“Redacted,” he says sourly.
“What does that mean?”
“My best guess is that the press had a different story that she didn’t want to go public. Her marriage with my dad was falling apart anyway, so she offered him on a silver platter instead.”
We follow a bend in the stream that takes us to the mouth of a large waterfall. The trees have opened up, letting moonlight glimmer off the pounding water. It’s jaw-dropping, but after Theo’s revelation, I don’t feel a thing except heartache.
He turns to me. “You said that maybe Reggie will change his mind about letting Victoria get sick. This is how I know he won’t. These people will do anything in the name of protecting the Crown.” His voice is hollow, and the truth is awful, and there’s nothing else for either of us to say.
He threads his fingers through mine and I lean my head on his shoulder until we’re soaked with the spray of the waterfall. I feel almost sick with nostalgia, wishing we could go back to the Eiffel Tower or the beach in Amorgos. I mentally add “enchanted misty forest” to the list of locations where I’ve loved Theo, and I can’t help but wonder how few places I have left.
“You ready to go back?” he asks.
I’m not, but I nod wordlessly anyway.
CHAPTER19
DAYS ON THE ISLAND:TWO
I wake up at dawn and am not lucky enough to have even a second of groggy confusion. I know exactly where I am, because even in my sleep, it was impossible to forget the scratchy moss under my cheek or the stitches tugging at my itchy skin.
I’ve never been this filthy or sore or exhausted in my life, so of course it’s the perfect time for a sharp cramp attack. I curl into a ball while I wait for the pain to pass. Mercifully, it’s just from hunger. (But also, I didn’t know it was possible to bethishungry.)
Comet nudges my side with his snout. “Hey, boy.” He nudges me again and whines.
Victoria, Winston, Henry, and Naomi are asleep around the dying fire. My eyes sweep over Victoria, who looks okay, as far as I can tell, though I’m not sure what symptoms I should be looking for.
Brooke is lying on her back with her eyes open, a look of intense concentration on her face.
“Help me get Comet a drink,” I whisper. She pours waterinto my cupped hands and Comet quickly laps it up. “What were you thinking about?” I ask as we repeat the process.
“I was retaking the LSAT in my head. I think I could have gotten a higher score than 178.”
I shudder, remembering the stressful month when Brooke locked herself in her bedroom while she studied for the law school entrance exam and cried a lot. “That’s normal.”
She puts her hand on her hip. “Don’t sound so judgy. I have to think aboutsomethingto keep myself from going crazy.”
“No judgment!” I say seriously. “But everyone knows you’re supposed to be a lawyer. Unless you’re suddenly dying to be as directionless as I am.”
She rolls her eyes. “Yes. Obviously, I’m thrilled to be back at square one, exactly like an undeclared college freshman.” She takes the now-empty water bottles and leaves with a huff. Comet follows her, a stick in his mouth.
“Do you really feel directionless?” Naomi asks as she rubs the sleep out of her eyes.
“Compared to you and everyone else who knows what they want to do with their lives,yes.How’s the foot?” I’m in desperate need of a subject change.
“Really bad! The worst,” she says brightly. “I’d show you the blisters, but Winston told me to keep them covered so it doesn’t get infected.”
“We’ll be off this island before that can happen. I predict that help will be here in five, four, three, two… one.”
We stare at the empty sky.
“I could have sworn that was going to work,” I say.
She bites her lip. “Do you think anyone is looking for us?”
“Yes.They know the route our flight was taking. The Britishgovernment is definitely looking for us. Well, they’re looking for the royals, but I assume they’ll let us hitch a ride home too.”
She sighs dramatically. “I bet everyone at home thinks we’re dead. Oh my gosh, Levi thinks I’mdead.”
