He dips his head and stares into my lap. The nightgown has ridden up, exposing my thighs, and my stomach plummets with mortification. I place a hand on the armrest for leverage to stand, but he grabs my hand.
“I raised my concerns earlier with Lady Circi,” he says. “She has a team of security officers investigating what happened to Rafaela.”
My lips tighten. According to Berta’s gossip, this entire contest was a ploy to separate Prince Kevon from what the king and queen considered to be a promiscuous actress. It wouldn’t surprise me if the information Gemini’s father obtained for Queen Damascena was related to Rafaela von Eyck’s health monitor.
I can’t voice a word of this because the freedom of over two-hundred thousand Harvesters depends on my successful completion of this mission. Accusing Lady Circi is as good as accusing Prince Kevon’s mother.
A stray lock of blue-black hair swings down from his head and lands on the side of his nose. I smooth it behind his ear. “I didn’t see any of her movies, but she seemed like a really nice person. You must have loved her a lot.”
“She was my dearest friend,” he says.
“I thought you were…” My words trail off. The only thing I knew about Rafaela was what Berta told me.
“Rafaela preferred lovers of her own gender,” he says. “A society like ours frowns on those in relationships that won’t result in offspring. I let the public think we were together for her protection.”
“Oh.” My mind goes blank, and I flounder for words.
In Rugosa, every young person is expected to marry and reproduce. The Nobles reward married couples with extra water rations, which increase with each new birth. Any other lifestyle would mean less to drink.
“Is this the first time you’ve seen someone die?” I ask.
His brows draw together, and he squeezes his eyes shut. My chest tightens. It’s probably too soon to discuss such a painful subject, but I really don’t know how to handle the new revelation about Prince Kevon’s relationship with Rafaela.
Prince Kevon is nothing like I imagined. After having heard Berta’s gossip about how the king and queen commenced the trials to keep them apart, I’m shocked to discover that he was protecting her from persecution.
I gulp. That’s just so noble.
He meets my gaze with red-rimmed eyes. “When I apprenticed at the border, some people would arrive in such a weakened state that they didn’t survive longer than a few days. This is the first time I’ve seen an assassination.”
I nod. “Nobody deserves to die like that.”
Prince Kevon cups the side of my face, and for the first time, his touch is comforting. “And you?”
“There was a man in Rugosa.” My chest tightens to even think about Mr. Wintergreen. “He tried to stop a border guard from attacking a Harvester girl, and the guard killed him.”
His eyes widen, and his lips part. “When? Did the guard see you?”
“Seven years ago.” I release a long sigh, and tears prick the backs of my eyes. “I hid during the attack, but I wish I’d seen his face. I wish I’d done—”
Prince Kevon places a finger on my lips. “You were nine. That guard probably would have murdered you, too.” He wraps his arms around me, and I relax into his embrace. “I’m so sorry. If there’s anything I can do, just ask.”
I shake my head, and something deep within me loosens. That night when a twelve-year-old Ryce screamed at me for letting his father die, nobody pointed out that I’d been too young to do anything, and nobody had pointed out the risk I might have faced from attacking that guard. Of all the people to give me absolution for the biggest burden I’ve carried, I would never have expected it to come from Prince Kevon.
“It’s too late,” I murmur into his neck. “But I appreciate the offer.”
We sit so close that our heartbeats synchronize, and my breathing matches his. My mind drifts, and I wonder how different our lives would have been if Prince Kevon had been born in my Echelon.
He draws back and meets my gaze. “I’ll speak to someone about what we discussed earlier.”
My mind races through our conversations, but it keeps getting stuck between Rafaela’s body landing on the hood of the car and the electrical charge that caused her death.
“I’ll tell my mother I won’t participate in the Princess Trials unless she arranges a pardon for Gemini Pixel,” he says.
My lips part, and a breath catches in the back of my throat. “Did you change your mind because of Rafaela?”
He nods. “That girl doesn’t deserve execution.”
Joy surges through my chest. It’s bittersweet because it took the death of another girl to make him realize that lives were more important than rules. I wrap my arms around him and relax into his embrace. “Thank you.”
The door opens, and I scramble off his lap.
Lady Circi pokes her head into the room and scowls. “I told you to stay in your room.” She steps aside and opens the door for the queen. “Here he is.”
Queen Damascena sweeps into the room, clad in a peach trousers suit. Her gaze lands on me, and the tiniest tightening of her lips hint at disapproval.
I dip into a curtsey but don’t get very low as Lady Circi wraps her arm around my wrist and pulls me toward the door. “We need to talk.”
Chapter 19
My heart pounds as Lady Circi pulls me out of the room, down a windowless white hallway, and shoves me into an alcove.
A dozen paranoid thoughts race through my mind, most of them centered around accusing me of sowing the seeds of Rafaela’s death.
I steady my bare feet and hold one of the fighting stances I learned in the Red Runner training drills—feet apart, arms braced at my sides, fists ready to block and strike.
At around five-ten, the dark-skinned woman isn’t much taller
