d there, stiff as stone, while his frail, trembling hands pressed against my back. He was thin. To

w. Not after I'd come this far. Not when I'd seen death with my own eyes. Not when I final

y palm on his shoulder, and whi

ing's fingers. Even the princess-my supposed sister-looked misty-eyed, though she blinked quickly to hide it. No

just nodded and gave a small smile. I wasn't sure if she meant herself or the King. It did

bed, only the Princess remained. She walked beside me as we exited the r

as et

t and floral, lingering on the air like spring. Her

ong for you. We a

That was becomin

ll, do you?" she asked, wit

y when I was to

around the gardens. They were yo

ndlessly-a perfectly trimmed paradise of roses, tulips, marble fou

lt so far from w

gy apartments with peeling walls and mildew-stained ceilings. I grew up learning to keep my shoes near my bed so I c

shoved me forward, kicked me down when

was walking me throu

ared into the rippling water. My reflect

I di

t?" she asked,

id. "Just...

sat at the edge of the fountai

ing in lies. But I could

soft waves. Her skin glowed like polished bronze under the afternoon

posed to fee

s my s

de things worse. Because I couldn't stop noticing the cu

reeze played with her hair. My heart kept

. A small, sisterly gesture. But it lit so

my hand a

she sai

mured. "It's just... hard

show you the orchard. It's where w

aying a part I didn't audition for, and the longer I p

did I wan

d to be

hustler trying to survive. I was Prince Elias. Heir to the throne.

li

st liar o

-

grandest bed I'd ever seen. Velvet sheets

way the King held me like I mattered. Like he'

dea what it meant

days without food because my group home forgot I was still there. On my sixteenth birthday, I lit

ne c

sleeping

is felt like a drea

why I was afr