The Nightingale Prince

The Nightingale Prince Songbird Princes Book #1 Zack Bel The crown of a Fae Prince is a dangerous thing. Toby’s boyfriend just kicked him to the curb, so when he inherits a decrepit mansion in the remote Aussie bush, he jumps at the chance for a break. He finds a charming little town full of big personalities, and a handsome, mysterious gardener. But Toby will soon discover that everything he thought he knew is a lie. He’s not even human. The Fae are real, and he’s one of them. The ancient nature Fae Amaethon has buried the pain of losing his lover a century ago. These days, he finds plants easier to talk to than people, but Toby pulls him out of his shell so easily. When the same evil that took his lover returns, he'll fight to protect Toby and the chance to love again. An ancient magic is reawakening, and Toby is the heir. To make matters worse, Fae hunters want him dead, and they’ll destroy this quiet town to stop the Nightingale Prince from rising. Amaethon and Toby will have to fight together to survive, and failure means the end of all Fae kind. The Nightingale Prince (Songbird Princes Book #1) This is a work of fiction. Certain characters, businesses, locales, incidents, and events portrayed are fictitious and the product of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events, locales, businesses, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. Copyright © 2023 Zack Bel All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the author except in the case of a reviewer, who may quote brief passages for the purpose of review. Cover design by Zack Bel. Beta reading by Ambra/Susanna. Content warning: The Nightingale Prince contains strong language, the death of a parent from cancer, and scenes that include action violence, blood, and death. This book is written in Australian English - colour instead of color, grey instead of gray. Some Australian slang is also included. A short guide to Australian terms is available in the back of the book. Contents Acknowledgements Chapter 1: Kitchen Magic Chapter 2: Goodbyes Chapter 3: Inheritance Chapter 4: Coming Home Chapter 5: A Librarian & Pie Chapter 6: A Gardener & Chickens Chapter 7: Drear Tidings Chapter 8: A Missing Mrs Chapter 9: Wisdom & Cookies Chapter 10: Searching for Magic Chapter 11: Library Lockpicking Chapter 12: A Cabin in the Marsh Chapter 13: Prophecies Chapter 14: Old Ghosts Chapter 15: Darkness on the Road Chapter 16: Facing the morning Chapter 17: First Date Chapter 18: A Visitor Chapter 19: Grimoire Chapter 20: First Time Chapter Acknowledgements Dedicated to my mother. Your strength is as deep as the ocean. Special thanks to the Bookdun, Indie Authors and Fantasy Romance February communities, who supported me to finish this book and get it published. Special thanks are also owed to Casey White, Maria Z. Medina, Ixi, Silke Campion and HJ Stack for their encouragement and advice. A big thank you to Ambra/Susanna who beta read this book and caught so many little errors that had slipped through. Chapter 1: Kitchen Magic Toby I hadn’t been back to Avillion since I was a kid - it seemed like a hazy, dreamlike time and place, removed from the real world by such a huge gap. Every summer, Mum and Dad would pack up the Ford Falcon and we would leave the suburbs behind and travel halfway across the country to visit Grandpa and his strange old house. I dashed into the vast old kitchen at Avillion, and stumbled on the uneven edge of an old flagstone. For a moment, the cold floor rushed up towards me, then a pair of strong arms caught me and set me the right way up. “Careful, darling boy.” Melissa, Grandpa’s housekeeper, wiped her floury hands on her apron with cartoon bees having a tea party, and returned to her big mixing bowl. I wasn’t slowed down by the near collision between face and floor. “I got you a present.” I thrust a piece of paper out in one crayon smudged hand. I’d laboured carefully all morning drawing the cartoon bee with bright yellow and black and orange crayons. Melissa took it delicately, and smiled like I’d handed her a precious jewel. “Oh! You’re very thoughtful, Toby. I’ll put this on the fridge.” I stood on tiptoes to watch as Melissa dug out a pair of magnets shaped like a bee and carefully pinned it in the middle of the fridge door. “Do you like it?” “I love it,” Melissa said. “It’s the best bee I’ve ever seen.” “Really?” I beamed at her praise. “Really.” I hugged Melissa’s side, and sighed. “Mom and Grandpa are fighting again.” They’d been shouting at each other on the stairs. I didn’t want Grandpa to yell at me, so I’d left as quickly as I’d come. Melissa smiled sadly. “Would you like to help me make cookies?” I nodded eagerly, and washed my hands under Melissa’s direction. When I was clean, Melissa showed me how to measure the flour and the sugar, and gave me the lemons and an old glass juicer and carefully showed me how to squish the lemons and twist the juice out. It came out pale yellow and made the whole