She groans. “Before I got to go to college? The ultimate tragedy. Can you imagine?”
I don’t want to, but now that she’s sent my mind down this path, I can’t help it. “What if no one finds us?”
She sighs heavily. “Do you want a real answer, or do you want me to make you laugh?” Her eyes light up hopefully, and it’s obvious she’d rather not talk about the worst-case scenario.
“Pleasemake me laugh,” I beg.
She immediately brightens. “If we don’t get rescued, then you’ll have plenty of time to get in good with Victoria.”
“Why would I care about that?”
“Because if she likes you, and Theo likes you, maybe the Firm won’t give you such a hard time when we get to London.”
“Victoria does not like me.”
“Notyet.”
“If we don’t get rescued, my relationship with Theo is a nonissue.”
She raises her eyebrows. “If we don’t get rescued, we’ll needto start a new civilization, and your relationship with Theo will be one of theonlythings that matters.” She wiggles her eyebrows suggestively. “Almost everyone else here is related; repopulation will be your responsibility.”
Pain shoots through every muscle in my body as I laugh.
“Imagine if they rescue us in ten years after you’ve made a bunch of royal babies who all call you ‘Mum.’ The Firm wouldhaveto accept you after that.”
I laugh harder, too deliriously tired for this conversation. “I am not going to baby-trap the king of England!”
“Say that again when we’ve been here for a year without condoms or birth control,” she says before devolving into a fit of giggles.
“Stop! Laughing hurts too much!” I gasp. “It doesn’t matter whether Victoria likes me, because nothing is ever going to happen between Theo and me.”
“Hemarriedyou, Wren, and then he strong-armed the Firm into bringing you to London. He obviously plans to Stockholm-syndrome you into being his queen.”
“He really doesn’t.” There’s a difference between being in love with me (present tense) and not wanting me to drown. Maybe hedidlove me (past tense), but in the light of day, when the world isn’t falling apart around him, I’m barely a blip on his royal radar. His intentions were made crystal clear in the hotel hallway last night. In his mind, Iamjust a girl, and after this small detour in my life is over, Iwillbe going back to Chicago.
“Speak of the devil,” Naomi says as Theo approaches us. His lips are blue and he’s shaking violently, but he’s never looked happier.
I scramble to my feet in anticipation of good news. “What’d you find?”
He grins slowly, and I swear he’s drawing out the moment just to torture me.
“Tell me.”
“Or what?”
“I’ll push you off the cliff, Your Highness.”
He has the audacity to laugh. “I found a phone.”
My jaw falls open. “With service?”
“One bar.”
“What are we waiting for?”
“The battery is low. We might only get one chance at this. Do you want to be there when we try?”
Naomi shrieks and throws her arms around Theo before running toward the group. Theo sticks his hands in his pockets and rocks on his feet. “You ready to be rescued, Wheeler?”
