Prologue
1997 Portland, Oregon
“Kacey, wait up!” Travis ran after her, tears streaming down his face from laughing so hard. Kacey was his best friend, but only in his heart. In real life, she hated him, he just didn’t know why. At eight years old he did the best he could to show her he liked her, but she always ended up getting her feelings hurt.
Girls were dumb.
His younger brother Jake finally caught up to them. “Why’d you do that, Travis?” He shoved him in the side.
Travis’s tongue suddenly felt thick in his mouth. He wanted to explain the reasons behind tripping Kacey, really he did, but words wouldn’t come. He hated his stutter. It made it so hard to talk, and it only happened when he was either trying really hard or in front of Kacey.
“Ugh!” Jake kicked the dirt with his foot. “Now she won’t even kiss me!”
“Kiss you?” Travis yelled, horrified that his brother would even say the word kiss, let alone think about doing something like that with Kacey. Besides, why would his six-year-old brother get a kiss over him? “She doesn’t even like you like that.” He crossed his arms.
Travis at least knew that much — girls didn’t like boys. They liked men, and he was well on his way to being a man. In fact, he had just found a hair on his chin. He’d most likely be shaving by the end of the week. He puffed up his chest and scowled at his brother.
“Oh yeah? Well, she hates you.” Jake stuck out his tongue. “She told me so, plus…” He shoved his hands into his pockets and took a deep breath. “I’m gonna marry her.”
“Are not!”
“Am too!”
“Are not!” Travis pushed his brother to the ground. “I’m older. She’s going to marry me.”
Jake stuck out his tongue then brushed the dirt off his pants. “Wanna bet?”
“Yeah!” Travis sneered. “I do. A million dollars!”
“Fine!” Jake spit on his hand and held it out. “Shake on it. Blood oath.”
“But there’s no blood,” Travis pointed out.
“Duh! Mom would kill us if we used blood. It’s just as good. Kacey said so.”
“Fine.” Travis spit on his hand and smacked it against his little brother’s.
Jake grimaced. “Gross.”
“Grow up.” Travis rolled his eyes and searched the backyard for Kacey. He hadn’t meant to trip her. Well, actually he had, but he had a really good reason for it.
He knew for a fact Kacey loved princess stories. She would talk about how girls are supposed to be treated like princesses, and boys are supposed to be princes.
But how was he supposed to be a prince when there were no dragons to slay?