The Heir

  “Henri emigrated to Illéa last year when he was seventeen. He comes from a family of cooks, which is what he does back home. They make food from their homeland and generally interact with others who also came from Swendway and only speak Finnish. He has a younger sister who is working very hard on her English, but it’s a difficult language.”

  “Wow. That was a lot to keep up with,” I said to Erik.

  He waved his hand. “I try.”

  I could guess how hard Erik’s work was, but I appreciated his modesty. I turned to Henri. “We’ll have to spend some time together soon. Where we can talk easier.”

  Erik passed that on to Henri, who nodded vigorously. “Yes, yes!”

  I giggled. “Until then.”

  The lawn was full of the Selected. General Leger had Miss Lucy on his arm as he spoke with a handful of boys by a fountain, and Dad was making his rounds, occasionally clapping someone on the back and saying hello before whisking off again. Mom was sitting in a chair under a parasol, and I wasn’t sure if it was charming or unsettling that several of the Selected were buzzing around her.

  It was a delightful party. People were playing games, there was lots of food, and a string quartet was performing under a canopy. The cameras zoomed around capturing it all, and I hoped this would be enough to calm the people. I had no idea whether Dad was closer to having a plan for how to soothe the country permanently.

  In the meantime, I had to find a way to eliminate at least one person after today, and have a good enough reason to make it seem believable.

  Kile sneaked up on me. “Here you go.” He held my tiara in his hands.

  “I can’t believe she gave it up.”

  “It took some convincing, but I reminded her that if she made a scene at this event, Mom probably wouldn’t let her come to another one. That was enough to get her to take it off. So here.”

  “I can’t take it,” I said, keeping my hands together.

  “But you just asked for it,” he complained.

  “I don’t want it on her, but I also can’t carry it around. I have things to do.”

  He shifted his weight, clearly vexed. It was kind of nice to be on this side of the irritating.

  “So, what, I have to hold on to it for the rest of the day?”

  “Not the whole day. Just until we go inside, and then I can take it.”

  Kile shook his head. “You’re really unbelievable.”

  “Hush. Go enjoy the party. But first, wait, we have to take off this tie.”

  He looked down as I started tugging. “What’s wrong with my tie?”

  “Everything,” I said. “Everything in the universe is wrong with this tie. I bet we could find world peace if we burned it.”

  I got it unknotted and wrapped it up in my hand.

  “That’s so much better.” I placed the wadded fabric in his palm, grabbed the tiara from his other hand, and placed it on his head. “That really works with your hair.”

  He smirked, his eyes staring into mine with amusement. “So, since you don’t want your tiara now, maybe I could give it back to you tonight. I could come by your room, if you like.” Kile bit his lip, and all I could think about was how soft they were.

  I swallowed, understanding the unspoken question. “That would be fine,” I answered, fighting a blush. “Maybe around nine?”

  “Nine.” Kile nodded and backed away.

  So he was just being discreet on the Report! I furrowed my brow in thought. Or maybe he was simply planning to pass his time kissing me. Or maybe he’d been deeply in love with me since he was seven and was only now finding the courage to stop teasing me and say so. Or maybe—

  Ean walked up and laced his arm through mine.

  “Oh!” I gasped.

  “You look upset. Whatever that little boy said to upset you, don’t give it another thought.”

  “Sir Ean,” I greeted, impressed with how calm he was around me. “How can I help you?”

  “By taking a walk with me, of course. I still haven’t gotten a chance to speak with you just the two of us.”

  Ean’s caramel-colored hair looked almost golden in the sun, and while he didn’t have the same cutting-edge style Hale did, he looked smarter in his suit than most of the others. Some men simply didn’t look good in them.

  “Well, you have me alone now. What would you like to talk about?”

  He smirked. “Mostly, I’m curious about you. I’ve always thought of you as very independent, so I was surprised that you would start looking for a husband so young. Based on seeing you on the Report and all the specials on your family, I thought you’d take your time.”

  He knew. He was so calm in his assessment, I was sure he knew this was all for show.

  “It’s true; I’d planned to wait. But my parents are so blissfully in love, I thought this might be worth trying.”

  Ean examined me. “Do you feel like any one of these candidates truly has what it takes to be your partner?”

  I raised my eyebrows. “Do you think so little of yourself?”

  He stopped walking, and we faced each other. “No, but I think very highly of you. And I can’t see you deigning to settle before you’ve really lived.”

  It seemed impossible that a stranger could see so much, especially considering the lengths I took to guard my thoughts and feelings. How closely had Ean been watching me all these years?

  “People can change,” I replied vaguely.

  He nodded. “They can, I suppose. But if you ever find yourself feeling . . . lost in this competition, I’d be happy to help you in any way I could.”

  “And how exactly would you help me?”

  Ean gently escorted me back toward the crowd. “I think that’s a conversation for another day. But know that I am here for you, Your Highness.”

  He stared deep into my eyes, as if he thought that all my secrets would spill out if he held my gaze long enough. I found myself needing to take some deep breaths once we finally broke eye contact.

  “It’s a lovely day.”

  I looked up, and one of the Selected was standing there. I was completely blanking on his name.

  “Yes, it is. Are you having a good time?” Oh, please, what was his name?

  “I am.” He had a very friendly face and a pleasant warmth to his voice. “I just won a round of croquet. Do you play?”

  “A little.” How was I going to figure this out? “Do you play a lot back home?”

  “Nah. Not really. Up in Whites, it’s mostly winter sports.”

  Whites! . . . Nope, still didn’t have it.

  “If I’m honest, I’m a bit more of an indoor girl.”

  “Well, then you’d love Whites,” he said with a laugh. “I only get out when I have to.”

  “Excuse me.”

  Whites Boy and I turned to the newcomer. This one I knew.

  “I’m sorry, Your Highness, but I was hoping I could steal you away for a moment.”

  “Certainly, Holden.” I took his arm. “Nice talking to you,” I said to Whites Boy, who looked a bit forlorn.

  “I hope that wasn’t too rude of me,” Holden said as we wandered away.

  “Not at all.”

  We moved slowly, and he seemed comfortable, like he’d walked with a princess dozens of times.

  “I don’t want to keep you. I only wanted to tell you that I admired the way you cut people last week.”

  I was taken aback. “Really?”

  “Absolutely! I admire a woman who knows what she wants, and I like that you’re assertive. My mother is the head of a lab back in Bankston. I know how hard it is to run something that small, so the pressure you must be under is hard for me to imagine. But you do it well, and I like that. I just wanted you to know.”

  I stepped back. “Thank you, Holden.” He nodded, and I walked away, lost in thought.

  This entire situation only confirmed what I knew to be true: If I came in sweet and gentle, no one would take me seriously. If I had kindly tapped people on the s
houlder and hugged them on their way out, would Holden have admired me less? The whole thing was—

  “Oh!” I fell to the side, only missing the ground because of a pair of steady arms.

  “Your Highness.” Hale clutched my arms, helping to pull me up. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t see you.”

  I heard the click of a camera nearby and pushed my cheeks up into a smile.

  “Laugh,” I said through my teeth.

  “Huh?”

  “Help me up and laugh it off.” I giggled, and after a moment Hale gave a few chuckles.

  “What was that about?” He kept the smile on his face.

  I straightened my dress as I explained. “The camera crews are watching.”

  He glanced to the side.

  “Don’t,” I urged, and he faced me again.

  “Yikes. Are you always on the lookout like that?”

  This time my laugh was genuine. “Basically.”

  His smiled faded. “Is that why you ran away the other night?”

  My face became serious as well. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t feeling well.”

  “First you run, and then you lie.” He shook his head, disappointed.

  “No.”

  “Eadlyn,” he whispered. “That wasn’t easy for me. I don’t like talking about my dad dying or my mom having a hard time keeping a job or my family losing our status. That was difficult for me to share. And when we started really talking about you, you left me.”

  That prickling, naked feeling came over me again.

  “I sincerely apologize, Hale.”

  He studied my face. “I don’t think you mean that.” I swallowed, nervous. “But I like you all the same.”

  I looked up at him, mesmerized by that possibility.

  “When you’re ready to talk—to really talk—I’ll be here. Unless, of course, you come in and ninja eliminate me like you did those other guys.”

  I laughed awkwardly. “I don’t think that’ll happen again.”

  “I hope not.” Hale stared, and I didn’t like that his eyes felt like they could dig several layers beneath my skin. “Glad your dress didn’t get stained. Would have been a pity.”

  He went to leave, but I grabbed his arm. “Hey. Thank you. For being reserved on the Report.”

  He grinned. “Something every day, remember?”

  CHAPTER 18

  “ALL RIGHT, YOUR HIGHNESS, WHENEVER you’re ready.”

  The makeup girl did a last check, and I corrected my posture, reviewing the names in my head. I nodded, and the light on the camera turned red, telling me we were filming.

  “You’ve seen the extravagant tea party, you heard about the delicious food, and you saw all the breathtaking fashion; but who did you think should be eliminated?

  “Yes, Sir Kile looked somewhat less than manly in my tiara, and Sir Hale nearly swept me off my feet . . . in a bad way,” I concluded with a grin. “But, after much deliberation, the two Selected leaving us today are Kesley Timber from Whites and Holden Messenger from Bankston.

  “How is your favorite doing? Dying to learn more about the remaining contestants? Hungry for more Selection-related news? Tune in to the Report each Friday night for updates from me and the gentlemen themselves, and don’t forget to look out for exclusive programs dedicated to the Selection exclusively on the Public Access Channel.”

  I held my smile a few seconds longer.

  “Cut!” the director called. “Excellent. Sounded perfect to me, but let’s do one more for good measure.”

  “Sure. When will this go out?”

  “They’ll edit all the footage from this afternoon’s party tonight and get it on air tomorrow, so this should be out on Monday.”

  I nodded. “Great. One more time?”

  “Yes, Your Highness, if you don’t mind.”

  I swallowed and went over my speech again before pulling myself up into the exact same pose.

  At ten past nine I heard the knock on my door, and I skipped over to answer it. Kile was there, leaning against the doorframe, tiara in hand.

  “I heard you were missing this,” he said jokingly.

  “Come in, loser.”

  He passed through the doorway, looking around again as if I redecorated my room daily. “So am I getting cut yet?”

  I grinned. “No, it’s Kesley and Holden. Don’t let that spill though. I can’t send them away until after the garden party airs.”

  “That won’t be a problem. Neither of them really speaks to me anyway.”

  “No?” I asked as he handed me my tiara.

  “I’ve heard they thought me being a part of the Selection was unfair. And then seeing our kiss plastered everywhere sealed that opinion.”

  I placed the tiara on the shelf with the others. “Made a good call then, didn’t I?”

  He chuckled. “Oh, I brought you another present.”

  “I love presents!”

  “You’ll hate this one, trust me.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out that spectacular disaster of a tie.

  “I figured if you were having a bad day, you could take it to the garden and burn it. Get your aggression out on something that won’t cry. Unlike Leeland.”

  “I wasn’t trying to make him cry.”

  “Sure you weren’t.”

  I smiled, taking the wound-up fabric from his hand. “I actually really like this present. It assures me that no human will be forced to wear it ever again.”

  Looking over at him, at his hitched-up smile, I was able to push away everything for a minute. It felt like the Selection wasn’t even happening just then. I was a girl with a boy. And I knew what I wanted to do with that boy.

  I dropped the tie on the floor and put a hand on his chest. “Kile Woodwork, do you want to kiss me?”

  He let out a whistle. “Not shy at all, are you?”

  “Stop it. Yes or no?”

  He pursed his lips, pretending to think it over. “I wouldn’t mind it.”

  “And you understand that me kissing you doesn’t mean I actually like you and that I would never, ever marry you?”

  “Thank goodness.”

  “Right answer.”

  I wrapped my hand around his head, pulling him to me, and an instant later his arms were around my waist. It was the perfect balm for a long day. Kile’s kisses were direct and slow, and he made it impossible for me to think about much else.

  We toppled onto the bed, holding each other as we laughed.

  “Of all the things I thought would happen when my name was called, I never dreamed I’d ever kiss you.”

  “I never dreamed you’d be good at it.”

  “Hey,” he said, “I’ve had a bit of practice.”

  I propped myself up on my elbow. “Who was your last kiss?”

  “Caterina. When the Italian family visited in August, right before I left.”

  “That doesn’t surprise me at all.”

  Kile shrugged, not ashamed in the slightest. “What can I say? They’re very friendly.”

  “Friendly,” I repeated, rolling my eyes. “That’s one word for it.”

  He chuckled. “What about you?”

  “Ask Ahren. Apparently everyone already knows.”

  “Leron Troyes?”

  “How did you find out?”

  We lay there, laughing so much we were nearly crying. I played with a button on his shirt, and he twirled a piece of my hair between kisses, and the world shrank to just the two of us.

  “I’ve never seen you like this,” he commented. “I didn’t know it could be so easy to make you smile.”

  “It’s not. You must be in rare form today.”

  Kile wrapped an arm around me and placed his face inches from mine. “How are you feeling? I know this has got to be a crazy time for you.”

  “Don’t,” I whispered.

  “Don’t what?”

  “Don’t ruin this. I like having you here, but I’m not in need of a soul mate. You can be quiet and go back to kissing me, or you can le
ave.”

  He rolled onto his back, silent for a few minutes. “Sorry. I just wanted to talk.”

  “And you can. But not about you, not about me, and definitely not about you and me together.”

  “But it seems like you must be lonely. How in the world do you deal with all this?”

  I huffed, standing and pulling him to his feet. “If I need advice, I talk to my parents. If I need a friendly ear, I have Ahren. You were helping for a minute, and then you had to start with the questions.”

  I turned him around and pushed him toward the door. “Do you realize how unhealthy that is?” he asked

  “Are you the model of adult behavior? You can’t even get your mother to cut the apron strings.”

  Kile rounded back, staring me down. I was sure his anger was reflected in my face. I waited for him to scold me again, as he’d done a thousand times growing up. But his eyes softened, and before I knew it, his hand was at the base of my neck, pulling me to him.

  He crushed his lips to mine, and I simultaneously hated and adored him for it. All I could think of was the way his mouth moved and how I seemed so fragile in his hands. The passion slowed, until the kisses were so soft they tickled.

  When Kile finally pulled away, he kept his fingers teasingly close to my hair, rubbing the skin absentmindedly.

  “You are so spoiled, and you are so obnoxious . . . but I’m here.” With a final kiss, he opened the door and left.

  I gazed around my room, dizzy with confusion. Why was he trying to get me to open up when he clearly couldn’t stand me? And I didn’t like him either! Sometimes he could be just as bratty as Josie.

  I went toward my closet to get ready for bed and saw his ugly tie on the floor. I’d be doing everyone a favor if I threw it away now.

  Maybe I would set it on fire the next time I was having a particularly wretched day. For now I tucked it into a drawer.

  My thoughts the next morning were a mess. I kept wondering what Kile’s goal was last night. And I couldn’t shake off how it made me feel similar to when Hale asked too many questions. They were such different people with vastly different understandings of me, yet they’d both quickly figured out how to make me back away. Would all the boys be like that? Was that something they all knew how to do?

  “Neena?” I pulled the brush through my hair, trying to tame it as my maid walked behind me in the steam-filled bathroom, picking up the pajamas I’d left on the floor.