“She wasn’t supposed to be here!How come the guards let her walk right in?”My friend kept pacing, chewing on her bottom lip.“Double curses!”
“Won’t she keep quiet for Karim’s sake?”
Deidre groaned in frustration, making a mess of her braid.At least she stopped pacing and looked at me.“No way will she let this slide, Jasmine.The Princeanda she-elf both cavorting with a human?That will sound like an epidemic!The honorable reason behind Karim’s proposal to allow humans in the Kingdom will immediately be seen in a different light by the Queen.All he has worked for will be smeared.The two of us will get executed to serve as an example–Holy Gods, Katsia’s probably requesting an audience with the Queen as we speak.”And the pacing was on again.
“Deidre, there has to be something we can do.”I refused to give in to panic just yet.“Can’t we warn Karim?Maybe he can get to Katsia before she spills the beans and convince her to keep her mouth shut?Or he could speak to his half-sister before Katsia does?”
Deidre shook her head furiously.“I have no idea where he is.He shouldn’t be away from home at this crazy hour!”
“Are there many places he could be in the middle of the day?”There I was, the voice of reason.Who would believe it: me keeping it cool when the experienced warrior in the room was already losing it.
She stopped in her tracks.“The library!”Hope flashed in her eyes, only to be immediately replaced by fear.“Jasmine, what will I tell him?!That I screwed all of us over?After everything I was ready to do yesterday to prevent this very scenario?”If her face could become paler, I was sure it would at that moment.“His moss!I was on it without his permission!And the apples–”
“Deidre, I’m sure he’ll understand.It was but an innocent game of ours, and–”
“He’s going to flip.Not in a cute way.”
“We can’t just sit here and do nothing while that viper is spreading nasty rumors about us.Wemustwarn Karim.”
“Warn me of what?”
Deidre and I turned at the same time to the door, where the Prince stood in his long ivory dress, a questioning look on his face.
I was suddenly tongue-tied.Thankfully, Deidre burst into action, heading straight for him.
Wait, why did she walk past him?
“Jasmine will explain my screw-up,” she said in a rush over her shoulder.And just like that, Deidre was gone, leaving me speechless–and facing a frowning Karim.
– 17 –
Fallen
“What is it?Speak, Jasmine.”
My brain hadn’t even processed Deidre’s sneaky escape, let alone figured out how to break the bad news to Karim.
“Jasmine.”
“Maybe you should sit,” I mumbled.
His brow furrowed further, but he did sit on the stone steps leading to the sofa.That way, we were eye level–me still perched on the edge of the bed.
I cleared my throat.“Please promise you won’t get mad at Deidre.It wasn’t her fault.”
“Tell me what happened.”His voice was calm, but there was tension in his shoulders I’d learned to notice.He was bracing forsomething bad.
I took a deep breath.“Katsia happened.”
His eyes narrowed.“Katsia?In here?”
“She appeared out of nowhere like some creepy, evil spirit,” I blurted out.I was too wired from nerves to even joke.I didn’t know how Karim would react, and that made the situation worse.
He sighed.“She saw you and Deidre together in my home.”At my hesitant nod, he ran a hand over his face, framed by his loose hair.“I ordered the guards to let only Deidre and Tisvali in.They will be punished for this.”
“The guards are the least of our problems,” I muttered.I shifted uncomfortably in my place.“Katsia… She saw Deidre and me… on your moss.”
His face went blank for a second before his features hardened.
