It was like the stone had disappeared. Five full minutes later, she was still searching under the bench for the missing stone when hurried footsteps crunching down the path startled her out of her thoughts. Jaya saw a flash of red through gaps in the hedge, then heard the sound of someone breathing heavily. She sat quickly back down on the bench. “No, stop.” The voice was full, round, every syllable like ripe fruit. She’d heard it only a couple of hours before—Daphne Elizabeth McKinley. “I told you, Alaric, it was a summer-only, messed-up thing. We shouldn’t even be out here talking.”
Alaric? Could it be the same Alaric from the library?
“Then let’s not talk,” a smiling, husky, familiar male voice said. Yes, definitely the same boy from the library, although he was being much nicer now (for obvious reasons). His accent was a mixture of American and something else, hard to place, but Jaya thought it might be German. All she could see were his polished black shoes. Jaya considered clearing her throat or sneezing. She didn’t want to take part in any inadvertent snooping.
There was silence for a moment. Jaya braced to step out and announce herself when she noticed their shoes moving closer and closer together.
Oh, fantastic. She squirmed—quietly—on her seat.
It wasn’t hard to work out what was happening. Isha had sneaked innumerable Harlequin romances from their governess’s room—and Jaya had once peeked at one, her young curiosity changing quickly into shock. Plus, palaces came with their share of drama—cooks with maids, bodyguards with village women, governesses with older, visiting cousins (now that one had been interesting). If past experiences had taught her anything, it was that her best move was probably to stay here, quietly. Hopefully their… moment… would be over quickly so she could get back to her daydreaming. She wished she had a book to while away the time.
“Look, I can’t do this, okay?” Daphne Elizabeth again. “You made your choice when you decided not to break up with her. I can’t be your booty call when Caterina’s not around.”
Jaya sat up straighter in spite of herself: intrigue. She may be a royal, but she was only human.
“Daphne—”
“I’m serious. Just leave me alone.” But her voice wobbled, and Jaya didn’t think she really meant it. Not all the way down, where it mattered. Her expression must’ve been fierce, however, because shiny-shoed Alaric didn’t argue.
Jaya heard retreating footsteps, counted silently to ten, closed her eyes and sighed in relief, and stood.
She found herself face-to-chin with the willowy Daphne Elizabeth. Clearing her suddenly dry throat, Jaya looked up to see shock mingling with anger on Daphne Elizabeth’s freckled face, like ink spreading in a cup of water. “You! Were you… spying on me?”
What was it with people in this school and their obsession with spying? Daphne Elizabeth seemed liable to break Jaya in half and throw the pieces into the bushes, however, so Jaya spoke hurriedly. “No, I wasn’t, I promise. I was sitting here when you both began your… conversation, and then it was too late to say anything. I didn’t want to embarrass you.”
Daphne Elizabeth smiled a ghost of a smile, her eyes green fire. “Well, lucky you—you’ve stumbled onto primo gossip your very first day. Nothing endears you to people more, at least at our school.” She raised her arms, waving her fingers dramatically. “Tell people what you heard and watch yourself rise in the social ranks like magic!” Dropping her arms, she sighed, resigned. “And watch me be destroyed by Caterina LaValle,” she mumbled to herself.
Jaya straightened her shirt, tilted her head back, and looked Daphne Elizabeth right in the eye. “I don’t know about the other people at this school, but I am a Rao. I would never stoop to that level.” Her regal pose was only slightly marred by Daphne Elizabeth’s height advantage.
Daphne Elizabeth tensed and studied her for a long minute, as if she didn’t know whether or not Jaya was laughing at her. Finally, her shoulders relaxed and she blinked a few times, looking away. “It’s just so messed up. I never thought I’d be the kind of person to…” She paused. “He already has a girlfriend and I… People would never forgive me if they found out. I mean, Alaric and Caterina are an institution at this place. They’re the kind of couple everyone wants to be.” She bit the inside of her cheek, her eyes searching Jaya’s. “You probably think I’m a total mess.”
“I don’t,” Jaya said honestly. “I don’t know Alaric and Caterina, and I don’t know you, but I do know what it’s like to have a secret you hope no one finds out. And I know what happens when people do.”
They started back up the path in unspoken unison, their feet crunching loudly on the gravel.
Daphne Elizabeth ran a hand through her short crimson hair. Her nails were painted bright green with small diamonds dotting the tops. Smiling at Jaya as they entered the cool interior of the school again, she said, “I like you. I hope you’ll come sit with us at breakfast tomorrow.”
It was the second invitation she’d received from Grey Emerson’s social group. They seemed nice, the kind of people she might actually be friends with if circumstances were different. Jaya wondered how Grey had managed to fool them all. “Thank you. That’d be wonderful.”
“Well, I better go get unpacked. I hate leaving it for later.” Daphne Elizabeth made a face, half-rueful, half-resigned. “See ya.”
Jaya spent another fifteen minutes fruitlessly searching for the missing ruby under the bench. Where had it gone? Rubies didn’t just disappear. Appa was going to be angry. She’d have to have it replaced before she saw him again.
Sighing, Jaya made her way back around the building, to the stairs.
* * *
Jaya walked up to the senior wing again after texting Isha that she was ready to eat. Inspired by Daphne Elizabeth, she went to her room to unpack while she waited. She stood undecided for a moment, looking at herself in the mirror. The necklace hung at her throat, its one empty socket mocking her. Should she put it away in her drawer to keep it safe until she could get the ruby replaced? Jaya stroked it. It was a reminder of home, a reminder of happier times. She didn’t want to part with it yet. She’d just have to be more careful. Nodding firmly to herself, Jaya walked to her suitcase. But before she’d even begun unpacking it, there was a knock on the half-open door. Jaya turned to see a girl with peach-pink cheeks and long blond hair in a braid leaning through the doorway and staring at her unabashedly.
“G’day,” the girl said in an Australian accent. “I’m Penelope Grant, your neighbor in 303.” She pointed her thumb to her right.
“Oh, hello! It’s so nice to meet you. I’m Jaya Rao.”
“I know,” Penelope breathed, baby-blue eyes wide. “I heard that you’re a… princess?”
Daphne Elizabeth wasn’t joking; gossip and rumors really did seem to fuel St. Rosetta’s. Jaya had been here all of three hours. “It’s nice to meet you,” Jaya said with a modest smile.
Penelope walked in and sat at the edge of Jaya’s bed, still looking up at her in awe. “I’m Australian, so say the words ‘royal family’ and I’m rapt.”