Chapter 4
The Saints and Sweethearts Festival was a multi-day event that had been started in the same year that Moonrot appeared.
Every year, a different magical town hosted the festival.
All the council and all the fae gathered in order to concentrate and gather their love into a single place.
The floating lanterns overhead acted as vessels, collecting and storing the love of the fae.
After they were full, the fae took them to the different towns, and the magic was distributed to those with Moonrot to keep them well for another twelve months. It sounded ridiculous, but it worked.
At least it helped for a few days. The distribution of magic had yet to show any long-lasting effects on the cursed. Still, the council needed to be seen doing something about Moonrot, so the festival continued to be held.
I waited for Lizzy on the south side of Regency Meadows Park, by the lake that someone had converted into an ice-skating rink. Although patches of snow covered the ground, the winter breeze was warming early, so they had shut down the lake for ice skating.
She walked up with her friend Charlotte, who quickly waved goodbye with a small wink and headed toward the festival.
Lizzy was wearing a heavy coat with a fake-fur lining.
Her hair was loose and flowed about her like a river of warm chestnut, catching hints of gold whenever the light touched it.
It was a little aggravating how my heart raced at just the sight of her.
“Good morning, Lizzy.”
“Darcy.” She cast a glance at the cluster of booths a good distance from us. “Have you seen anyone on the list?”
“Not yet,” I said. “But it’s hard to see from here.”
“Looks as if a decent number of folks have already arrived,” she observed. “Should we head over?”
We walked to where people were browsing up and down the stands.
The Saints and Sweethearts Festival would last six days and included activities that were meant to bring the community together.
The more togetherness there was, the more love would be in the air.
During the interval, smaller businesses and other sellers had an opportunity to offer items and get people participating in their contests and events.
The town’s beloved park had transformed into a glowing wonderland for the festival.
Snow-soft grass peeked through patches of early spring blooms—rosy hellebore and pale crocuses that had been coaxed open by gentle enchantments.
Winding paths of red and gold fairy lights traced the walkways, guiding visitors deeper into the celebration.
At the heart of the park, the old pavilion shimmered beneath cascading strands of enchanted lanterns that hovered like fireflies caught in a slow dance. Willow branches rustled with quiet magic, their long silver-green tendrils forming natural archways where couples strolled hand in hand.
“I talked to my sister,” Lizzy said as she watched the couples pass by. “She confirmed that those who were cursed from Austen Heights were pure-blood fae. Not a werewolf or vampire or half-anything among them.”
“That is something.” At least I hoped it meant something. “You wouldn’t have a way of checking if the same thing is true for other towns, would you?”
Lizzy shook her head. “Unfortunately not.”
Nestled between the trees were booths decorated with mossy wreaths and flickering runes.
Vendors offered warm rose-cinnamon pastries, heart-shaped charms, and tiny bottled spells—each glowing like captured stardust. Children ran laughing across the open meadow, chasing enchanted paper hearts that dipped and twirled out of reach, leaving trails of pink sparkles that faded on the breeze.
A small gathering of people congregated around a booth marked “Lovebirds Showdown.”
Lizzy snorted. “Who would sign up for something like that?”
“Some poor saps who want to publicly embarrass themselves,” I agreed.
Just then, Lizzy’s friend Charlotte and her husband, Pastor Collins, walked up. “Oh good. You guys made it in time for the Lovebirds Showdown. You were the last on my list. Lizzy and Darcy are here, everyone!”
People shouted and clapped.
Lizzy and I exchanged bewildered glances.
“We didn’t sign up for any Lovebirds Showdown,” Lizzy protested.
“I don’t know.” Charlotte’s eyes were wide with fake sincerity as she gazed at the clipboard that she held. “Someone might have mistakenly signed you up?”
Pastor Collins stared at us, completely serious. “You’re on the list. You are going to take part, aren’t you?”
Lizzy sighed in exasperation and threw Charlotte a look. “We don’t have time for this—”
“Let’s play,” I said.
Lizzy looked at me skeptically. “You want to do this?”
I nodded toward Sir Walter Elliot, an older fae gentleman with silvery hair who placed a lot of value on station and titles. He stood next to an older fae woman, a widow by the name of Lady Denham. I’d heard they’d recently gotten engaged.
Lizzy’s eyes widened. “Is he…?”
“One of the names on the list.” If we spoke to him here, we might catch him in a more relaxed state.
Biting her lip, she glanced over at Sir Walter Elliot, then back to me. A flush darkened her cheeks, but I couldn’t be sure if it was from the cold or from my proposition. Hopefully, the latter. “Okay, we’ll do it.”
Charlotte beamed and took Pastor Collin’s arm. “We’re competing, too.” She faced the other couples, which included Caroline Bingley and her bodyguard-turned-boyfriend, Jack. She playfully flipped her auburn hair over her shoulder, and he leaned in invitingly.
“All right, the first activity is cupcake decorating.” Charlotte led us over to a table where each couple stood in front of a cupcake.
I looked at Sir Walker Elliot, who was in the process of tying a blindfold around his fiancée.
“The decorator has to be blindfolded while the second person gives them directions. Your topic for decorating is your first date.”
Lizzy and I shared an awkward glance. We may have spent time together, but we’d never been on an actual “date.”
“Charlotte—”
Charlotte held up a hand. “If you’re in denial, then you can count the first time you met up to go somewhere together.” She lifted a challenging eyebrow at the two of us.
Lizzy flushed, which made me resolved to set her at ease, especially since it was my idea to go along with this.
“That would be the fall festival,” I said. “Remember? With the Ferris wheel.”
A small smile curved on her lips. “Yes. I was determined to make you admit you were a murderer.”
“You made a terrifyingly thorough detective, even if you were completely off base in your accusations.”
Her bewitching gaze had gotten to me that night on that giant Ferris wheel. That was when I began falling for her.
The redness in her cheeks lessened, and she straightened, grabbing the blindfold off the table.
“Okay, stand still.” She rose on her tiptoes before wrapping the blindfold around my eyes.
The warmth of her breath on the back of my neck caused shivers to rush over my skin.
Her hands rested on my shoulders to steady herself before stepping back.
“I’m the bossier of the two of us, so it will be better if you decorate and I direct you. ”
I raised an eyebrow. “You’re more bossy? Do you know who I am?”
Her laugh triggered a lightness to bounce through my chest. “Yes, I do. But I possessed three stubborn younger sisters I had to care for, while you had a single good-natured sister. So I stand by my statement.” Her fingers brushed mine as she set the frosting icing bag in my hand.
“Maybe this is for the best. I already know you don’t enjoy it when I try to tell you what to do.”
The blindfold made me think of the time Lizzy and I’d been bound together. It had been several days, and the only way to stay clean was to blindfold each other while the other showered. I shook the feelings of that moment out of my mind and tried to focus on the here and now.
I stepped forward and felt around the table for the cupcake until I found it.
“Everyone ready?” Charlotte called. Several people, including Lizzy, called out in the affirmative. “Brexton, have you got the timer set?”
“Got it. All right, you have one minute,” Brexton said. “Ready? Go!”
“Okay, make a half circle that takes up most of the cupcake,” Lizzy directed.
That was easy. I traced the length of the top of the cupcake.
“Now create lines coming out from that heading toward the bottom.”
I attempted to follow her instructions, but a small noise of disapproval told me I was already off.
“Am I messing up?”
“No, it’s great… uh, perhaps put half a finger length between each line?”
I tried that, doing my best not to get the creamy frosting on me.
She laughed softly. “Somehow it’s worse.”
As a prince, it wasn’t normal for me to set myself up to look silly in front of others.
My upbringing had instilled in me the need to protect my image and avoid tarnishing my family’s reputation.
But whenever I was with Lizzy, I could take myself less seriously.
Nobody else here knew I was Prince Valemont, and Lizzy seemed to get along with me better when I wasn’t so lost in my sense of image. I liked myself better, too.
Here I was, about to make a fool of myself, and I didn’t care. In fact, it felt kind of freeing.
“Time!” Brexton shouted.
I took off my blindfold and gazed at my creation. The lines coming out of the supposed Ferris wheel were clumped on one side of the cupcake. “It’s not that bad.”
“Sure, sure. If you were drawing a sun exploding over a sugar factory,” Lizzy teased.
I couldn’t resist smiling. “Some might say that the apprentice is only as skilled as his master’s instructions.”
“Unless the apprentice is a lost cause.”
“Am I a lost cause, Elizabeth Bennet?” I meant it as a joke, but a small, desperate part of me craved her response on a deeper level.