“If you want, I can take care of most of the arrangements for you. I have a few links with some families that used to be Eights, as well as some that have had a hard time letting go of their Two status. Maybe we could plan on inviting a dozen or so people, so you wouldn’t be overwhelmed?”
“Marid, that sounds perfect. I’m going to have my lady-in-waiting call you. Her name is Neena Hallensway, and she’s as organized as you seem to be. She knows my schedule and would be the best person to talk to about a time and date.”
“Excellent. I’ll wait to hear from her.”
There was a long silence, and I wasn’t quite sure how to break away.
“Thank you,” I tried. “Now more than ever, I really need to prove how much I care about my people. I want them to know that, in a few years, I’ll be as able to lead them as my father.”
“How anyone could doubt that is a mystery to me.”
I smiled, thrilled to have added another ally to my arsenal. “Sorry to rush off, but I must be going.”
“Not at all. We’ll talk again soon.”
“Of course. Good-bye.”
“Good-bye.”
I hung up the phone and sighed in relief. That wasn’t as awkward as I’d been fearing it would be. Marid’s words rang in my ears. Let ’em talk. I knew they always would. Hopefully soon, they’d have something positive to say.
“WAIT, WHICH WAY DO THESE guys move again?” Hale asked before reaching over and picking up two petits fours and setting them on his plate.
“Bishops move diagonally. I wouldn’t do that if I was you, but it’s your funeral.”
He laughed. “Okay. What about the little castle ones?”
“Straight lines, either side to side or back and forth.”
He moved his rook, taking another one of my pawns. “Honestly, I never would have pegged you for a chess girl.”
“I’m not really. Ahren used to be obsessed, and he forced me to play with him every single day for months. But then he got serious about Camille, and all his chess time turned into letter-writing time.”
I moved my bishop and took his knight.
“Ugh, I didn’t even see that,” he lamented between bites. “I’ve been wanting to ask you about Ahren, but I wasn’t sure if you were up for it.”
I shrugged, prepared to dismiss the invitation, but instead I reminded myself that if I was going to have a shot at happiness at all, I had to let someone past my walls. Sighing, I told the truth.
“I miss him. It’s like I grew up with a built-in best friend, and now he’s gone. I have other people I’m close to, like my lady-in-waiting, Neena. I don’t think I realized how much I was relying on her until Ahren was gone and I could see it. But it makes me afraid. What if I get to the point I did with Ahren, where she’s the person I go to with everything, and then something happens and she leaves?”
Hale nodded as he listened, and I could see he was trying to suppress a smile.
“This isn’t funny!” I complained, chucking one of his lost pawns at him.
He laughed out loud, dodging the throw. “No, I’m not smiling because of that. It’s just … the last time we talked like this you ran. You’re not wearing sneakers under that gown, are you?”
“Not at all. They wouldn’t go together,” I teased. “No, really, I should have trusted you then, and I do trust you now. Sorry if I’m slow. Opening up to people is not a skill of mine.”
“No rush. I’m a pretty patient person.”
I couldn’t take the eye contact anymore, so I focused on the board, watching his hands hover above the grid.
“As for how you feel about Neena,” Hale went on, “even if she did have to leave, that wouldn’t make her less of a friend any more than it makes Ahren less of your brother. You might have to work harder to keep in touch, but if you love them as much as you say, it’ll be worth it.”
“I know that’s true,” I admitted. “It’s already pretty difficult for me to make friends, seeing as I don’t get out much. So I kind of need to keep the ones I have.”
Hale chuckled, and I missed what he did on the board. “Well, I just want to go on record and say that even if you don’t choose me, you have my friendship for life, and I’ll be on a plane to Angeles in a heartbeat if you ever need me.”
I smiled. “Something every day.”
He nodded. “Every day.”
“I really needed to hear that. Thank you.” I sat up taller and began to plan my next move. “What about you? Who’s your best friend?”
“Actually, I was interrogated over this a few weeks ago, just after Burke left. My best friend is a girl, and they thought I was writing to ‘my girlfriend back home.’ Let me tell you, it was humiliating to ask her to get on the phone with a guard and explain that we’d never, ever been romantically involved.”
I bit my lip, glad he could see the humor in it. “I’m really sorry.”
“It’s fine. Carrie got a kick out of it, actually.”
“Well, I’m happy she took it in stride.” I cleared my throat. “But now I have to ask, have you really never had a crush on her?”
“No!” He almost shuddered. “Carrie’s like a sister to me. The thought of kissing her just feels wrong.”