“I don’t remember that,” I said.
“Well, I do,” Callum said. “And I turned to my mother and said, ‘I’m going to marry that girl someday!’ I didn’t know what marriage was, really, but kids get funny ideas in their heads and they run with them.”
“What did she say?”
“Oh, typical Mother. She said, ‘You can’t marry her, she’s our enemy.’ About a little girl! When she told me about, you know, this whole arranged marriage thing, I reminded her of that. She yelled and sent me away.” He sat up, brushing sand off his hands. “Okay, your turn. What’s your secret?”
I thought about it for a second. “I think the king is trying to tell me something.”
“Your father?”
“Yeah. Those things he keeps saying. I’m starting to wonder if he’s not trying to communicate with me in some way. He doesn’t say that stuff to anybody else.”
“Then let’s figure it out,” Callum said without hesitation.
“What do you mean?”
“Let’s see if we can’t find a pattern. He said ‘touch and go,’ I remember that.” He picked up a stick and wrote TOUCH AND GO in the sand in a messy, boyish scrawl. “What else?”
“Um, okay, let’s see. ‘Mirror, mirror.’ He says that sometimes. And … one, one, two, three, five, eight.”
“The same numbers over and over?”
I nodded. “It’s the beginning of the Fibonacci sequence.”
“What’s that?”
“It’s this series of numbers that forms a pattern,” I explained. “Each number is the sum of the two numbers before it. One and one is two, one and two is three …”
“Two and three is five, three and five is eight,” Callum finished. “Got it.”
“And so on, infinitely,” I said. “But he only repeats those six numbers—one, one, two, three, five, eight.”
“What’s so special about the Fibonacci sequence?”
“It can be applied to all kinds of different things. Analysis of financial markets, computer algorithms. They occur in nature, too, in tree branches and flower petals and stuff. They’re sort of like magic numbers.”
“Magic numbers,” Callum murmured. “Sounds promising. Anything else?”
“Yes! ‘Angel eyes.’ He says ‘angel eyes.’ ”
“I remember. I thought that was his nickname for you.”
I shook my head. “It’s not.”
“Angel eyes; mirror, mirror; touch and go; and the numerical sequence one, one, two, three, five, eight.” Callum rubbed his eyes. “It definitely seems random.”
“It does,” I agreed. “But I don’t know that it is.”
“What could he be trying to tell you?”
I glanced out at the horizon. “I have no idea.”
Then Callum did something completely unexpected; he leaned forward and kissed me.
I was so surprised that I didn’t move. All I could think about was Thomas; his face loomed in front of me, the way he’d looked on prom night when he was jumping around on the dance floor. In an attempt to shove away this memory, which hurt more than I wanted to admit, I kissed Callum back, my thoughts racing. Callum placed his hands upon my cheeks and breathed warm air against my cool skin. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and buried my face into his neck. I can’t do this, I thought wildly, holding on to Callum as if I was clinging to the side of a cliff. It’s not right. Soon I’ll be gone and she’ll be back and she won’t love him. She won’t ever love him, and he’ll always wonder what changed. He’ll think it’s his fault, he’ll blame himself. …
This is a betrayal.
“Cal,” I whispered, separating myself from him. “I’m cold. Let’s go inside.”
“Cold?” He gazed at me, confused. We were almost dry now, and it was warm in the sun. “Is something wrong?”
“No,” I said with a nervous, breathy laugh. “I just … I’d like to put some pants on, if that’s all right.”
“Um, sure. Yeah, let’s go back. It’s probably almost lunchtime, anyway.”
He took off for the house without reaching for my hand, and I followed at a slight distance, knowing that however hard I tried, I wasn’t going to return home without leaving my mark on Aurora.
TWENTY-NINE
Dinner at Asthall was far more casual than it was at the Castle. Back in Columbia City, only the royal family was allowed to eat in the formal dining room, unless we had guests, but at Asthall, Gloria, Thomas, and Agent Tyson were to eat with us as well. Dress at Asthall was also more casual, but that didn’t mean Gloria didn’t have a say in what I would wear. Tonight I was in a floor-length blue-and-white ikat maxi dress with an empire waist and a draped skirt. It had a long, chunky neckpiece made of dozens of silver chains attached to its fitted bodice, and I wore it with expensive-looking woven silver sandals. Gloria had done my hair herself, in a messy knot at the top of my head. I caught my reflection in a mirror; while the look was more relaxed and beachy, I was still elegant. Gloria seemed pleased with her accomplishment.
“We have a guest for dinner tonight,” she told me. It was a deliberately offhand statement, and it raised the hairs on the back of my neck.
“The General?” The words came out in a squeak. I hadn’t seen him since the dinner at the Castle when I’d had my allergic reaction and I wasn’t looking forward to trying not to squirm under his gaze all evening.
“Close,” Gloria said. “But no. His wife, Alice Mayhew. She lives near here, and she phoned a little while ago, to get in touch with Thomas.” Gloria shot me a hesitant look. “You know Thomas is the General’s son?”
“Adopted son,” I corrected her.
She nodded. “Well, I got the feeling she was fishing and invited her up. It’s not exactly standard protocol, but it’s not unusual for the princess to extend last-minute invitations to people close to the crown, and Alice is close—at least through the General.” Gloria paused. “I think she just wants to see Thomas.”
I shrugged. “Fine. I don’t care.” I wasn’t pleased—I had enough to worry about with Callum and Thomas eating at the same table, and adding the General’s wife would only make it worse, especially if there were tensions between her and Thomas—but there didn’t seem to be much I could do about it now.
We found the entire group gathered in the parlor adjacent to the dining room. It was easy to spot Alice Mayhew; she was a small, chic woman with a perfect auburn bob and hazel eyes that rested gently on me as I entered the room. Everyone rose from their seats, and Callum came over to take my hand, giving me a kiss on the cheek; any annoyance he’d felt toward me due to our earlier discussion seemed to have dissipated.
“You look beautiful,” he murmured, and I smiled at him, grateful for the compliment. There was something about the casual sophistication of the dress that made me feel, for the first time since my arrival in Aurora, a little bit more like myself.
Thomas and Agent Tyson hung back; as KES agents, they weren’t allowed to greet me until everyone else had. Next up was Alice, who smiled at me as she approached and clasped both of my hands in hers. They were cool and soft; a breeze coming through the open window carried her perfume on it, a powdery poppy scent.
“It’s good to see you, Your Highness,” she said. “It’s been far too long.”
“It has,” I said. “I’m so glad you could join us tonight.” I let my gaze wander over to Thomas, who was suppressing a scowl near the back corner of the room. He wasn’t happy that his adopted mother was here, that was obvious, but he was working very hard not to show it. I saw it, though, but I told myself it wasn’t my problem. Alice seemed perfectly lovely, and I was going to be as polite to her as I was to anyone else.