did not.”
“Yes, you absolutely did.” The younger girl turned her head towards the door. “I really have to leave now.”
“Sure, but…why are you in such a hurry?”
Cass looked at her direction over her shoulder and said simply, “I think the man I’ve been dreaming about all these years has finally come to the island.”
By the time Sunny recovered from her shock, Cass was completely gone from her sight.
Oh, oh, dear!
There that girl went again, being too honest for her own good!
When would she ever learn?
WHEN CASS WAS YOUNG, she had liked to play a different version of Hot or Cold with her friends. The normal rules of the game had the “it” searching for an object in a room. Other players would say “hot” if she was near the object and “cold” if she was not. Her version, however, was different. Whenever she was it, she would try to distinguish which of her friends appeared a darker shade of orange in her mind. That meant she was hot, because the deeper shade meant they were excited about not getting caught.
Right now, she was playing another version of the game with herself. This time, she was using her own life source to find out if she was “hot” or “cold”. More specifically, the giddier and more excited she felt, the nearer she was likely to be towards the man in her dreams.
By the time she raced down the steps leading to the beach, Cass was breathless with her excitement, her cheeks flushed with color. He was here. He really was here. She slowly turned right or left, eyes squeezed shut, trying to sense the right direction.
Left felt…cooler.
Right it was then.
She walked a little more slowly this time, not wanting to accidentally walk past her prince. In her mind, she saw an outlined row of lounge chairs, some of them occupied. Her heart raced at the sight of them, and she immediately knew he was seated on one of those chairs.
It was just a matter of finding which chair he was resting in.
Balmy winds teased tendrils of her hair, and she nervously tucked them behind her ears. She felt so twitchy she was tempted to nibble on the tips of her hair but did her best not to. That was not princess-like behavior, and she was determined to be her very best when—-
The hair on the back of her neck stood up.
Cass slowly turned to her right.
A figure was lying on the chair, and Cass experienced a deep sense of disappointment for a second.
She had hoped that with him, she would not be blind.
In her dreams, she saw him so clearly.
She had hoped that it would have been the same in reality.
But the figure outlined with all shades of the sun remained faceless. Only through the unique color of the person lying on the chair was Cass able to determine that he was the one she had been looking for.
“Excuse me, mister?” She said the words thrice, but still the man did not look up. Cass wanted to roll her eyes. This was definitely Prince Julian, the snobbiest person alive.
She took a step closer. “Prince Julian?”
Slowly, the man looked up, and Cass sucked her breath when the colors making up the outlined figure on the chair sharpened. “It’s really you,” she whispered shakily, “isn’t it?”
After all these years…
So many nights she felt like she was going crazy and delusional. There had been countless times when she had doubted her own ability, had wondered if she had made him all up because he couldn’t possibly be the Prince Julian that the whole world knew.
But he was.
He was.
Unable to help it, she reached out and touched his lips——
Oh!
Electricity burst between them, and she saw him so clearly it was as if she had never been blind.
“You,” Prince Julian said hoarsely, her fingers still on his lips. He was even more beautiful in person, the perfect embodiment of a prince. Strong, gorgeous, and authoritative – someone who could command an army and nurture his people at the same time. It was really him – her prince, and he had come for Cass.
She averred shakily, “Me.”
Chapter Two
“So you finally remembered to visit me again.” Julian had not intended his first words to be so harsh the moment he felt the bed dip, followed by the brush of a soft warm body against him under the covers.
Most people would have quaked at his tone, but the young girl who was snuggling trustingly against him didn’t seem to mind it at all as she said laughingly, “Stop being so spoiled.”