Page 3 of The Autumn Prince

“Zalman,” he said with a cute grin.

Interesting reaction. Definitely not complaining. But I did need to know one thing real quick… “Is the Autumn Court part of the Seelie or Unseelie Courts?”

He pressed a hand to his chest. “Seelie, of course! None of us are evil in the slightest.”

I nodded, relieved. “Good to know.”

“These seasonal courts do influence the entire fae and human realms, but not maliciously so.” He glanced out the window that glowed with a fiery sunset. “Though it’s possible that, by being trapped in autumn for so long, we’ve caused problems for the others. I can’t be sure.”

“Well, any problems the human realm is having are self-inflicted. I’m sure of that.” Everyone knew the corporations were to blame for global warming, not trapped fair— Hold on.

“Trapped?”

He nodded. “Someone cast a spell that enclosed my court in a barrier that has sealed us into our season for the past three years.”

I was a certified public accountant—I know, not glamorous at all, but I could whip up a financial plan like nobody else could—so I knew nothing about the weather aside from what I did and didn’t like. Crisp fall days? Yes, please. But three years of that?

“I can only imagine that’s not good.”

“It isn’t. We’ve had to become quite creative with our agriculture.” He chuckled weakly. “I’ve had rather enough of gourds and nuts.”

I winced a little as someone who was not a fan of pumpkin anything.

But now I needed to get him back to not lying to me about why I was here. I reached across the table and took his hand in both of mine. He looked a little uncomfortable, but I held on.

“How do you think I’m going to save you?”

“Oh, um, well…”

I gave his arms a tiny yank. “Sweetie, I’m going to need you to do something for the entirety of our relationship, okay?”

I waited until he nodded.

“Don’t lie to me,” I said with a smile. “You can omit things or tell me you’re not comfortable sharing something yet—we’re strangers, and I understand—but do not ever lie to me.”

Eyes wide, he gulped but he also nodded again. “I won’t lie to you, Zalman.”

“Excellent. Thank you.” I patted his hand. “Now try again with why you think I’m here.”

He glanced down at the tabletop before looking me in the eye—something I appreciated.

“I need you to help me break the curse.”

“What do we have to do to break it?”

“I don’t know.”

“Oh.”

I had a few references for curse breaking in my mental files, but who knew what might be relevant between an author’s imagination and Hollywood. Especially when we were starting from zero.

I patted his hand again, not yet deterred. “Well, how about I work with someone on your staff to get us some snacks, while you change into actual clothes so you feel more comfortable, hmm?”

“Oh, yes. Alright.” He extracted his hand from my grip and tugged on a golden rope hanging beside the curtains next to him. “Someone will be up shortly. I’ll, um, just be over there.”

He pointed to an open set of doors into what had to be a closet that would rival the size of my apartment. He scurried while clutching his duvet to his front and back. I hoped the covering would fall off of him, but he managed to close the doors before it could.

I stood up, checked my look in a gorgeous gilded mirror, and went over to open the main door when someone knocked. “Hi,” I said to the fashion-challenged little thing in the hallway, “I’m Zalman, the prince’s new curse-breaking consultant. Could you bring up some drinks and snacks for us? We have some work to do.”