The Crown (The Selection #5)(38)

Saying that out loud caused a little ping in my chest, too. Ean had been a safety net; and still, knowing the truth, I didn’t relish the idea of him going home.

“Thank you. For all of this.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Hale swept in and hugged me again before running off. I smiled, thinking that Hale and I were in very similar situations: charging headlong into the future with no guarantee of a happily ever after. All the same, it meant something that we ran, didn’t it?

I liked to think so.

The day had gone from wonderful to complicated very quickly, and by the end of it I was ready to bypass dinner and fall straight into bed. I pushed my door open, trying to hold on to the best parts of the day. Lady Brice saying I was wise. The press feeling hopeful. Hale’s smile before he ran out of the room.

“You know,” a deep voice said, “I think I might be your maid’s favorite.”

Kile was lounging on my bed, his arms comfortably crossed behind his head.

I laughed. “And why is that?”

“Because she was far too easy to bribe.”

“The least you could have done was take off your shoes.”

He made a face and slipped them off, then patted the space on the bed beside him.

I flopped down, looking incredibly unladylike. He rolled over, facing me, and I caught a glimpse of his fingers. “What in the world have you been doing today?”

“I spent the afternoon sketching with charcoals,” he answered, flipping his blackened hands over. “Don’t worry. They won’t rub off on your sheets. My fingers are just stained.”

“What’d you dream up?”

“I realize this might be overstepping boundaries, but I was thinking about the town hall, and I was wondering if it might be helpful to have things like that more often. I was redesigning one of the parlors into a permanent throne room, where you could receive people, hear individual petitions, and address them one-on-one. Something official but understated.”

“That’s really thoughtful.”

He shrugged. “I told you, I keep making things for you.”

The glimmer in his eyes was so boyish that for a moment I forgot we were on the verge of so many grown-up things.

“You also might want to think about setting up a radio station,” he commented.

“Ugh, why? The Reports are bad enough.”

“When I was taking classes in Fennley, my friends and I listened to the radio a lot. We would leave it on in the kitchen or while we worked, and any time we heard something interesting, we’d stop and listen and start our own discussion. It might be a good way for you to reach people. And it’s not quite as bad as having a camera in your face.”

“Interesting. I’ll think about it.” I touched the tips of his dirty fingers. “Did you work on anything else?”

He made a face. “Remember those little units I was talking about? I was trying to see if they could be built with an upstairs, for larger families. But looking at the materials I wanted to use, it doesn’t seem possible. The metal would be too thin. It would be helpful if I could actually build one and test it out. Maybe one day.”

I stared at him. “You know, Kile, princes rarely get their hands dirty.”

“I know.” He smiled. “It’s more something nice to think about than anything.” He shifted his weight and the conversation in one swift movement. “The papers looked good today.”

“Yeah. Now I just have to keep that momentum going. I have no idea how to re-create it though.”

“You don’t have to. Sometimes things just happen.”

“It would feel nice to not try to work at it all so much.” I yawned. Even a mostly good day was tiring.

“Do you want me to go so that you can get some rest?”

“Nah,” I said, settling in a little closer and rolling onto my back. “Can you stay here for a little while?”

“Sure.”

He held my hand, and we stared at the intricate painting on my ceiling.

“Eadlyn?”

“Yeah.”

“You okay?”

“Yeah. I feel like I’d be doing better if I could go slower, but everything has to be now, now, now.”

“You could push the coronation back. Stay regent for a while. It’s practically the same thing.”

“I know, but it doesn’t feel the same. My dad was doing okay with me as regent, but even in the short time since we set a date for the coronation, he’s been much better. I know it’s all mental, but if it helps him sleep, which helps him with Mom, which helps her get better …”

“I see what you’re saying. But what else? You’re not rushing through the Selection, are you?”

“Not on purpose. It seems to be thinning itself out for me.”

“What do you mean?”

I sighed. “I can’t really say now. Maybe once everything’s settled.”

“You can trust me.”

“I know.” I leaned my head into his shoulder. “Kile?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you remember our first kiss?”

“How could I forget? It was printed on the front of every newspaper.”

“No, not that one. Our first first kiss.”