“Subject Solar’s heart rate is within optimal ranges,” a female voice says in my ear. “The truth serum is in effect.”
A bolt of alarm slices through my veneer of calm, and I straighten from my slumped position. Emmera says something, but I tune her out. Mouse is letting me listen to Vitelotte’s interrogation.
Lady Circi asks Vitelotte a series of routine questions, such as her name, age, family, and work history. The responses come in a slow monotone. I chew on the inside of my lip and stare at my fingers, waiting to see what she will say about Carolina and the Red Runners.
“What happened to Berta Ridgeback?” asks a male voice.
“She drowned,” says Vitelotte in that droning voice.
“Did you see her die?”
“No.”
Someone huffs. “You need to be more specific.” Lady Circi sounds impatient, making me wonder if this truth serum has a time limit. “What was Miss Ridgeback doing the last time you saw her?”
“She left the coach to chase after Zea-Mays Calico.”
“Why?” asks the male voice, who I’m sure is Berta’s father.
I hold my breath, hoping Vitelotte doesn’t implicate me in Berta’s death.
“Ingrid Strab said that anyone who killed Zea-Mays Calico would become her lady-at-arms when she married Prince Kevon.”
My stomach drops. She’s just given them my motive for killing Berta: self-defense.
“Hey, Zea?” Emmera shouts.
I raise my head and meet the other girl’s annoyed features. “What?”
“Are you sleeping?”
Lowering my upper body to the floor, I curl into a comfortable sleeping position and face the empty cell. “I’m trying.”
After that, Emmera leaves me alone, and the subject moves to the stabbing of Prince Kevon. Vitelotte answers a series of questions posed by Lady Circi and by a different male voice, and she reveals that she hadn’t joined the Princess Trials as an assassin but as a spy.
“What was your mission?” asks Lady Circi.
“To find a hidden entrance to the palace.”
I inhale a sharp breath through my nostrils. Earlier, when I speculated that Vitelotte was a Red Runner, I hadn’t completely believed it. My mind generated a scenario brought on by hunger, thirst, and abandonment. Deep down, I hoped Vitelotte hadn’t been telling the truth about Ryce being put in charge of a group of lost causes and that Carolina hadn’t asked me to join the Princess Trials as an afterthought.
The earring goes silent. I’m sure nobody is speaking because they realize the production assistants have transported us through numerous hallways. By now, Vitelotte would have found several ways to get into the palace.
“How were you supposed to communicate these hidden entrances?” Lady Circi asks.
“There’s an application on my Netphone,” Vitelotte replies.
Lady Circi orders someone in the interrogation room to scour Vitelotte’s suite. My heart thunders. What happened to the watch Ryce delivered through Sharqi? I’m sure I put it in my boot, but I haven’t seen any of the garments I wore in the previous round of the Trials.
I force deep, calming breaths in and out of my nostrils and try to focus on the rest of the interrogation.
“Who received this information?” Lady Circi.
Vitelotte doesn’t reply, and my breaths go shallow. The rebel’s dilemma doesn’t work in a situation like this because she stabbed Prince Kevon in front of cameras and witnesses. However, Vitelotte can’t be more than eighteen, and they might be lenient on her if she hands them information on the Red Runners.
Lady Circi repeats the question with more force.
“I gave the interview to Ryce Wintergreen,” replies Vitelotte.
My eyes snap open, and I inhale a noisy gasp.
“And the name of your group?” asks Lady Circi.
Vitelotte pauses before replying, “There’s just me and Ryce.”
I roll onto my back and stare at the ceiling. The bright lights sting my retinas, and when I shift them away, floaters appear before my eyes. Vitelotte’s confession makes no sense.
My brows draw together. What if Mouse put something in her water that allows her to conceal the truth? But I don’t understand why Mouse would protect her when she’s clearly guilty. If they’re allies, why did she point out Ryce in the farmers market and suggest he was lower than a corn snake?
Over the next few minutes, Vitelotte explains a story similar to mine. She fell in love with a boy she met in Rugosa, who offered her a future in exchange for joining the Princess Trials and finding a route into the palace.
“What was the point of gaining access to the royal family?” asks Lady Circi.
“We wanted to take some souvenirs to sell,” Vitelotte drones. “The money would help us leave the Harvester Region and become Artisans.”
I bite down on my lip, wondering if anyone’s going to believe such a ridiculous tale. They might if they’re anything like Berta, who always called me a bumpkin and implied I was stupid. I might be upset that Carolina and Ryce aren’t the heroes that I imagined, but I don’t want the Red Runners hurt.
The earring’s sound cuts out for a few seconds, and I clasp my hands over my roiling stomach. Mouse is either toying with me or trying to get me killed. That water bottle did contain an antidote, but he gave it to Vitelotte. The only reason she’s not staying silent is that they will work out what’s happened and give her another drug.
My throat spasms. Maybe Mouse thinks I’m as innocent as Emmera and don’t need any protection or maybe my confession will be a surprise twist in the show he’ll import back to his republic?
I stare into Vitelotte’s empty cell until my vision turns double. When they drag me in for my interrogation, the serum will make me betray the Red Runners and get everyone executed.
The sound returns and Vitelotte explains the details of the robbery she supposedly planned with Ryce. Lady Circi and the other interrogator’s voices become less tense. It’s as though they believe that Vitelotte is just a thief.
“Why did you stab the prince?” asks a voice.
Something sharp pierces my earlobe, making me curl into a ball. My pained hiss drowns
