Even after Beryl was dismissed, it was hard to enjoy the rest of the evening after the commotion that her parental, Zomerald, had caused. To be fair, Prince Sapphire did his best to comfort me, but it felt awkward that he was overly accommodating in his constant apologies for a “ruined date.”

“Please let me make it up to you,” he begged. “I cannot have your first memory of me be like this.”

“I don’t think badly of you, Sapphire, it’s okay,” I told him. “I’ll be fine.” In reality, I just wanted to forget any of it happened and go home.

“I know what you’re thinking,” he said. “You just want to forget and put this whole night behind you. But give me a chance to help you make a better memory of me. I promise it will be unforgettable.”

“What?” I answered. Did Sapphire just read my mind? But didn’t Zomerald say that only my family had telepathy? No, Sapphire couldn’t have read what I was thinking, but I wondered if my facial expressions made my thoughts more obvious than I was comfortable with.

“Yes,” he said as questions whirled through my head. He dropped his voice. “I too have telepathy. I inherited it from my parental, King Chaune. We don’t talk about it because even if we try not to be invasive, people become suspicious, you see. I’ve made the mistake of telling people, people who I thought were my friends, and they became hostile.”

“Oh,” I said. I had no idea people could be vindictive about that.

Sapphire nodded. “I wondered if you would be telepathic like me. I’m glad that you are, or at least that your family is, but to be honest, I’m surprised…pleasantly of course, that you were unaware of the fear and prejudice that exists against telepathic families. At least you didn’t grow up having to deal with any…until now, of course.”

“How many telepathic families are there?” I asked.

“From what I know,” Sapphire began. “There is only your family and mine.”

I wondered if the archangel had telepathy, but I didn’t want to talk about him behind his back. “What were you thinking of doing?” I said.

“Your parental said that I couldn’t take you anywhere where he couldn’t see you, so I will need time to gain his trust and his permission, but I want to show you something special,” he answered. “I’m sure you’ll love it, it’s beautiful. In the meantime, please accept this present as a sign of our betrothal.” He took out a small box wrapped in a blue bow from the pocket of his jacket.

“Thank you,” I said as I took the gift in my hands. “What is it?”

“Open it,” he answered.