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DREW
Ispent the rest of the day attempting to formulate some kind of plan before the festival, but my head was too jumbled. So many questions ran through my mind, and my discussion with Paul hadn’t helped.
Was I naive to think Sadie would keep her word and not expose Axel Everett?
Was that why she was pulling away?
Or was she avoiding me because she wasn’t interested in pursuing anything beyond a vacation fling with me and didn’t want to deal with the inevitable awkward conversation where she had to let me down?
I had to talk to her before the opening ceremony. Even if she laughed in my face when I suggested trying to make something long-term work, at least I’d know. Suffering through all this uncertainty was pure anguish.
Arriving at the fairgrounds, I parked in the lot closest to the grandstands and ignored the few curious looks I got as I headed toward the giant metal barn that Kobie said would serve as the staging area for the opening ceremony. The barn teemed with festival workers pulling together last-minute touches, but no sign of Kobie or Sadie.
A teenaged worker went wide-eyed when she spotted me and rushed over.
“The eagle has landed. I repeat, the eagle has landed.” She spoke the words into a walkie-talkie in the loudest attempt at a whisper in the history of the world. “Kobie should be here any second. Let me take you to your dressing area.”
I looked down at my clothes. “This is what I’m wearing.”
Kobie and I agreed I could show up in all black so the “accessories can speak for themselves.” That was Kobie’s way of smoothing things over with Eloise when I’d told her there was no way in hell I was wearing the medieval pantaloons that were part of the traditional Valor King costume.
“Right, right. But you’ll want to check that the crown and the cloak are straight before you go out on stage. And that’s where we’re storing the scepter.”
“Of course. How could I forget about the scepter?” I deadpanned.
She led me to a spot where someone had set up one of those giant mirrors surrounded by light bulbs and a metal folding chair. There was a cardboard sign taped to the barn wall above it that read Reserved for the Valor King.
“There are snacks.” She gestured to a paper plate with grapes and cheese cubes next to a bottle of water. “The royal attire will be delivered shortly.”
She bowed to me and disappeared before I could ask if she had any idea where Sadie was.
I slumped down in the folding chair and rubbed the back of my neck, the reality of the festival starting to sink in. The clock was ticking on my time left with Sadie. I didn’t want to wait any longer to hash things out.
Sitting back up, I scanned the area, looking for her chestnut locks. I listened for the rich sound of her laugh, but no luck.
As I was about to abandon my assigned station and turn the festival grounds upside down looking for her, Kobie came rushing up to me with my costume.
“There you are.” She carried a giant red velvet cape with white goose down feathers lining the inside, the trim, and across the shoulders.
With a flourish, she draped it over my shoulders and secured a little tie at the neck.
“Eloise is bringing the crown. She insisted the crown and the cloak be delivered to you separately for security reasons.” Kobie made air quotes around the last two words. “Which, as we all know, is code for her being a control freak,” she whispered.
“Sounds good. You see Sadie lately?”
“She was taking some pictures earlier. She’s floating around out there somewhere.”
Kobie clipped a small black battery pack to the side of my belt, then clipped a lapel mic to the cloak.
“We’ll use the stand mics for the opening ceremony,” she explained. “Then we’ll head straight over to the south field, and you’ll use this when you help me emcee the goose bingo.”
“Uh-huh. I need to talk to Sadie before the opening ceremony.”
The look on my face must have made her worried I was about to bail out at the last minute. “Okay.” She patted my shoulder. “I’ll go find her. You stay here though. Eloise will have my hide if she shows up with the crown and you’re not here.”
I nodded. “All right.” I ran my hands down my thighs. “All right, I can do that.”
A few minutes later, Kobie still wasn’t back with Sadie yet, and I paced the area. The energy shifted backstage. Festival workers kept glancing at me then looking away as soon as I made eye contact. I tried to calm my nerves, but I had to look like a tiger in a cage.
