The Princess Trials (The Princess Trials #1)(37)
Byron gives Prunella a knowing wink. “There’s one more change that will delight our viewers.”
Prunella bounces on the balls of her feet. “His Excellency has agreed to supply Phangloria’s hospitals with a year’s supply of medicines in exchange for giving twelve Amstraadi beauties the chance to compete for the hand of Prince Kevon.”
The assistants around the room applaud. Some of them turn to us and raise their palms in a motion encouraging us to do the same. We all ignore her. If there are thirty places at the palace, adding the twelve Amstraadi means that two or three from each Echelon will have to go home. It’s a massive disappointment considering everything we’ve endured to get here.
“Will our foreign guests join us for the palace round?” asks Byron with far too much enthusiasm.
“Would you like to meet them?” Prunella replies.
He turns to the camera with wide eyes and an exaggerated gasp. “Are they here already?”
“They certainly are.” Prunella beckons at the camera. “Come in, ladies!”
A door behind us opens, and a statuesque girl with ebony skin and bleached blonde curls walks out. She’s wearing the same jumpsuits as us, except she fills hers even better than the Nobles. Behind her is a pale blonde with platinum hair, and behind her is a girl with similar skin but red hair and freckles.
“They’ve brought every color of the rainbow,” mutters Berta.
She’s not joking. The girls represent every possible shade of skin, and two of them resemble Nobles with their blue-black hair. I chew on the inside of my cheek. They must have pre-arranged this surprise entry because it doesn’t seem possible to arrange extra outfits and this interim building overnight.
I drum my fingers on the table, watching the procession of beauties march down the room. The Amstraad Republic is at the far north-west of the continent, four-thousand miles from Phangloria. Even with the best solar vehicles, it would take them nearly a month to travel to us in the south-east.
Behind them walks Lady Circi wearing her usual black catsuit and a scowl more ferocious than her firearms. Somehow, I don’t think she was informed of the new arrangements. I turn around to see if Queen Damascena or Ambassador Pascal will join us, but they are conveniently absent.
The cameras follow the Amstraadi girls, who form a line at the top of the room and smile winningly for the camera. Afterward, they lower themselves into the seats at the front tables.
“Welcome, honored guests,” says Prunella with a tight grin. “Ladies, please stand for the young gentleman who has captured our hearts, Prince Kevon of Phangloria!”
Another set of doors opens, and Garrett walks through, wearing black civilian clothes. His blue-black hair is slicked back, much like how Prince Kevon styled his hair in the clip they showed of him with King Arias.
I suck in a sharp breath. Garrett can’t be the prince. He’s far too annoying.
He holds the door open, and another young man walks in. Everything about him is familiar, except he’s not the Prince Kevon I saw on OasisVision. I have to blink to focus. He has the blue-black hair of a Noble and dark eyes, but his features belong to someone else: Sergeant Silver.
My stomach drops.
Sergeant Silver is Prince Kevon.
He’s the guard who heard me talk about wanting to be with Ryce as he leads the country. He’s also the guard who told me that Prince Kevon was a lucky man to have a committed admirer.
Prince Kevon pauses at the door and surveys the room. For a moment, our eyes meet, and he raises his brows. I drop my gaze and realize I’m the only person in the room not applauding.
As he walks down the side of the room, I clap louder to compensate for my indiscretion. I might be here as entertainment, but I can’t get eliminated in this interim round. Bucking bronco or not, I will have to play my part until I reach the palace and start my mission.
Garrett trails behind Prince Kevon. From the black holsters camouflaged around his outfit, he’s some kind of bodyguard. All that talk about wanting to become a doctor had been horse manure he had dredged up to impress Forelle.
I’m almost glad my friend has returned to Rugosa. At least she’s away from the clutches of yet another guard.
Prince Kevon stands at the podium and gives a welcoming speech. I can’t hear a word of it because my pulse beats like a war drum and muffles everything but the blood roaring through my ears. Of all the underhanded tactics…
A laugh forces its way out of my chest. Why am I being such a hypocrite? I came here to destroy the monarchy, not to marry it. By the time I’m through with these people, romance will be the least of their problems.
Chapter 11
At the end of his speech, Prince Kevon steps down from the podium to another round of applause. The cameras point to the tables, and this time, I force a smile and clap along with the girls.
Even though we have plans in place to topple the monarchy, I’m kicking myself for not noticing Prince Kevon earlier. I’m also kicking myself for all the time I spent ignoring Garrett when I could have gathered valuable information for the Red Runners.
The muscles in my face ache from being so fake, but I stretch my grin wider, hoping it doesn’t look like a pained grimace on camera. My mind skips back to every interaction I had with the supposed guards, but I can’t remember having said anything incriminating.