The Favorite

“You’re too kind. Will you remind me where you’re from?”

“Kent.”

“Oh, I’m from Allens.”

“Really?” Allens was just east of Kent, above Carolina. We were neighbors in a way.

He nodded as he walked. “Yes, ma’am. This is the first time I’ve ever been out of my province. Well, second if you count training.”

“Same here. It’s kind of hard getting used to the weather.”

“It is! I’m waiting for fall to kick in, but I’m not sure they even have fall here.”

“I know what you mean. Summer’s nice, but not every day.”

“Exactly,” he said firmly. “Can you imagine how silly Christmas must look?”

I sighed. “It can’t possibly be as good without snow.” I meant that. I dreamed about winter all year. It was my favorite season.

“Nowhere close,” he agreed.

I didn’t know why I was smiling so much. Maybe it was because this conversation felt so easy. I’d never had an easy time speaking to a boy. Admittedly, I hadn’t had a lot of practice, but it was nice to think that maybe I didn’t need as much work as I had thought.

As we approached the entrance of the hospital wing he slowed.

“Would you mind putting me down?” I asked. “I don’t want them thinking I’ve broken a leg or something.”

He chuckled. “Not at all.”

He set me down and opened the door for me. Inside, a nurse was sitting at a desk.

The officer spoke for me. “Lady Marlee took a little tumble in the hall. Probably nothing, but we just wanted to be safe.”

The nurse stood right up, looking happy to have something to do. “Oh, Lady Marlee, I hope you’re not too hurt.”

“No, just a little sore here,” I said, touching my hip.

“I’ll check you out right away. Thank you so much, officer. You can go back to your post.”

The guard tipped his head to her and started to leave. Just before the doors closed, he gave me a wink and a crooked smile, and I was left there, grinning like an idiot.

I was pulled back to the present as the voices in the hallway grew louder. I heard the guards’ greetings overlapping one another as they all said one word: Highness .

Maxon was here.

I rushed to the small gated window of my cell. I watched as the door to the cell across the hallway—Carter’s cell—was opened, and Maxon was escorted in. I strained to hear what was said, but though I could make out Maxon’s voice, I couldn’t decipher any words. I also heard weak mutters in reply and knew they were from Carter. He was awake. And alive.

I simultaneously sighed and shivered, then lifted the tulle back over my shoulders.

After a few minutes Carter’s cell door opened again, and I watched as Maxon approached my cell. The guards let him in and shut the door behind him. He took one look at me and gasped.

“Good Lord, what have they done to you?” Maxon walked over, unbuttoning his suit coat as he did.

“Maxon, I’m so sorry,” I cried.

He slid off his coat and wrapped it around me. “Did the guards tear your costume? Did they harm you?”

“I never meant to be unfaithful to you. I never wanted to hurt you.”

He lifted his hands to my cheeks. “Marlee, listen to me. Did the guards hit you?”

I shook my head. “One ripped my wings off when he was pushing me in the door, but they haven’t done anything else.”

He sighed, clearly relieved. What a good man he was, still caring about my well-being even after he’d found out about me and Carter.

“I’m so sorry,” I whispered again.

Maxon’s hands dropped to my shoulders. “I’m only just starting to understand how pointless it is to fight being in love. I certainly don’t blame you for it.”

I stared into his kind eyes. “We tried to stop ourselves. I promise we did. But I love him. I’d marry him tomorrow . . . if we wouldn’t be dead by then.” I dropped my head, sobbing uncontrollably. I wanted to be more of a lady about this, to accept my punishment with grace. But it felt so unfair, like everything was being taken away from me before it had even truly been mine in the first place.

Maxon began rubbing my back gently. “You’re not going to die.”

I stared at him in disbelief. “What?”

“You haven’t been sentenced to death.”

I let out a rush of air and embraced him. “Thank you! Thank you so much! It’s more than we deserve!”

“Stop! Stop!” he insisted, tugging at my arms.

I stepped back, embarrassed for breaking protocol after everything else I’d done.

“You haven’t been sentenced to death,” he repeated, “but you still have to be punished.” He looked at the ground and shook his head. “I’m sorry, Marlee, but you’re both going to be publicly caned in the morning.”

He seemed to be having trouble maintaining eye contact with me; if I hadn’t known better, I would have thought he understood the pain we were in for. “I’m sorry,” he repeated. “I tried to prevent this, but my father is insistent that the palace needs to save face; and since the footage of you two together has already been circulated, there’s nothing I can do to change his mind.”

I cleared my throat. “How many times?”

“Fifteen. I think the plan is to make it much worse for Carter than you, but either way, it’s going to be incredibly painful. I know it sometimes causes people to black out. I’m so, so sorry, Marlee.” He looked disappointed in himself. And all I could think of was how good he was.