Mira Kinney dissected every scene in both of the episodes, talking about posture, eye contact, and camera angles, but I didn’t listen to a word.
All I could think of was Dallas. And Shaye. And Dallas with Shaye.
I knew him well enough to know that he wasn’t interested in Tamara. But I could see, quite clearly, that he was taken with Shaye.
Why would he do this to me? Why had he lied and said he only had eyes for me?
Why would he come see me first thing this morning?
Why had he made me hope?
The episode dissection ended, and Mira dismissed us. My head throbbed as I headed to the lecture hall, where Tariq was giving our next lesson. Both Shaye and Tamara were uncharacteristically silent, which suited me fine.
“Are you all right?” Shaye asked, as we took seats in the hall.
“Of course.” I fake-smiled so hard my face hurt.
“I told you he kissed me.” Shaye sounded defensive.
I nodded quickly. “I know you did.”
Tamara rolled her eyes, but I ignored her, grateful that Tariq was already at the front of the room, ready to speak.
“Ladies, first of all, congratulations. You are the final twenty contestants. Nicely done.” He clapped, and we joined him. “Now, as I stated previously, there are four weeks remaining in the competition. I have several announcements about that.”
He waited as murmurs broke through the group then continued. “No one will be cut for the next four weeks. Each of you will have a one-on-one date with the prince. For those of you who haven’t done that yet, you are the priority. All first dates will consist of a formal dinner, as they have to this point.”
The girls whispered until Tariq cleared his throat. “That being said, his royal highness will also be spending individual time with the girls he’s already had first dates with. Second dates will be given to whomever the prince requests, and they can occur at any time.”
More chatter erupted, and Tariq held up his hands. “Ladies, please.” The room quieted down again. “Second dates will be more adventurous, you might say, than first dates. If you are chosen for a second date, you can expect to do an activity with the prince. These might include horseback riding, hiking, archery, or dancing.”
Several of the girls oohed and aahed.
Tariq smiled, pleased with the response. “The point of a first date is to see if you and the prince can have a conversation and enjoy a meal together.”
Except Dallas can’t eat anything, I thought meanly. So he’ll just gaze at you longingly and flash his traitorous, duplicitous dimple. Because apparently, he does that to all the girls!
“The point of a second date is to see if you can enjoy an activity together and whether or not you have shared interests. I must stress that these second dates are very, very important. The prince takes the competition seriously. He is looking to find his life partner, and he wants to see who he most enjoys spending time with.”
I snorted then quickly disguised it as a cough.
“At the end of the four weeks, the palace will host a royal gala.” Tariq beamed as excited cries and chatter broke throughout the audience. “Each of you will be dressed in a gown befitting the company of the royal family. At the end of the night, the final four contestants will be announced.”
He paced the front of the room. “We are going to be filming you every second over the next few weeks. As Mira said, we want the audience to take this journey with you. We want them to feel what you feel—your triumph, your hope, your heartbreak.”
Tariq eyed us, letting that sink in. “The next episodes of the Pageant are going to get very personal. We want to involve the audience as much as possible so they’re invested in the outcome. It’s good for all of the settlements. I had high expectations for this competition, and it’s working out better than I’d hoped. People want a princess they can believe in, who they can relate to. They need to see you as normal girls, risking your hearts to find true love. I need all of you to do your best, to commit to this process even more so, and to give it all you’ve got. The reward is a husband and a kingdom.”
The room was silent for a moment. Then Tamara raised her hand. “What happens after the finalists are announced?” She asked the question confidently, as if she had already had a vested interest in the answer.
Tariq nodded. “Each of the final four girls will have one last week with the royal family. The prince will visit each of their settlements and meet each girl’s family. At the end of that week, the winner of the Pageant will be announced, and plans for the royal wedding will begin in earnest.”
Tariq didn’t bother to try to quiet us after that. The room erupted with talk, each girl discussing their individual position and what the coming weeks would bring.
“Well, this should be…fun,” I said haltingly.
Shaye smiled tightly. “Absolutely.”
“I can’t wait for my second date.” Tamara inspected her nails. “I am going to show the prince that I’m very good company.”
Shaye frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing, Miss Innocent.” Tamara shrugged. “It just means that he’ll enjoy his time with me. I’ll make sure of it.”
The way she said it made me want to go take a shower.
“Do you think we can go, now?” I didn’t want to hear any more about Tamara’s questionable plans for the prince. I simply wanted to go to my room and be alone. And maybe pretend Dallas was my pillow and then punch the living daylights out of it.
“Ladies, you are dismissed until the afternoon sessions.” Tariq bowed.
I hastily took my leave, hustling into the hallway, full steam ahead. I planned to have my way with that pillow—
“Gwyneth. Why do you look as if you’re about to blow your stack?” Dallas suddenly stood in front of me, an amused look on his face.
I clenched my fists together. “Oh, you…you…”
He arched an eyebrow. “This a ‘me’ issue? Do tell.”
I put my hands on my hips, either too angry to speak or just winding up—I wasn’t sure.
Sensing an oncoming public tirade, Dallas gently took me by the arm. He led me through a door and outside onto the eastern lawn. Closing the door behind us, he made sure no one was near. “What did I do now?”
“You kissed Shaye!” I roared.
He arched an eyebrow. “I already told you about that, and if I recall correctly, so did she.”
“I just saw the episode,” I spluttered, “and you were tripping all over yourself, following her around!”
He waited to see if I’d go on. When I didn’t, he cocked his head at me. “If you’ll remember, I had my date with Shaye right after you’d said that my people were—now wait, let’s see if I can remember it all correctly, you did rather go on—ah, yes. ‘Mind controllers who would slaughter all of humanity in an instant.’ Isn’t that what you said?”
I lifted my chin. “I explained myself. I told you that I struggled after I saw the rebel attack.”
“And I told you that I barely kissed her,” Dallas said. “And that at the time, I didn’t know you cared.”
I took a deep breath, trying to calm down. “You seemed…into her. It looked real.”
“Shaye was kind to me. I appreciated it.”
“It looked like you did more than appreciate it.”
“She was nice to me when you were not.”
I scoffed. “You’d just slaughtered a hundred humans and burned them in a funeral pyre on your lawn. ‘Nice’ wasn’t available, Your Worship!”
Dallas’s eyes flashed. “I’m not human, but I still have feelings.”
“Oh, fine.” I haughtily pulled myself to my full height. “You go and have all the feelings you want!”
I hustled back inside, and Dallas cursed, hot on my trail. “You are being a child, Gwyneth—”
“Ah, I’ve been looking for you.” Tariq blocked my escape down the hall.
I peered around him, desperate for escape. For the love of all things holy, get out of my way!
The prince caught up to me, and we briefly glared at each other. Then we turned our attention to Tariq, who watched us with thinly veiled interest.
“Yes, Tariq?” I tried to keep my voice neutral. “What can I do for you?”
“I was going to tell you about tomorrow, but I guess His Highness has informed you of your special plans together.”
“Um…” I swallowed hard.
“I haven’t told her.” Dallas sounded grim.
“Ah, well then.” Tariq bowed toward me. “You have the honor of having a second date with the prince tomorrow. I’ll have your maids instructed—they need to pack you. You’ll be gone all morning.”
“I… Uh…”
“Get plenty of sleep tonight. The camera crew will be following you. They’ll be filming every precious second.” Tariq beamed then bowed again. “Your Highness. Miss West.”
I didn’t miss his smirk as he turned on his heel and swept off.
That just left Dallas and me.
“Are you finished berating me then running away like a coward?” he asked.
“I think I’m done. And I’m not a coward! I’m simply…pissed.” I cleared my throat, cheeks heating. “Your Highness.”
“Ah. Simply pissed, is it? Sounds easy enough to manage. I’ll leave you to it.” I might’ve imagined it, but his eyes sparkled.
I coughed. “Thanks.”
“Well then…see you tomorrow.” I caught a flash of the prince’s dimple before he strode off.
At least someone was amused.
I just stood there, fists still clenched, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. But then I remembered my pillow.
Suddenly feeling better, I stalked off to punish it.