Page 36 (1/2)

"You’re more interested in my betrothed than I am," she says "His cheekbones--Honestly" She takes the lantern from her brother and pushes me toward the door For the first tiht me here, but it’s all I’m able to see on the way to and fro na water and is littleabout the prince being attracted to his sister’s betrothed Could the decision ? Is his own betrothed not appealing to him? Is he irrational? The prince isn’t the first to be attracted to his own gender; although it isn’t talked about, I reery purported to treat this kind of attraction Even before Alice’s forced termination procedure, there were elements of medicine that he despised

"Oh, your wrists are so red," the princess says as she’s guiding me back to my prison "The till do that, I suppose"

I say nothing I can hear footfalls aboveabout their business, believing I’’s sour practices, the corruption in his reign, and the absurdity of his children

All of it leaves an ache inThe princess doesn’t appear to be armed But my hands are still tied, and I can’t leave Pen besides

My only hope is that Judas saw us being taken And even if he doesn’t care enough to pursue us himself, he’ll tell Basil Basil will co the rest of his life alone I would try to save hih I’d be sour that he left , without so much as a note of explanation, which is what I did to hi back, it’s all a haze of grief that overtook ic as far away as a beige patch of the ground

The princess stops us walking She holds the lantern up between us, and she looks at me with the eyes of all the princesses and queens in the history book Eyes as old as Judas the Hero and Micah’s boat of stars She is ancient and profound, and she has Intern in an attempt to understand

She looks atfor some sort of answer she’ll never have

"You can tell me," she whispers "What does the machine look like? Smell like?"

"Smell?" I say

"I want a full sensory experience," she says "I iine it smells like freshly printed paper and old coins"

It sh old coins isn’t inaccurate But I don’t tell her this

"There is noto your friend, you said ‘I wasn’t even supposed to come out’ Why would you have said that if you hadn’t been hiding in the eneral," I say "It wasn’t safe for me to be outside, and clearly we can both see why"

She truly doesn’t understand She spends her life hidden away in this toith her private instructors and her plum uniform and her braided crown Her mother and father are alive I hate her for that I hate her in a way no princess in a tower can ever understand

"There is no machine," I repeat She can rot here

The hope hasn’t left her face I don’t knohat it will take to kill it, but if I’ to be trapped here, I’ll have time to think up ways

The door opens and the prince says, "What is taking so long?" He’s still angry about his sister’s jab

I slu our captors hear the rurapes

If we refuse to eat,us go so we don’t starve to death Though, given their oblivion, it isn’t likely they’ll notice

The clock begins its set of ten chimes "We should just kill the blond one," the prince says, perhaps thinking on’t hear him over the noise

"Don’t be a dolt," the princess says "She , too"

Pen leans closer toto kill me," she whispers, "I wish they’d be quicker about it"

"Don’t say that"

The prince h Pen’s tactic has been to appear unfazed, this is more than I can stand

"There is a

The duo looks at me, stunned

"I’ve seen it, that’s true I’ve ridden in it I’ve been to the ground and back"

The prince is the first to break his hopeful gaze He narrows his eyes "Ione"

"Half a dozen trips, at least," Pen says, playing along "I can’t believe it’s gone on under your noses and you never suspected a thing I’d have thought you’d be more clever than that"

"We’re clever," the prince snaps