Page 51 of Betraying Korth

“No, he doesn’t! What is wrong with you? Korth is?—”

“Sure, tell me more about Prince Perfect,” Curdy snarled. “You want to think that you’re actually a princess he loves, but he would hate you if he knew the truth about you, and you know it.”

“Stop it.”

“It’s true though,” he went on venomously. “All this time, when I’ve known the truth about you and was there for you, you wouldn’t give me the time of day, and now you’re throwingyourself at some rich snob. I guess you only ever cared about money.”

“Where is all this coming from?” I asked in frustration, trying to keep my voice low and glancing around to ensure that no gardeners were nearby.

“You were kissing him during the Night of Masks festival,” Curdy spat, sounding much more accusatory than was necessary.

“I was. The whole point of me coming here was to get him to fall in love with me, remember? For just about any man, that will involve a certain amount of kissing. I’m just not sure why you felt compelled to watch.”

“You didn’t have to do it so enthusiastically,” he snapped. His cheeks burned bright red and his eyebrows were so contracted that they formed a solid line.

“Curdy, why are you so jealous? There has never been anything between us.”

“Jealous? I’m not jealous!” Curdy’s voice rose higher with every word he spoke. He cleared his throat. “Why would I be jealous? I just don’t like you cozying up to him, that’s all. He’s theenemy, remember?”

“No, he’s not. Korth is?—”

“Ooh, it’s still just Korth, is it? You haven’t given each other revolting nicknames yet?”

“You’re being ridiculous.”

“At least I’m not being a hypocrite,” he snarled. “More than you can say.”

“What are you talking about?” I couldn’t prevent my temper getting the better of me. My blood pressure was rising every second we prolonged our conversation.

“Here the rest of us are, carrying out all the dirty work while you lounge about, sitting on cushions and being the exact kind of royal scum you swore to overthrow. You haven’t done anythingbut play kissy face with that prince from the moment you got here.”

“That was the entire point of me being in this position,” I hissed. “I’m the one who knows enough about Odette’s duties and habits that I can impersonate her without arousing suspicion. I’m the one?—”

“You’re the one whose father is leading the rebellion, and he wanted to give you an easy job. Nepotism at its finest.”

“That had nothing to do with it. I was the best person for the job, and I’m doing it well.”

“I bet you are. I’m sure your oh-so-noble prince has you right where he wants you. What else do you do when you sneak off in the dead of night? I’m sure he gets lots of extra privileges from you when you are closeted together, doesn’t he?”

“Korth has been a perfect gentleman this whole time, and that’s more than you can say.”

“No wonder he can’t tell you apart from the real princess. You’re exactly like Odette.”

Smack!Before I could stop myself, I struck Curdy across the face. I hadn’t thought his face could get any redder than it had been, but a deep maroon in the shape of my hand rose on his cheek.

The moment after I hit him, I put my hand up to my mouth, horrified by what I’d done. Curdy grabbed my wrist and slammed it up against a stone statue. He made no effort to be gentle. It hurt.

“Let go!” I tried to wrench my hand away, but Curdy held fast. His face had transformed into an ugly expression.

“No. I’m done taking orders from you.”

“Stop!”

“You can’t tell me what to do anymore.”

A tiny thimble bounced off Curdy’s head as a thin voice shouted, “Hey, you big bully! You leave her alone!”

I didn’t think my stomach could have sunk any lower, but the sound of that voice tore at my heart. Sure enough, when I turned, I spotted Tess, her fists on her hips and feet splayed out as if she stood seven feet tall instead of her tiny, youthful frame.

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