Page 61 of Betraying Korth

I jumped to my feet. “Tess, you can’t!”

She squared her shoulders, a stubborn expression on her young face. “I can be friends with whomever I want, and he’s here because of me. You told me that it’s wrong to make someone suffer, so I want to make sure he’s comfortable.”

“He’s aprisoner. It isn’t meant to be comfortable in here!”

“Korth made sure to send you a pillow and blankets soyouwere comfortable.”

I stared back at the bedding that had been delivered. It had been Korth’s doing? A red-hot pang of guilt ripped through my chest. Of course it had been Korth. Sweet Korth, who had been kind and trusting and was every inch the polite prince he was born to be. Naturally he would send bedding to ensure the comfort of any prisoner, even if it was the woman who’d intentionally toyed with his affections. Then of course his sister would see his kindness and imitate it.

But I couldn’t let Peter Pan weasel his way into a friendship with Tess the way I’d weaseled my way into getting Korth to fall for me and the way Odette had manipulated Curdy.

“Tess, I know you’re trying to be nice, but you can’t trust criminals. They will lie to your face and tell you whatever you want to hear in order to get what they want. Leave Peter to rot. He deserves it.”

“Thanks. I appreciate the love,” Peter drawled sarcastically.

Tess looked shocked. “I can’t do that! Everyone deserves a second chance.”

“No, we don’t. I consciously made my decisions knowing that they were wrong, but I did it anyway.”

“But you learned from it, didn’t you?” Tess’s eyes were wide. “You wouldn’t do it again, right?”

I sighed. “You’re too young to understand, Tess, but yes, I would do it again. I had my reasons. I’m just sorry that Korth got mixed up in it.”

“What reasons?” she asked. “You said you loved Korth, so that should be enough.”

The void in my chest expanded. “Love doesn’t overthrow governments. Hate does, and it’s stronger than love. And you may not understand it, but the government in Ebora is corrupt. We need to change it, but some things can’t be altered unless we use anger and hate as our tools.”

“I think you’re wrong,” Peter chimed in.

“Of course you do,” I huffed. I didn’t need advice from a child, mastermind criminal or not.

“Why do you think she’s wrong?” Tess asked him curiously.

“Love can inspire crime just as easily as hatred. She claims that she was only using anger and hate as tools and that it’s stronger than love. But it was the love of her people that drove her actions, not pure hatred of her government. So really, any criminal’s actions could be warranted if they love a causeenough. Even a friendship like we have.” He smiled at Tess, who beamed back.

“I see your point. You’re very smart,” Tess told him, and alarm bells clanged wildly in my head once more.

“She doesn’t need your golden tongue filling her head with lies,” I snarled.

Peter raised his eyebrows in amusement. “Tess is smart enough to distinguish truth from lies. Or are you calling her stupid?”

Tess’s eyes snapped to mine.

“No, I’m not! I’m saying”—I sat down heavily and buried my eyes against the heels of my hands—“I’m saying you can’t trust anyone…ever. That’s all.”

“You don’t even need to trust me when I’m behind bars,” Peter told Tess. “But I’m glad I can trust you.”

She perked up. “I brought you the reed pipes you asked for before. How good are you at them?”

“Listen and see,” he told her. After a few experimental notes, he began blowing into the reed pipes. The tune wasn’t particularly melodious, but nevertheless, I found myself drawn into the music, absorbed to the point where I could forget everything. I allowed myself to drift off to sleep, eager to embrace the darkness of slumber, where I would have an escape from the cyclical thoughts racing around my head. I wanted to dream and remember Korth, not stay awake with the knowledge that he would never be in my future.

CHAPTER 27

Acheer went up from outside. Unable to stop myself, I stood on the wooden bunk and peered up at the grassy field just beyond my cell, holding tightly to the bars as I rose onto my tiptoes. Chairs were set up in neat rows, all decked with roses and garlands of ivy.

Women in swishing, pastel-colored dresses milled about while men in pressed pants and overly shined shoes roamed around the full skirts. Lively conversation interspersed with bursts of laughter assaulted my brain like a battering ram. How could anyone feel any semblance of happiness when my own heart felt so shriveled and empty? An orchestra wound up, and the feet that were just barely visible began moving toward their seats. The wedding was starting, and I was to have no part of it. I slumped back down to my bunk and curled into a ball, back to the cell door so no guards would see the tears I knew would come.

Buzzing like a swarm of angry bees filled the air. It swirled meaninglessly around me, and I couldn’t work up the mental energy to determine if it was a noise coming from outside or was a concoction of my own mind as I slowly deteriorated into madness. Korth and Odette would become husband and wife,and I was alone, forgotten and imprisoned, as I lived out the short remainder of my life in this rodent-infested cell until I hung for my crimes. Hot tears filled my eyes and began to fall faster than the water dripping into puddles from the ceiling above.

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