Page 11 of Awestruck
“Turn it into a national holiday?” Hex suggests. “Though I’m not sure Mum would approve, unless we get her drunk like she was at Mormor’s eightieth birthday.”
“We could commission a monument to honor the day.”
“A statue! It can have all three of us and—”
“Will you shut up?” I say with a sigh. “I have changed my mind.”
The twins groan, and Hex grabs my hand as he says, “No, we’re sorry. We’ll be serious.”
“Is that even possible?” I ask.
Sander chuckles. “Only when we try really hard. What is this favor, Freya?”
Now I feel foolish, and I wish I had not gotten so excited about the possibility. “I…” I might as well tell them, or they will never leave it alone. “I want to go into Invem.”
The silence that follows my admission sits thick and heavy in the air, and I hold my breath as I wait for their reactions.
“Oh, that was the end?” Hex says, lifting an eyebrow. “I thought there would be more…well, more.”
Rolling my eyes, I slouch in my seat and hug one of the many throw pillows. “I am not allowed out of the castle without an escort.”
“So take Elliot with you,” Sander says with a shrug. “That’s his job.”
“His job is to keep me safe,” I grumble. “Mum and Gregor believe the city is too dangerous for me, and there is little chance he will go against orders.”
Sander meets Hex’s gaze, his eyes narrowing slightly. “Have you asked him to take you?”
“Of course,” I say, covering the lie with a scoff. “I am not so foolish as to go behind his back when he is so dedicated to his position.”
Hex snickers and tosses a pillow at me, hitting me in the face. “You didn’t ask him,” he guesses. “If you had, he would not have let us anywhere near you because he would have known you would do this. The man’s smarter than you think, Fringe. Smarter than you, I’d wager.” Before I can feel the sting of his opinion, he continues speaking. “Okay, so you want to go into Invem. And do what?”
I had not gotten that far in my thinking, particularly because it took all my courage to ask my brothers to come hear my plan. “I suppose I want to talk to people,” I say, though my uncertainty will not help my brothers think I am more intelligent than Elliot. “Without them knowing who I am.”
“Why?” both twins ask at the same time.
I sigh. “Because I need to know how the Candoran people really feel about the monarchy and my upcoming rule, and they would never tellthe crown princess the truth, now would they? They have been rallying in the streets, but their grievances are unclear.”
“They definitely wouldn’t talk to you,” Sander agrees, scratching his chin. “But how are you supposed to blend in?” He waves a hand at me, gesturing from my head to my toe. “You have only ever looked and acted like a princess.”
“Unlike the two of you,” I grumble back.
“It’s a good thing Sander and I don’t act like princesses,” Hex says.
I throw the pillow back at him, and he catches it with ease. “You know what I mean.”
“Just pretend to be one of your American friends.”
I consider that, though I am uncertain if that would work. My male friends would be impossible to emulate, but the women would be no easier. Bonnie is too glamorous and constantly in the public eye, so her life is not much different from mine. She even has a bodyguard.
Kasey is…the opposite of me. She wears her husband’s clothes and rarely puts on makeup and does not care what anyone thinks of her. And Carissa has only been my friend for a couple of months, so I have not had the chance to spend much time with her.
I have not spent much time with any of my friends of late. This election has made it impossible.
“I will have to put on a disguise,” I decide, hoping that will be enough.
“What do you expect us to do?” Sander asks. His expression is wary, and I am certain he will take the most to convince. Hex is usually up for anything that makes his life more interesting, but I will not be able to make this plan work if one of them is skeptical.
“I was hoping one of you would take Mr. Reid’s place while the other ensures he does not find out what we are doing,” I say and wince.
