I crashed back-first onto the wooden boards that made up the wraparound porch. My muscles and a few bones screamed at me and I lay stiff atop the planks staring up at the sloped roof.

  A shadow fell over me and I turned my head a fraction of an inch where I found myself staring up into the bemused face of Dadan. He folded his arms atop the sill and leaned out far enough to look me over. “You appear to be unharmed.”

  I shifted and winced when a few muscles twinged. “My back is saying otherwise.”

  “Would you like for me to help you up?” he offered.

  I glared up at him. “I think you’ve helped enough.”

  I slowly rolled away from him and onto my side, where I managed to lift myself onto my knees. Dadan watched with some interest, or enough that I stopped mid-brushing myself off and frowned at him. “What?”

  “Do you often talk to yourself in your room?” he inquired.

  My face drooped. He’d heard me talking with Arian but hadn’t heard her half. I cleared my throat and eased myself onto my feet, standing tall and proud before him.

  Or so I wished. In truth, my legs rattled like reeds in a windstorm and my back was still complaining. I dared take a step and lost my balance, teetering toward the drop off the porch.

  Dadan hopped the window in one simple move and landed beside me. One strong arm wrapped around my waist and drew me against the godly lord. I pressed my palms against his chest and blushed when I felt the tense muscles.

  “You are rather clumsy.”

  My mouth fell open and I whipped my head up to give him a piece of my mind. What I got was a stupor.

  He was smiling down at me. Sure, the smile was very tiny, but the twinkle in his eyes told me it was genuine. I stared in bewilderment for so long that my lips dried up.

  “Is something the matter?” he asked me.

  I shook off my shock and licked my lips. “I, um, it’s nothing.”

  “Then why are you holding so tightly to my clothes?”

  I dropped my gaze to my hands and saw that I did indeed have a death grip on his robes. I let out a squeak and tried to go in reverse, but his arm held tightly onto me.

  “Are you sure you can handle standing on your own?” he inquired.

  “I’m willing to give it a try,” I insisted as I released his robes.

  He slid his arm away from me and I stumbled back but stayed on my feet. A nearby post provided more support as I looped an arm around its splintered surface. I turned to face my companion who stood a few feet away studying me with his stoic expression.

  And that’s when I remembered something vitally important. “Should you really be walking around already?”

  There was that faint smile again. “I believe I have better balance at this moment than you.”

  I frowned and waved a hand in the direction of the bedroom door. “Well, that’s because I’m not used to a guy just barging into my bedroom and me falling out a window.”

  He closed his eyes and nodded. “You should be more careful.”

  I rolled my eyes. “That really wasn’t what I was-”

  Frantic footsteps in the hall just outside the door made us both pause. The distraught figure of Prince Yushir appeared in the doorway. One of his hands grasped the door frame. “Lady Fei, have you seen-” His attention fell on Dadan and his eyes widened. “Dadan! What are you doing out of bed?”

  Well, at least my plan to act as a decoy was still in play. I also now had a cohort, so I leaned to one side and caught Dadan’s eye. “That’s two against one. You need to get back to bed.”

  His answer was to lift his bandaged arm and unwind the wrappings. The cloth fell to the ground at his feet and their absence revealed perfectly pale flesh. He drew his sleeve down and covered the skin. “There is no need for me to remain in bed.”

  This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

  Yushir strode over to the window and stabbed a finger at Dadan’s chest. “And your other wound? The more grievous one?”

  Dadan gestured to me. “Lady Fei will vouch for the fitness of my form.”

  I stood straight as both their attentions fell on me. “I-I what?”

  Yushir strode across the bedroom and set his hands on the sill. He leaned out and I caught his eye. The prince cocked his head to one side and his gaze flickered between us. “What are you two doing out Lady Fei’s bedroom window?”

  I sighed and slumped against the post. “That’s a very good question with a very long answer.”

  “One that can wait,” Yushir mused as he cast a sharp eye at Dadan. “Before then, is it true that Dadan is in any condition to be out of bed?”

  I slowly lifted my shoulders in a shrug while the rest of my body shrank. “I-I don’t really know. I’m not a medical doctor.”

  Yushir lifted an eyebrow at my reply, which only made the knot in my stomach twist even more. “A medical doctor? What an unusual term.”

  “It’s, um, just something I picked up on my travels,” I assured him as my eyes flickered between the back and front directions of the porch. I sheepishly smiled at the pair as I eased myself off the post. “But I really should get going. I, um, I promised to help out with the decorations and I’m late already-”

  Yushir’s eyebrows shot up. “Will you be seeing Lady Arian?”

  Oh boy. “I couldn’t really say,” I replied as I scooted backward toward the front of the lodge. I’d find a lot of hiding spots in the maze of a city. “But I’ll just be leaving you two alone-”

  “I will come with you.” The offer came not from Yushir but from Dadan.

  Both of us were surprised to hear it, not least of all his old friend. “You, Dadan?”

  Dadan lifted his chin slightly. “Should I not assist when I have helped many times with the Twilight Fair?”

  Yushir folded his arms over his chest and cupped his chin in one hand. “That is true but you have only helped plan your fire display.”

  “Then now will give me a chance to do something more,” Dadan pointed out as he strolled past the window and over to my side. His scarlet eyes fell on me and my damned cheeks blushed. “Shall we go?”

  I whipped my head between the two men. “I, um, I don’t-” Dadan grasped my hand and my frazzled brain completely shut down.

  There was that faint smile again, too, just to finish off any loose zapping brain cells. “We shall see what your friend is doing first.”

  “What?” Yushir squeaked as he leaned forward and nearly toppled out the window. He hung over the sill with his stomach rocking back and forth. “What about me?”

  Dadan guided me down the porch but turned his head to one side far enough so one mischievous eye fell on his distraught friend. “You may do as you please.”

  “Dadan!” Yushir shouted as he flailed about. “You will do no such thing without me! Do you hear me? Come back and help me off this thing!”

  “Shouldn’t we help him before he falls?” I wondered.

  Dadain only quickened our pace. “He will be fine on his own.” A hard thud from behind us told me that wasn’t entirely true.

  I twisted my head around but we had passed a slight curve in the design of the lodge and I could no longer see my bedroom window. My attempt at checking up on the heaven prince meant I didn’t focus on the way ahead and one of my feet tripped on a slightly higher board. I yelped and stumbled forward. Only Dadan’s firm grip on my hand kept me from falling on my face.

  “You are rather clumsy,” he repeated from earlier.

  I stood up straight and frowned at him. “I think you’re doing this on purpose.”

  “That I can control your feet and make you trip so often?” he teased.

  “I always get clumsier when you’re around,” I pointed out.

  “Perhaps you are dazzled by my appearance. Many women are, or so I am told.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Handsome and modest. How are you not married by now?”

  “I have not yet found a woman worthy to be my bride.” There was something in his voice that made me look up into his face. His bright eyes weren’t staring ahead. They were staring straight at me.

  Damn my infernal cheeks! I whipped my face away and used my free hand to rub one of them. “S-she must be pretty special if you’ve waited this long.”

  “She would have to be to be my bride.”

  I choked on a scoff mixed with a laugh. “You really are something, aren’t you?”

  He stopped us just shy of the front of the lodge. Nobody could see us as he stepped in front and faced me. “I would like to know what you think I am.”

  I blinked at those beautiful penetrating eyes and handsome features. Damn him and his tempting lips! His perfectly shaped nose! His-

  “Lord Eastwei! Lady Fei!”