When best friends Claire and Jo wake up trapped in a fantasy romance novel, Claire thinks it's a dream come true while Jo knows it's her worst nightmare - especially after they are almost killed by a monster and end up on the wrong end of a handsome...
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THERE WAS SOMETHING eerie about walking through the castle after the sun had set and moonlight shone through the large windows. Servants passed in shadowy tendrils while Miss Myrina guided me back to my room. There were fewer people – knights, specifically – on duty. There was always one outside mine and Jo's chambers, but the hallway was surprisingly empty.
Jo's room was dark underneath her closed door. She hadn't returned from the library yet.
I worked my troubles out by chewing on one of the pieces of ice that was supposed to be in the cloth on my hand while I paced my room. My hand already faded from the purple monstrosity it was hours ago into a dull yellow-green. The healing tonic was legit.
Part of me wanted to stop pacing and go find Jo. What if she was caught in the library? Would it look questionable for a noble of Velein to have books from both kingdoms scattered about, especially after my fumble at dinner? Why did I have to be such a terrible liar? I couldn't believe I said my only career goals were to help people. What a pathetic answer! When it came to my future, I only got as far as wanting Stanford, but I didn't even have that now. I didn't have anything but these lies. My stupid, terrible, useless lies.
I was floundering. Tonight made me realize that. If I were here alone, I would've been made before the first sunrise in Larnwick.
At least the king was generous enough to only imply that I was a lost girl with no ambition, something my mother would've told me straight to my face. Or maybe she already had, I couldn't remember. I could see the smug expression that would go with it, her hands waving carelessly in the air, as she said the words in a kind tone, sometimes with a giggle, as if it were a joke. As if I were a joke.
The door to my room burst open. I jumped to my feet, blood pounding in my ears as I took in my breathless best friend. Jo looked like she just ran a marathon, face pale, her chest heaving. Her eyes were wide and feral. "Claire," she panted out. Then she dropped her hands to her knees. "Fuck, this castle is big.
She looked like she was going to pass out. I rushed to her side, floundering around her because I didn't exactly know what to do if she passed out, and ended up hovering until she slumped into the stool at my vanity. "He knows," she finally said.
My heart plummeted to my feet. "What?"
Jo seemed to catch a second wind, shooting up from her seat to pace my room, almost following the exact same trail I'd been using before. "The King! He knows we're frauds, or at least he thinks we are. He's having that stupid monster extinguisher guy spy on us until he can collect enough info to know for sure."
My head spun. I thought the lies we built up were solid... enough. Weren't they? We'd done as much research as we could, I'd spent my entire life reading about this world to know for sure. How was it not enough? I leaned against a post of my canopy bed, a little unsteady, while Jo freaked out enough for the both of us. We needed to stay calm. "Tell me what happened," I said.
