My hands sting. I curl my fingers toward my palm repeatedly, pumping my fists, attempting to alleviate the burn from the thorn scratches that cross my skin. There’s nothing to be done for the guilt eating away at my insides, though. It slices through me like a whip.
Had I not been elevated to this new station, Mr. Levine would be tending his shop this minute. The Force wouldn’t have been made aware of his actions if I hadn’t come to him for aid. I bow my head, wondering if there’s anything that will alleviate the shame I feel. There isn’t.
As Devlan leads me toward the lake, I stagger to a stop. A white bird lies dead before me, its wing broken. “That’s the second one I’ve seen.” I glance to the sky.
Devlan stands beside me and looks down at the bird. “A cleanup crew is needed,” he says into his silver communicator. “A bird—near the front of the lake.” He slides the device into his vest, then escorts me to the other side of the bank.
The wind ripples the surface of the lake, and I settle on the spongy grass. Where does the breeze come from? Is there a person somewhere in the castle pushing a button because a monitor says “cue pond ripple”? I laugh hollowly.
“Something amusing?” Devlan asks, unrolling a wad of gauze he took from the training grounds’ armory before bringing me here.
I take a labored breath, and try to quell the hysteria coursing through my system. I’m exhausted and angry and afraid, and all I want is to free my father and get the hell away. Instead of trying to explain this, I say, “Of course not. What could be amusing today?”
Settling down before me in the grass, he stretches out the gauze. “Let me see your hands.” I hold them out, and he gently wraps the thin material around each one, his head bent low. “When you’re asked”—his eyes flick to my face briefly—“you wanted to take some roses from the garden to your bed chamber, but you were impatient and didn’t use pruning shears.”
I crane an eyebrow. “You sound as if you’ve had practice inventing stories.” He turns his head away, and I study the side of his face. Stubble casts a slight shadow along the otherwise-smooth skin of his chin and jaw. “Sir Devlan, what was your station as first knight?”
He tucks the ends of the bandages in and places my hands in my lap, then looks at the ground and runs his hand along the grass. He finds a rock, stands, and shucks the stone out, skipping it across the top of the water. My chest tightens as I await his response.
In this moment, I miss Hadley’s constant chatter. My heart constricts, and I wonder whether she misses me, too.
“You know, Sir Devlan. Many women might find the quiet type endearing,” I say. “I admit, a man of few words has an attractive quality.” His head turns toward me. “But seeing how you’re one of the few people I have to converse with, your lack of conversational skills can be obnoxious.”
Taking two quick strides toward me, he stops a few inches from my crossed ankles and squats, balancing on the balls of his feet. His pale eyes shift into a darker blue, reflecting the lake. “Then I suppose I’ll have to remedy that,” he says, “considering His Highness has just assigned me as your personal guard.” His eyes take in my stricken features and I swallow. “Wouldn’t want to displease my charge, would I?”
“What—why? You’re the first knight. Surely there’s something more important Sebastian needs of you rather than being my watch dog.”
“I agree.”
Stunned, I part my lips to speak but nothing comes out. He presses on. “I was the knight commander. And as such, my duties were to train and command knights in combat and protect the king. But, since there is no war, no lands to conquer, I suppose after what happened in the arcade, the prince feels you’re the most valuable of his possessions in need of protection.”
His words weigh down on my shoulders like lead, sinking me farther into this cage. “Well, you have the possession part right.” I turn my gaze from his, looking to the water. A moment passes, and Devlan stands, putting distance between us.
Another wave of guilt washes over me. I’ve now had the knight commander demoted to a sitter. My sitter.
“I can be unseen,” Devlan says. “If that makes it easier for you.”
“Nay. That’s not necessary.” And not in my favor. He’s going to be watching me closer now. Not knowing his whereabouts would make running away more difficult than it already is.
Mayhap I’ve been going about this wrong. What if I should become the most undesirable girl in all of Karm? Would Sebastian still want to spend the rest of his life with a wife bent on making him miserable? He may show me past the castle gate himself. A smile twitches at my lips until I remember Mr. Levine’s cries. This is not a game.
Sebastian is prepared to take on that challenge, just as Madity claimed. His ego at breakfast verified my first assumptions of the vain prince. If he doesn’t put me in the torture device, then my actions may only succeed in making him want me more. The one girl who doesn’t fall all over herself to be near him. As Devlan put it, there’s no great war, no lands to conquer. Sebastian’s greatest conquest will be my affections.
Devlan interrupts my brooding as he kneels on one knee before me. “Princess,” he says, and glances toward the tree branches before continuing. “This is the one place in Court where the wind disrupts the amplifiers.”
“The listening devices?”
He nods. “I must tell you that your father is gone.”
“I know,” I say. “I watched—”
“No. He’s truly gone.” Lacing his fingers together, he cups his knee, straightens his back. “The Virus took him during the night. He was incinerated this morning.”
My heart plummets past my stomach. The nausea returns with renewed vengeance, and I gag, my swollen throat biting back the rising bile. Tears burn my eyes, then fall freely, scorching a hot path down my face. I wrap my arms around my stomach and rock.
I force myself to hold still. My body trembles with the restraint.
I must stay composed. I must stay composed. I repeat this mantra because the Eyes are watching.