So far, the work had been tedious, but I pressed on. I couldn’t bear the thought of sabotaging Thomas’s work when it seemed so important. Not when the very illness that had taken so many lives was the one he was working to understand.
And so I flung myself into it wholeheartedly, too.
My eyes were heavy, the letters on the page blurring. I rubbed slow circles into my cheeks, hoping the rush of blood would be enough to keep me awake this evening.
No pattern had emerged yet, but I continued on. Maybe by the end of the summer, we’d have a lead on the cause of the plaguethat still hung over Amouridia like a heavy cloud, sending cruel lightning to strike its people down without warning.
When I snuck out of the palace, a chill wrapped around my body underneath my thin nightdress. Despite the cool evening, summer was in full bloom—the green of the trees was lush and vibrant, and a rainbow of blossoms blanketed the soil. The sweet scents of trumpet lilies and honeysuckle filled the air.
I pulled my robe tighter across my chest.
“So who's the man you walked the gardens with this afternoon?” Prince Thomas called as I approached the pond.
I stumbled, righting myself immediately.
“Not that it’s any of my business,” he admitted. He shuffled a few books around in his hands.
“It really isn’t,” I said.
I reached the pond, lingering at its edges, intimately aware of the distance between the prince and me.
I didn’t want him any closer. When he came near, my thoughts were muddled, my stomach churning. It was nothing like the calm David’s presence provided, or at least had usually provided, ignoring his insensitivity lately.
Everyone had bad days. Today was David’s.
Prince Thomas studied my reaction, and even under the waning moon, warmth crept up my neck from his stare.
“What did you see?” I asked.
I made out a smile on his face. “Enough.”
“He’s my fiancé.”
A book tumbled from the prince’s hands, clattering against the rocks below and into the pond.
I kneeled to pick it up for him. His hand took it from me, his fingers lingering against mine for a second too long. I let go.
“I didn’t know you were engaged.”
I lifted my wrist, the purple ribbon dangling in the stiff evening air.
He squinted. “And that is…?”
My mouth dropped open slightly. “You really know nothing about commoner customs?”
His eyes flashed in the darkness. “It can’t be all that common. Caleb, do you know what that little ribbon means?”
Caleb shuffled in the darkness, tucked within the shadow of one prominent hedge. “It’s an engagement ribbon, Your Highness.”
The prince muttered something under his breath. “I apologize,” he told me. “Your accusations ring true again.”
“Apology accepted,” I said, more amused than angered at his ignorance this time. I tilted my head. “Does my being engaged change anything?”
He shook his head. “No, of course not, I just…”
“Just…?” I held my breath.
He swallowed. “I just didn’t know.”
