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The door creaked open, then slammed, leaving the room drenched in silence. I closed my eyes and wished I could disappear.
Graham opened the closet door and gestured for me to come out before dropping his hands to his side. His eyebrows were low, and his lips were tight.
I emerged slowly, afraid to meet his eyes.
“I’m sorry—” we both began at once.
I stopped and waited for him to speak first. I felt a strange urge to step closer to him, totouchhim even. My fingers tightened their grip on the book in my hands instead. “I’ve invaded your home, and your life, for too long,” I said. “I’d giveanythingfor you to come to Tramore with me, but if you won’t, it’s time for me to leave.” I wasn’t pretending to be polite. At that moment, all I wanted was to walk away and never look back.
“And go where? You’re an outlaw and a fugitive!”
I leaned against the wall. Leaving would mean abandoning my mission. I hated to let my father down, endanger everyone I loved, and leave Graham to a fate even worse than what I’d planned for him.
“I don’t know,” I said. “You’re right. I’m just so sorry—”
“Don’t be sorry. Honestly, it’s my pleasure.”
“Thanks . . . but I was actually going to say how sorry I am that you haveherfor a mother.”
His smile fell from his lips. “Sometimes I think it’s my fault.”
I wanted to disagree, but I was too uncomfortable with the subject to pursue it further, so I sat in the armchair and opened the stolen book.
* * *
When it was dark outside,and the house had gone quiet, Graham snuck to the kitchens and returned with a plate for me. I ate ravenously, reminding myself to be forever grateful for food that wasn’t spooned from the gutter.
The Academy’s nameless book still lay in my lap. My head was a fuzzy, tired mess, leaving me confused over all I’d read. It illustrated a world so different from this one, with thousands upon thousands of cities, and land that spread for hundreds of miles. New words likeelectricity,computers, andtechnologybuzzed in my head. I knew Cambria’s founders had come a long way for peace and freedom, but history was strangely quiet about the world they’d left behind.
I took the last bite of a warm roll, amazed at how delicious food could be. I stretched and rested my head against the back of my chair, feeling the fatigue catch up with me. My sleep in prison had been about as good as my meals.
“Take my bed,” said Graham. “I’ll lock the door and sleep in one of the empty bedrooms.”
I dragged myself to his bed, too tired to argue. It might look suspicious if the servants, or his mother, found him sleeping somewhere else, but I didn’t have long to worry before sleep overtook me.
* * *
Angry poundingon the door jolted me from dreaming. I shot up, disoriented by the strange surroundings. Faint sunlight glowed around the edges of the long curtains.
“Graham, open the door!”
I stepped to the floor breathlessly, grabbed my bag, and squeezed under the bed. Sure, Graham had the key, but Maeve’s banging seemed fierce enough to unhinge the door. If she got one glimpse of me, my mission would be over for good.
“Graham? Graham!” she shrieked. “How dare you try to hide this from me!”
My mouth went dry. Did she know I was here?
“Forging the king’s signature is treason, whether or not you’re his son!” she cried through the door. Her screams were likely to be heard by every servant in the house. “You foolish boy! I wish you had died instead of your brother!” She attacked the door with both fists, and possibly her feet, like a child throwing a tantrum. “Do you hear me? I wish you were dead!”
She gave the door a final desperate assault and screamed once more before leaving me alone with the relief of silence.
My heart gradually slowed while I waited under the bed. I didn’t dare come out until I knew for sure that she was gone. The house was unnaturally quiet, as if each room had been holding its breath with me.
Eventually, I built up the courage to wiggle out from my hiding place. When I stood, another knock, though much softer, echoed through the room. This time, it was accompanied by a whisper instead of a shout.
“It’s me. I’m coming in.”
The lock clicked open and Graham entered, shutting the door and locking it behind him as he pocketed the key. He dropped another newspaper on the pile already crowding his desk. His eyes were puffy, and his hair was smashed down on one side and sticking up on the other. I imagined that I looked the same, except he was holding a delicious pastry in his hand and I wasn’t.
