“Are you a couple?” I bit my lip.
“What? Of course not. Gross! That would be like dating my brother.” She shook her shoulders.
“I see.”
We continued walking in silence. I could feel Samantha’s eyes on me.
“Are you seriously thinking about marrying any of the clan leaders?” the girl asked at last.
She surely did not hold back. I looked at her, unsure how to answer something I have not had a chance to think through.
“I don’t know.”
“Aren’t you supposed to pick someone you’re in love with?”
“It’s not that easy. There are a lot of people who depend on me. I have responsibilities.”
“Correct me if I’m wrong. You were forced to be here, since they took you from your own home – right – and drugged you to keep you compliant. Then they presented you with a bunch of misfit losers and demanded that you choose one. Now you’re claiming that you have to take it because you are somehow responsible for all the people in Talman?”
“How do you . . . know all that?”
“I know that because I have eyes and I know T... Kent very well.”
“I suppose it does sound silly.”
“Silly is one way to describe it. Although, I would say stupid.”
“So, what would you do?”
“I can’t tell you what to do. What do you want to do?”
I glanced at the girl. Her large, blue eyes appeared to be without even a shadow of a doubt, like she knew everything. I found a low bench, secluded by overgrown branches and took a seat. My fingertips traced the polished stone and the carvings on the surface. When I looked up at Samantha, I still did not know what to say.
“I don’t know anymore. I’m so confused. I want to go home, and I want to be free, but I also don’t want to turnaway from all the pain and suffering that I may be able to ease.”
“That’s not your business. Not your duty. Don’t tell me that all the lies about being a descendant of the first dragon has gone to your head.”
She was unafraid to use harsh words, and I turned my gaze back to the palace, trying to quiet all the voices that sounded in my head.
Later in the day, Corliss came to my room and started preparing me for yet another date with Lord Dayton. I sat patiently, while she braided my hair and decorated my locks with fake flowers. I felt the silk petals brush against the strands of my hair and thought about real flowers, and a misty fog that slowly crawled across the ground, making me feel so free and unapologetically in love. The image shifted, showing the silhouette of a man wearing a black leather suit, his dark, chestnut-colored hair covering his face. Then he turned, and I saw him.
“I said. This is your last week.”
My ears perked up.
“Last week?”
“Yes. The time for you to make a choice is growing near.”
Last week? Only one more week left?
A surge of panic hit me unexpectedly.
“I’m so glad that Mr. Payton adjusted your medicine, because it was so difficult to talk to you before.” Corliss picked up a cheek cream and patted the skin on my face.
I lowered my eyes, enduring her unwelcomed touches.
My time was running out. I needed a new plan.
