Page 12 of Awestruck
Hex laughs, shaking his head, and Sander’s frown deepens. “You want us to lie to Elliot?” Sander asks. He sounds almost hurt.
“You want us to turn into bodyguards?” Hex adds, still full of amusement. “Seems like a lot of faith to put into a couple of imbeciles.”
I sigh and rub my temples. If I did not love these two with all my heart, they would drive me crazy. I can only hope they mature sooner than later. “You are the best fightersandthe best shots this country has ever seen.”
“Well,” Hex says, tilting his head and smiling proudly. “We’re not as good as—”
“If you try to tell me you are not as good as Elliot Reid, I will know you are lying,” I snap. “There is no way he is both more intelligent than me and stronger than the two of you. He can be a lot of things, but perfect is not one of them.”
To my irritation, my brothers share a smirk as if my comment was something to laugh at. “You really hate him, don’t you?” Sander asks. “Why?”
Because he is bold, confident, and does not fear crossing me. Because he has thus far proven himself to be skilled at his job and therefore has not given me any good reasons to dismiss him. I say none of this aloud—my brothers would have ready arguments for why those traits should be praised rather than condemned.
“Will you help me understand the Candoran people or not?” I ask, folding my arms as I stare them down.
Sharing one last look, the twins nod.
“Thank you.”
“I’ll go into the city with you,” Sander decides. “Hex is probably better at distracting Elliot, if the need comes up.”
I am grateful he made the decision instead of leaving it up to me. Either of my brothers would be a good choice to protect me, but I would insult one by choosing the other. Even if no insult was taken, they would pretend otherwise because as much as they support me, they delight in tormenting me.
“If you really plan to be in disguise,” Hex says, hopping up and moving to my closet, “this is going to take some time. So we should probably get started.”
Chapter Four
Freya
IwishIcouldsay I have been to the capital city many times. I suppose I have, if one counts traveling through the streets in a vehicle. (Sander does not count that.) It has been many years since my last journey to the city, so I feel completely out of place as Sander parks our motorbike next to several bicycles along one of the busier streets.
Busy by Candoran standards means a bus takes this route every twenty minutes, fifteen when it rains.
As I slip from the motorbike and steady myself after an exhilarating ride, a sense of freedom washes over me and leaves me almost teary-eyed. I have not done something like this in so long, and I can only imagine what my mother would say if she knew. By some miracle, we passed no one on our way out to the garage, though I heard Hex’s voice in the main hall of the palace as we took one of the side doors. I assume he was distracting a guard to clear our path. Thanks to my helmet, the guards at the gate were oblivious to my identity as Sander chatted with them for a moment before they let him drive through under the pretext of returning a date to the city.
I suppose I should be worried about how easily I escaped, but I choose to focus on taking advantage of my time while I have it.
Sander checks something on his phone as I remove my helmet and rest it on the motorbike’s seat. His brow is furrowed, expression tight, and I am certain he still thinks this is a bad idea. But then he says, “There’s a popular pub down this way,” and offers me his arm.
“Thank you for joining me,” I tell him, doing my best to hold him loosely despite the nerves that begin growing as soon as we start walking. Invem is a safe city, more so than most capitals around the country, so I hardly expect anything to go wrong. But if things do take a turn, I will have to rely on Sander and my own feet to get me to safety.
I am conscious of my health, but there are not many reasons for a princess like me to build up stamina in running.
Sander grumbles something, his eyes still darting around us even though the street is quiet. It is late, so perhaps most of the residents of Invem have already returned home and gone to bed. “Here we are,” he says, stopping outside a well-lit establishment and pulling a baseball cap from his pocket. It is something I once stole from my friend Bonnie—who originally received it from an old boyfriend—because I found it charming and very American, but I have never worn it. Hex thinks it will help me blend in despite the style not being popular among Candoran adults.
I wrinkle my nose at the cap. “Is this necessary?”
Stuffing it onto my head, he nods. “You aren’t exactly unknown, Fringe. If people get a good look at you, they’ll know you’re the future queen.”
Personally, I prefer to think I will experience the same effect that preserves Clark Kent’s identity as Superman. No one will expect me to be in a pub on a Friday evening, so they will not even consider the connection.
Sander narrows his eyes at me, proving he knows my thoughts when he says, “You know Superman is a comic book character, yeah?”
I roll my eyes, wishing I hadn’t brought up my theory when I was changing into my least opulent clothes. “Yes, I am aware. But Derek—”
“Maybe don’t take the word of an actor either,” he mutters.
Of my family, Sander is the only one who did not take an immediate liking to Derek and thinks there is more to my friend than the confident actor Derek portrays. Yes, Derek has his secrets, but they are things from his past. Not from his current life. Our friend Liam is convinced Derek is secretly a spy, but I have known Derek long enough to know that he does not hide his occupation. He hides who he really is.
