I let go of my skirt. “Let’s get back to the fact that I almost drowned last night—what kind of guy rows away and leaves someone in a freezing lake in the dark?”
Jason rolled his eyes. “You wouldn’t have drowned. Someone from the show would have helped you if you’d been in real trouble.”
Unbelievable. Jason didn’t even feel bad. I planted my hands on my hips. “I think the correct thing to say at this point is, ‘I’m sorry. Really, really sorry.’”
“I need a cell phone.” His expression was devoid of its usual charm. A look of hard frustration was there instead. “I’ve got to get out of here. I don’t care what my manager agreed to. I don’t care what the ratings for this show will be. I’m done with cold drafty rooms and stinking toilets. I’m especially done with the crazed guy who thinks I should practice fencing for two hours a day.”
There was no point waiting for an apology from him. It wasn’t going to happen. I pushed by Jason and lifted my skirts to climb into the boat. I couldn’t see past the material to tell where the edge of the boat was. My pride kept me from asking Jason for help. I didn’t want to ask him for anything.
He followed me, pointing his finger at the ground to emphasize his words. “I will fire my manager if he doesn’t have me on a plane to Los Angeles first thing in the morning. You tell him that.”
Jason may have been immune to guilt, but I wasn’t. It knocked around inside of me, reminding me it was my fault he was here. My wish had plucked him away from his life, his success, from everything he’d worked so hard for. He didn’t even know all of this was real.
“We’ll get home,” I reassured him. “The castle goldsmith is making a replica of the goblet. Tomorrow night I’ll switch it for hers. Then we’ll be able to leave.”
At the edge of the boat, I shifted my skirt from one hand to the other, peering around the mountain of material so I knew where to put my foot. It didn’t help. My feet could have changed into live raccoons and I wouldn’t have been able to tell. Why did I have to be here with Jason, a guy who couldn’t notice I needed help?
It occurred to me that Donovan was here too, and he noticed everything. With a sort of curious hope, I held my hand out over the boat edge. He took hold of it and helped pull me inside.
He really was so sweet.
If Jason saw this odd maneuver, he didn’t mention it. He tilted his head backward in aggravation. “Why wait until tomorrow? Why not just take the goblet tonight?”
“Shh.” I glanced around to see if anyone heard him. The other boats were already pushing off, the princes busily chatting with my sisters. “If she doesn’t know her goblet is missing, we’ll have a better chance of getting away with the theft. Queen Orlaith is dangerous.”
Jason put his hands on the side of the boat, leaning over it to glare at me. “You think she’s dangerous? I’ll tell you who’s dangerous: my lawyers. And if I don’t get a cell phone soon, this place will be raining subpoenas.”
He said other things, but I couldn’t understand them. By that point, Jason had put his back against the ship and was pushing the boat into the water. Once the boat edged into the lake, He jumped inside and picked up the oars.
One of the princes called, “You’ll be last again tonight!”
Jason yelled back, “That’s because I started later than the rest of you! Open your eyes!” He said a few more things—insults that made me think he spent way too much time thinking about rear ends and their functions.
“This isn’t a race,” I told him. “It doesn’t matter if we’re last.”
Jason pulled hard on the oars, leaning into the motion. “It always matters if you’re last. I work too hard to be a loser.”
“So if you lose at something, it means you didn’t work hard?”
“Not hard enough.”
A cold prickle of irritation stiffened my spine. And this time, I wasn’t keeping quiet. “Just like you, I practice music for hours every day. I play the piano or the guitar or work on my voice lessons. I still lost on your stupid TV show. Don’t tell me only winners work hard.”
Jason’s eyes widened with surprise. Apparently it had never occurred to him that his thoughts about losers would offend someone who had bombed America’s Top Talent.
He yanked at the oars. “I’m sure you’ll get better someday.” It was a pathetic attempt at consolation. “Or you’ll find something else you’re good at.” He shrugged. “You’re pretty. You could do something with that.”
I held up my hands. “You don’t need to offer suggestions. I stopped caring what you thought yesterday.”
“You—” His jaw went a slack. “Have you forgotten who I am?”
“If I ever do, I’m sure you’ll be the first to remind me.”
Jason gripped the oars harder, dipping them into the black water with a hurried splash. “I could make you or break you in the music business.”
Donovan’s voice came close to my ear. “Do you want me to push him overboard?”
“Naw,” I whispered back. “Then one of us would have to row.”
I hadn’t whispered quietly enough. Jason cocked his head. “One of you? Who are you talking to?”
“No one—ouch!” I slapped my hand to my nose. I’d lied without thinking about it. “I mean, I’m talking to my invisible friend.”
My nose shrunk again.
“Great,” Jason muttered. “That makes me feel better about being in a boat with you.” He shook his head. “When I get my hands on my manager . . .”
I didn’t say much else for the rest of the boat ride. Jason filled the silence with a nonstop rant about everything wrong with his castle. “Authentic is one thing, but they don’t have a refrigerator. That’s unsanitary. Even third world countries have refrigerators. I bet bushmen have refrigerators.”
Behind me, Donovan chuckled. “I’ll take that bet. After we get the goblet, have Chrissy send him to live with some bushman so he can find out.”
I smiled despite myself. It was easier to listen to Jason when Donovan was nearby.
Chapter 22
By the time we reached the island, the other princes had already pulled their boats onto the land and helped their dates disembark. Arm in arm, they made their way to the dance pavilion, a picture of elegance.
Kailen was nowhere in sight. Perhaps he’d only come to the shore last night because he didn’t know who Jason and I were.
I walked up the path toward the pavilion, listening to the strains of fairy music. Bell-like sounds were sprinkled through the song, chiming softly. Sometimes I heard the call of birds or the sound of waves. I swear a couple of times I heard the sound of starlight glimmering to earth. I wished I could make that sort of music.
Just like the night before, the tables were heaped with food and drink. Queen Orlaith sat in her throne in patient silence. Her dark hair was pinned up in an elaborate bun, and the crown of teeth glowed in the moonlight. Kailen wasn’t with her. I wondered if I’d been wrong about his reason for not greeting us. Maybe he hadn’t come tonight because he was still angry with his mother. I didn’t mind the absence. The fewer fairies I had to deal with, the better.
The goblet was already out of the box. It stood on the table directly in front of the queen, waiting for her question. She fingered the stem absentmindedly, watching couples take the floor.
She hadn’t been overly friendly last night, but tonight she looked even more severe. Her lips were set in a grim line and her dark eyes were cold. Was she upset about her fight with Kailen, or was I reading emotions into her expression?
She stood up, briefly welcomed the couples, and then sat again.
Instead of taking me to the dance floor, Jason walked to the chairs near the refreshment table. “I don’t feel like dancing. I think I’ll sit out for awhile.”
He was sullen, pouting. I supposed he was used to girls who did their best to flirt and tease and plead him out of his bad moods. I wasn’t going to be one of those girls.