Total pages in book: 120
Estimated words: 112917 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 565(@200wpm)___ 452(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 112917 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 565(@200wpm)___ 452(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
Bear stood taller as he made the introductions. “Your Highness, I’d like you to meet Zee Barlo. Zee, this is His Royal Highness, King Gerhard of Ventdestine.”
The king held out his hand. I glanced quickly at Bear, whose nostrils flared but who gave me a subtle nod. I shook the man’s hand and expressed my pleasure at meeting him. “I’m honored to have you here at one of our shows.”
His smile was polite but formal. “Thank you for having us, and thank you for keeping Ryan out of harm’s way. May the winds continue to whisper fortune upon you.”
I was startled by the tone of his greeting. Bear had told me many times about Ventdestine’s mystical beliefs, but hearing it from the horse’s mouth was strangely off-putting. “Er, thank you. And you as well.” I suddenly remembered the somewhat recent loss of his father and scrambled to correct myself. “I’m very sorry for the loss of your father. Ryan speaks very highly of him.”
King Gerhard nodded. “Thank you. He was a good man and a great leader. We are lost without him.”
A lovely woman in a butter-soft pink pantsuit stepped up next to him and placed her hand on Bear’s shoulder. “Ryan, my apologies for allowing myself to be detained. Would you mind continuing the introductions?”
“Of course, Your Highness. This is Zee Barlo. Zee, this is Her Royal Highness, Queen Gisella of Ventdestine. And these are their children. Prince Auden, Prince Isak, and Princess Carina.”
The three faces that popped out from behind their parents were almost comically starstruck.
The oldest teen, Auden, who seemed high-school-aged, stared and flushed a deep, mottled red. The middle one, Isak, grinned like a kid who’d stolen some candy. And the royal daughter blinked rapidly like she had something in her eye.
I glanced at Bear, who was busy trying to hide a smirk.
Queen Gisella grinned. “Maybe the three of you would like to say hello to Mr. Barlo?”
The younger two began speaking at once, thanking me rapidly for allowing them to come to the show. Auden only continued to stare. The king turned to speak with Bear and the royal guardsman while Gisella asked me questions about the tour and mentioned their plans for a large-scale royal tour of America next summer.
“The children were so little last time we were there,” she mused. “Now that they’re growing up, I want them to have a deeper understanding of other cultures.” She reached up to run a fond hand over Auden’s head. Though the prince didn’t pull away, his eyes flashed with typical teenage annoyance at the insinuation that he was still “growing.”
I stifled a smile and turned to him directly. “So, Auden, do you have any song requests for the show tonight? I always save a couple spots later in the set list for last-minute additions.”
“Oh! Oh. Um…” His eyes shot over to his father before glancing at his mother. She gave him an encouraging smile. “If I could hear you play anything, it would be ‘Very Much Myself,’” he said softly. “And anything new, of course, but I don’t know if that’s something you ever do?”
Ooof. I’d written that song about my coming out. I had a momentary flare of empathy for this young princeling from the country where the winds of fate didn’t look kindly on change. “I’ll definitely be playing that one and also at least one new one. You’ll have to let me know what you think afterward.”
Auden gave me a shy smile. “I can do that. I think Kasper has Ryan’s email address?”
The royal guard standing with the king and Ryan turned his head. “Did you call me, Prince Auden?”
“No, sir. Only, I thought maybe you could help me get in touch with Mr. Barlo after this. He said I could let him know what I thought about the music.”
The man glanced at me with the same detached politeness as the king and nodded. “Certainly. I’d be happy to put you in touch with Ryan, and he can pass your message along to Mr. Barlo.”
I smiled. “Awesome. Thank you. When you guys come to the States next year, maybe you can come to a show again. I’d hook you up.”
“Really?” Carina grabbed her mother’s arm and squeezed. “Mama, can we?”
Gisella laughed. “I’ll talk to your father, and maybe we can add it to the list. It’s already fairly extensive.” To me, she added with a wink, “Disneyland, you know?”
“Yes,” Carina agreed. “When Papa went to California and I begged and begged him to bring me so we could go to Disneyland! Have you been, Zee?”
“I can answer that,” a familiar voice cut in.
I turned to find Bodhi standing beside us, flashing a knowing grin. He looked so good, so familiar, I opened my arms to hug him without thinking. As soon as the hug was over, I quickly pressed the button on my watch and glanced at Boomer, who’d appeared at Bodhi’s elbow. He was glaring at Bodhi with a death stare not unlike the ones Bear gave me when he’d warned me not to do something, which was kind of interesting.