“How many Elysiums have you been to?""Three," I said immediately. "At least...this will be my third one.""And how many Elysiums do you think I've been to?""Um. More than three?""I do appreciate your gift for the understatement.”

“I am yours to command, my queen,” he whispered, making my heart clench in complete, helpless love. “I will obey, even if you order me to cut out my own heart. Even if you order me to the hell that is the Winter Court Elysium.”

“How do you know your way around this place, Grim?”Grimalkin blinked. “I am a cat,” he said, and vanished down one of thetunnels.”

“Ash just does that to people. No silly mortal can look at him and not fall head over heels. How many hearts do you think he´s already broken”

“He favored me with another patient look. “And how much experience do you have with swords and weapons in general?” “Um.” I glanced down at the saber in my hand. “Thirty seconds?”He smiled, that calm, irritatingly confident smirk. “You’re not going to hit me.”

“But ... but what if I hit you?”A snort. “You’re not going to hit me.”“How do you know?” I bristled at his amused tone. “I could hit you. Even master swordsmen make mistakes. I could get a lucky shot, or you might not see me coming. I don’t want to hurt you.”He favored me with another patient look. “And how much experience do you have with swords and weapons in general?” “Um.” I glanced down at the saber in my hand. “Thirty seconds?”He smiled, that calm, irritatingly confident smirk. “You’re not going to hit me.”

“There was a soft chuckle beside me, and my heart stopped. "So this is Oberon's famous half-blood," Ash mused as I whirled around. His eyes, cold and inhuman, glimmered with amusement. Up close, he was even more beautiful, with high cheekbones and dark tousled hair falling into his eyes. My traitor hands itched, longing to run my fingers through those bangs. Horrified, I clenched them in my lap, trying to concentrate on what Ash was saying. "And to think," the prince continued, smiling, "I lost you that day in the forest and didn't even know what I was chasing."I shrank back, eyeing Oberon and Queen Mab. They were deep in conversation and did not notice me. I didn't want to interrupt them simply because a prince of the Unseelie Court was talking to me. Besides, I was a faery princess now. Even if I didn't quite believe it, Ash certainly did. I took a deep breath, raised my chin, and looked him straight in the eye."I warn you," I said, pleased that my voice didn't tremble, "that if you try anything, my father will remove your head and stick it to a plaque on his wall."He shrugged one lean shoulder. "There are worse things." At my horrified look, he offered a faint, self-derogatory smile. "Don't worry, princess, I won't break the rules of Elysium. I have no intention of facing Mab's wrath should I embarrass her. That's not why I'm here.""Then what do you want?"He bowed. "A dance.""What!" I stared at him in disbelief. "You tried to kill me!""Technically, I was trying to kill Puck. You just happened to be there. But yes, if I'd had the shot, I would have taken it.""Then why the hell would you think I'd dance with you?""That was then." He regarded me blandly. "This is now. And it's tradition in Elysium that a son and daughter of opposite territories dance with each other, to demonstrate the goodwill between the courts.""Well, it's a stupid tradition." I crossed my arms and glared. "And you can forget it. I am not going anywhere with you."He raised an eyebrow. "Would you insult my monarch, Queen Mab, by refusing? She would take it very personally, and blame Oberon for the offense. And Mab can hold a grudge for a very, very long time."Oh, damn. I was stuck.”