Page 40 of Broken Star

Isowish I had a rake right now.

Better yet—the dagger Aerix took from me while we were in the bunker.

But Matt’s no longer looking at me. Instead, he’s focused on Aurora, who’s perched elegantly at her usual table.

She lifts her gaze from her book just long enough to observe our confrontation.

It doesn’t take a genius to put together Matt’s sudden interest in her. Because Aurora belongs to the king. The queen’s been spending more time with the king. And Matt’s clearly jealous of the king.

I let out a sharp, humorless laugh. “Good luck with that,” I tell him, stepping aside to let him pass.

“I don’t need luck.” He gives me that overly confident smile of his, and then he’s strolling toward Aurora with the kind of cocky arrogance that might have worked in high school, but that just makes him look like a human who still hasn’t realized his place in the Night Court.

I make myself comfortable at the table, curious about how this is going to play out.

“Aurora.” Matt’s voice shifts into that smooth, self-assured tone he used on girls at parties back home. “Mind if I join you?”

She stands without looking at him. “Actually, I was just leaving.”

“Come on. Stay a minute.” He steps into her path, close enough that she has to either pause or walk straight into him. “I’ve been meaning to ask you something. Because you spend a lot of time with the king,” he says, leaning in slightly. “I bet you hear all sorts of interesting things.”

His hand drifts to her sleeve, brushing away an invisible piece of lint—yet another “trick” I’ve seen him use multiple times while flirting with girls at parties when he didn’t think Sapphire was watching him.

Aurora remains still, like a statue carved from ice.

Then, slowly, she tilts her head and offers him the faintest of smiles. “Matthew,” she says, her voice carrying an eerily calm quality that makes the hair on the back of my neck stand on edge. “A little advice? I’d worry less about the king and more about yourself.”

Then, without another word, she steps around him and glides toward the palace entrance, leaving Matt staring after her with his mouth slightly open.

“Quite the performance,” Henry’s voice sounds beside me, making me jump. “But you might want to be more careful about making enemies around here. Especially when there are so many potential allies waiting to be discovered.”

I scoff at him, annoyed that he’s placing himself in the path of my personal issues with Matt.

“Is that what you think you are?” I ask, keeping my voice neutral. “A potential ally?”

“I’m whatever serves my interests at the given moment.” His gaze drifts meaningfully to Katerina, then back to me. “The real question is: what areyou?”

I pause, thinking about Katerina’s request to have Henry killed, Matt’s accusation that I’m falling in love with Aerix, and Aurora’s calculated advice.

Everyone in this court is playing their own game, moving pieces across a board I’m only beginning to understand.

“I’m whoever I need to be to survive,” I finally tell him. “Tothrive.”

His smile widens. “Now that’s the kind of answer that might keep you alive around here.” He starts to walk away, then pauses. “Oh, and Zoey? You might want to keep a closer eye on your friend from home. I’ve been doing what I can to convince the queen to make him last a little longer, but she’s not going to be thrilled when she hears about his little fit here today.”

I watch him disappear into the palace, his words settling like stones in my stomach. Because as much as I hate to admit it, Henry’s right. Matt’s letting his desperation cloud his judgment. And sure, Matt’s a jerk, but he wouldn’t be in this mess to begin with if he didn’t feel a need to get out of town before he could be blamed for my and Sapphire’s disappearance.

Which means I can’t help feeling responsible for him.

But in a court where everyone’s playing their own game, who can I trust to help me keep him alive?

Sapphire

The spectral shipthat the cloaked girl told us about won’t appear at the pier until nighttime.

Which means Riven and I are stuck regrouping in the haunted cabin in the middle of nowhere, trying to puzzle together what each object the girl gave us could be, while trying to get in some rest, too.

It would have been much easier if she’d packed a phone with the other supplies. But no—we’re left with a cryptic map, a bundle of strange ingredients, and just enough space to keep from killing each other.

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