Page 75 of Prince of the Palisades

Finally, she says, “You know Lio Heart?”

Kaden shrugs lazily. “The pop singer? Sure.”

“Lio was supposed to headline the Gateway Music Festival in Tennessee,” Morgan explains, lifting her phone. “But after they came out as nonbinary last month, the organizers backed out. Too much pressure from ‘concerned’ parents. It’s bullshit. There are a bunch of petitions going around. Fans are upset.”

“Is that all?” Kaden guffaws. “Who the fuck wants to go to Tennessee anyway?”

“Not the point,” Morgan tries.

He waves her off. “Lio needs to perform somewhere queer-friendly—like here!”

“What about the fans there who deserve to see them live? Be exposed to people like them?”

“Move. Live somewhere else.”

Morgan looks ready to throw her phone at his head. I feel it swelling before I recognize it. The fire behind my ribs. The want to step in. Speak up.

“They’reour age,” Morgan argues. “They can’t just move. Not everyone has a trust fund waiting for them when they turn eighteen. This is all they have.”

“It’s a music festival,” he asserts. “Not life or death.”

“For some of them, it is!”

Kaden ignores her outburst, leaning over to pat my knee. “Help me out here, Prince. She’s overreacting, right?”

I fight with the heat building inside me.

It’s just us. Grace is pretending to care what some zombie cheerleader is happily yelling at her. Nathan and Léon are absorbed in their own chat. It still feels like a million eyes are on me. Like at any moment, someone will pop out of nowhere with their phone, recording whatever I say. Like that night with Kofi.

An old Kesha song comes on, but all I hear is Mom’s voice:I thought we agreed on staying out of the headlines unless it was for a good cause.

Then Papa’s:Prove you’re the kind of prince Réverie deserves.

Réverie doesn’t want a prince who involves himself in conflict. Who speaks out. Who’s seen arguing and yelling and smacking that smug, toothy grin off Kaden’s face.

But it’s whatIwant.

Only, I can’t afford to be that prince. So I say, “I think my opinion, either way, won’t change the outcome,” trying not to grimace when Morgan gives me an icy glare.

Kaden salutes me with his empty glass. “Very diplomatic.”

“Bathroom break,” Morgan grumbles to Grace, tugging her away without sparing me another look. Kaden leaves too.

I turn to Léon. “Can we talk?”

“About what?” Léon returns, only half acknowledging me as Nathan dances nearby.

The crowd’s thicker, the noise overwhelming. I raise my voice to say, “Your papa. About what happened.”

About what’s happening inside me, I think to add. The continuous stirring in my chest. I need to get it out.

“My…papa?”

I nod, not that Léon’s looking at me. He’s cackling, mimicking Nathan’s motions.

“I want to talk about—”

“Jadon, seriously.” Léon lets out a heavy sigh. “I didn’t come all the way to America to talk about him.”

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