by Kiera Cass
“Are you okay?”
She smiled. “More than okay. I was so afraid she might not come back, and . . . I honestly don’t know what I’d do without her. Being here, with your mom, has been my whole life.”
I sat down, hugging my mother’s dearest friend, and she held on to me as if I was her own daughter. Part of me felt sad, because I knew she wasn’t being dramatic when she said that. One look at her scarred palms told the long story of how she’d gone from worthy competitor to wicked traitor to faithful lady. When they talked about the past, some details were glossed over, and I never pushed it because it wasn’t my place. But I worried that sometimes Miss Marlee felt like my parents’ pardon was still contingent on her and her husband paying it back in devotion.
“They said that you and your brothers were visiting, and I want to see her, but I didn’t want to cut off your time.”
“Did you see the boys leave? We’re all done now. You should hurry in before she falls back asleep. I know she’d want to see you.”
She wiped her cheeks again. “How do I look?”
I laughed. “Positively wretched.” I squeezed her. “Go on in there. And can you try to check on them for me from time to time? I know I won’t be able to come down here as often as I’d like.”
“Don’t you worry. I’ll send updates as often as I can.”
“Thank you, Miss Marlee.”
After one last hug, she made her way into the hospital wing. I sighed, trying to let myself enjoy this brief moment of calm. At least for now, everything was on its way to being better.
CHAPTER 6
KILE HELD HIS HAND AGAINST the small of my back, walking me through the garden. The moon was low and full, casting shadows even in the night.
“You were spectacular this morning,” he said, shaking his head. “We’ve all been worried about your mom, and it’s so strange not having Ahren around. And Kaden? I’ve never seen him look so . . . bewildered.”
“It’s awful. He’s the stable one.”
“Don’t worry too much. It makes sense that he’d be a little shaken right now.”
I inched even closer to Kile. “I know. It’s just hard to see it happen to someone who never gets shaken.”
“Which is why breakfast was so great. I thought we were going to suffer through a painful meal together, unable to talk about what was happening, or even talk at all. Then you just opened it up. It was remarkable. Don’t forget you have that skill.” He shook his finger at me.
“What skill? Distraction?” I laughed.
“No.” He wrestled with the words. “More like the means to alleviate. I mean, you’ve done it before. At parties or on Reports. You change momentum. Not everyone can do that.”
We walked to the edge of the garden, where the land opened up to a wide, flat space before the forest started.
“Thanks. That means a lot. I’ve been worried.”
“Nothing wrong with that.”
“It’s bigger than Mom though.” I stopped and put my hands on my hips, wondering how much I should tell him. “Ahren left me a letter. Did you know that the people are displeased with the monarchy? Specifically, me? And now I’m basically in charge, and honestly, I’m not sure if they’ll stand for it. I already had food thrown at me once. I’ve read so many awful articles about myself. . . . What if they come after me?”
“What if they do?” he joked. “It’s not like there aren’t other options. We could become a dictatorship—that’d put people in line. There’s a federal republic, a constitutional monarchy . . . oh, maybe a theocracy! We could give everything over to the church.”
“Kile, I’m serious! What if they depose me?”
He cradled my face in his hands. “Eadlyn, that’s not going to happen.”
“But it has before! That’s how my grandparents died. People came into their home and killed them. And everyone worshipped my grandmother!” I could feel the tears rising. Ugh, I’d been such a weepy mess the last couple of days! I wiped them away, fumbling over his fingers in the process.
“Listen to me. That was a pocket of radicals. They’re gone now, and the people out there are too busy trying to live their lives to spend time messing with yours.”
“I can’t bank on that,” I whispered. “There were things I was always sure of, and almost all of that has fallen apart in the last few weeks.”
“Do you . . .” He paused as he gazed into my eyes. “Do you need to not think right now?”
I swallowed, processing the offer. Here with just the two of us in the dark, quiet evening, it felt so similar to the night of our first kiss. Only this time there’d be no one watching, no one to print it in a newspaper. Our parents were nowhere in sight, and the guards weren’t trailing our steps. For me it meant that, for just one moment, there was nothing to keep me from having what I wanted.
“I’d do anything you asked me to, Eadlyn,” he whispered.
I shook my head. “But I can’t ask.”
He squinted. “Why not? Did I do something wrong?”
“No, you idiot,” I said, pulling away. “Apparently . . .” I huffed. “It seems you did something right. I can’t just kiss you like it’s nothing, because it turns out that you’re not nothing.”
I stared at the ground, growing increasingly irritated.
“This is all your fault, by the way!” I accused, glaring at him as I paced. “I was fine not liking you. I was fine not liking anyone.” I covered my face. “And now I’m in the middle of this thing and so lost I can hardly think straight. But I know that you matter, and I don’t know what to do about it.” When I gathered enough courage to look up at him again, he was smirking. “For goodness’ sake, don’t look so smug.”
“Sorry,” he said, still smiling.
“Do you know how scary it is for me to say all that?”
He bridged the gap between us. “Probably as scary as it is for me to hear it.”
“I’m serious, Kile.”
“So am I! First of all, it’s strange to think about what it all means. Because you come with a title and a throne and a whole life planned out for you. That’s insane for me to try and take in. And second of all, more than anyone here, I know that you hold your cards close to your chest. A confession like that must be practically painful for you.”
I nodded. “Not that I’m mad that I like you . . . except that I kind of am.”
He laughed. “It is rather infuriating.”
“But I need to know, now, before we go any further, do you feel anything like that for me? Even the smallest glimmer of something? Because if not, I have to make plans.”
“And if I do?”
I lifted my arms and let them flop down to my sides again. “Then I still have to make plans, but they’ll be different.”
He sighed heavily. “Turns out you matter to me, too. And I wouldn’t have thought about it except for my designs lately.”
“Uh . . . how romantic?”
He laughed. “No, really, it kind of is. Usually I get excited about designing skyscrapers and homeless shelters, things that someone might remember, or might help people. But the other day I found myself designing you a summerhouse, a miniature palace, maybe something with a vineyard. This morning I got an idea for a beach house.”
I gasped. “I’ve always wanted a beach house!”
“Not that we’d ever get to use it with you running the world and all.”
“It’s a sweet thought all the same.”
He shrugged. “It just seems like everything I want to make lately is something for you.”
“That means a lot. I know how important your work is to you.”
“It’s not really my work. Something that I care about is all.”
“Okay, then. How about for now we just add this to that pile? This is something we care about, and we both know it, and we’ll watch it and see what happens.”
“That’s fair. I don’t want to discourage you at all, but it feels too soon to call this love.”
“Absolutely!” I agreed. “It’s too soon, and that’s too big.”
“Too busy.”
“Too scary.”
He laughed. “On par with being dethroned?”
“At least!”
“Wow. Okay.” He continued to smile, probably considering the unlikelihood of us falling for each other himself. “So, what now?”
“I continue the Selection, I think. I don’t want to hurt your feelings, but I have to keep going. I have to be certain.”
He nodded. “I wouldn’t want you if you weren’t.”
“Thank you, sir.”
We stood there, the sound of the wind in the grass the only noise.
He cleared his throat. “I think we need food.”
“As long as I don’t have to cook it.”
He threw his arm around my shoulder as we turned back to the palace. It felt like a very boyfriendish thing to do. “But we did so great last time.”
“All I learned about was butter.”
“Then you know everything.”
In the morning I headed straight down to the hospital wing, desperate to see Mom’s face. Even if she was asleep, I just needed to be reminded she was alive and healing. But when I cracked open the door this time, she was sitting up, wide awake . . . and Dad was asleep. Smiling, she held up a finger to her lips. With her other hand she traced gentle lines through his hair as he lay spilled out of his chair and onto her bed, one arm beneath his head and the other across her lap.
I quietly walked to the other side of the bed to kiss her cheek.
“I keep waking up in the night,” she whispered, giving me a little squeeze. “All these tubes and things are bothering me. And every time, he’s awake, watching me. It does me good to see him sleep.”
“Me, too. He’s been looking a little rough.”
She smiled. “Eh. I’ve seen him worse. He’ll make it through this, too.”
“Have the doctors checked on you yet?”
She shook her head. “I asked them to come again once he’s rested a little. I’ll get back to my room soon enough.”
Of course. Of course the woman who just had a heart attack could spare getting herself to a more comfortable place so her husband could take a nap. Seriously, even if I did find someone, could it ever compare to them?
“How are you doing? Is everyone being helpful?” Mom continued to run her hand through Dad’s hair.
“I fired Coddly. I don’t think I told you yesterday.”
She stilled, staring intently. “What? Why?”
“Oh, no big deal. He just wanted to go to war.”
She covered her mouth, trying not to laugh at how cavalierly I discussed invasion. A second later she stopped smiling at all and moved both of her hands to her chest.
“Mom?” I asked too loudly. Dad’s head instantly shot up.
“Darling? What’s wrong?”
Mom shook her head. “It’s just the stitches. I’m fine.”
Dad settled back into his seat but sat up, done with sleep for the moment. Mom tried to start up the conversation again, doing anything to take the focus off herself.
“How about the Selection? How are things going there?”
I paused. “Umm, okay, I think. I haven’t had a lot of time to spend with the boys, but I’m going to work on that. Especially since there’s a Report coming up.”
“You know, honey, no one would fault you for calling it off. You’ve been through a lot this last week, and you’re acting as regent. I’m not sure you should be trying to balance all this.”
“They are very nice boys,” Dad offered, “but if it’s taking too much of your focus . . .”
I sighed. “I think we need to stop dancing around the fact that I am not the most beloved member of this family. At least not to the general public. You say no one would fault me, but I feel very confident they would.” Mom and Dad shared a look, seeming to want to refute this but not wanting to lie at the same time. “If I’m going to be queen one day, I need to win the people over.”
“And you think finding a husband is the way to accomplish that?” Mom asked suspiciously.
“Yes. It’s all about their perception of me. They think I’m too cold. The most absolute way to refute that would be to get married. They think I’m too masculine. The most absolute way to refute that is to be a bride.”
“I don’t know. I’m still very hesitant about you continuing.”
“Need I remind you that this Selection was your idea?”
She sighed.
“Listen to your daughter,” Dad said. “Very smart girl. Gets it from me.”
“Don’t you want some more sleep?” she asked flatly.
“No, I’m feeling very refreshed,” he said. I wasn’t sure if it was because he wanted to continue the conversation or if he felt he needed to keep his attention on Mom. Either way, he was clearly lying.
“Dad, you look like death punched you in the face.”
“You must get that from me, too.”
“Dad!”
He laughed, and Mom did, too, her hand going back to put pressure on her chest.
“Look! Your terrible jokes are now life threatening. You have to stop them.”
He shared a smile with Mom. “Go do what you need to do, Eadlyn. We will support you in whatever way we can.”
“Thank you. Both of you, please get some rest.”
“Ugh, she’s so bossy,” Mom lamented.
Dad nodded. “I know. Who does she think she is?”
I looked back at them one last time. Dad gave me a wink. No matter who was against me today, at least I had them.
I left them and strode upstairs to the office, shocked to find a beautiful bouquet of flowers on my desk.
“Someone thinks you’re doing a good job, huh?” Neena remarked.
“Or they think I’ll die from the stress and wanted to beat everyone to the punch,” I joked, not sure I wanted to admit how happily surprised I was.
“Lighten up. You’ve been doing great.” But Neena’s eyes weren’t even on me. They had zoomed in on the card.
I tucked it close to my chest as she whined, and lifted the note just enough so I could read it.
You looked a little down when we parted the other day. Wanted today to start on a happier note. I’m here for you.—Marid
I smiled and passed it to Neena, who sighed before turning back to look at the huge bouquet.
“Who are those from?” General Leger asked, coming in the door.
“Marid Illéa,” I replied.
“I heard he stopped by. Was he just bringing gifts or did he need something?” the general asked, skepticism painting his tone.
“Oddly enough, he was making sure I didn’t need something. He offered to give me a helping hand with the public. He knows a lot more about people living their lives in the wake of the castes than I do.”
General Leger joined me beside the table and stared at the extravagant arrangement. “I don’t know. Things didn’t exactly end well between your family and his.”
“I remember. Vividly. But it might be a good thing to learn a little now for when my time comes.”
The general smiled at me, his face softening. “It’s already here, Your Highness. Be careful who you trust, okay?”
“Yes, sir.”
Neena was still acting swoony. “Someone needs to tell Mark to step up. I just got a huge promotion. Where are my flowers?”
“Maybe he’s planning to deliver them in person. Much more romantic,” I said.
“Pssh! The way that boy works?” she said skeptically. “If everyone in the palace died and I somehow became queen, he probably still couldn’t get time off. He’s always so busy.”
Though she was trying to joke, I could sense her sadness. “But he loves it, right?”
“Oh, yes, he likes his research. It’s just hard that he’s so busy, and that he’s far away.”
I didn’t know what else to say on the subject, so I turned the conversation
back to my gift. “They’re a bit much, though, don’t you think?”
“I think they’re perfect.”
I shook my head. “Either way, these should probably be moved somewhere else.”
“Don’t you want to look at them?” Neena questioned even as she went to grab the vase.
“No. I need the desk space.”
She shrugged and carefully lifted the arrangement to take it into the parlor. I sat down at the desk, trying to concentrate. I had to focus if I was going to win my people over. And that was what I had to do—Ahren had said so.
“Wait!” My voice was a little louder than I intended, and Neena started. “Put them back where they were.”
She made a face at me but brought them back all the same. “What made you change your mind?”
I looked up at the bouquet and ran my fingers across a few of the low-hanging petals. “I just remembered I could lead and still like flowers.”
CHAPTER 7
BY THE TIME DINNER ROLLED around, I was very concerned that I might fall asleep on my plate. There was a chance no one would mind if I skipped it. Meals had generally been quiet unless I worked to make them otherwise. But when I came downstairs and saw Grandma Singer flinging her bag at a butler, I knew tonight was going to be anything but dull.
“Don’t you tell me I can’t come at such an hour!” She shook her wrinkled fist, and I bit my lips to hold in the laughter.
“I wasn’t, ma’am,” the guard replied, his voice anxious. “I just said it was getting late in the day.”
“The queen will want to see me!”
Grandma Singer was a fearsome creature. If we ever did have a war under my rule, my plan was to send her to the front lines. She’d come home holding the enemy by his ear within a week.
I walked into the foyer. “Grandma.”
She instantly turned from the guard, her face melting into the sweetest expression. “Oh, there’s my precious girl. The TV doesn’t do you justice—you’re so lovely!”
I bent so she could kiss me on both cheeks. “Thanks . . . I think.”
“Where is your mother? I’ve been wanting to come over, but May insisted I stay out of the way.”