“You can’t be serious,” Dieter Prince snorts.
“That must be gold-plated pussy,” Moroz laughs, slapping his ham-sized hands on his thighs.
Romero scowls at the slight to his daughter, then immediately wipes his face smooth when Moroz glances in his direction.
“That’s what I want,” I say, quietly. And then, realizing that Zoe will require one other thing to be happy, I say, “Catalina, as well. No marriage contract for her. She marries whoever she likes, after she graduates.”
Romero is freshly outraged, sputtering down at the end of the table. He’s required to sacrifice the most of anyone present—the girls are his only two children. His only pawns. But after all, pawns aren’t worth much in the eyes of chess masters. With all the trouble Zoe has given him, he may be sick of marriage contracts.
The silence stretches out. No one wants to speak first.
Moroz has the least patience.
“What, then?” He demands, banging his massive fist on the table, making all of us jump. “I have a pile of cash and no time to waste. Do we all agree?”
“Yes!” Romero yelps, more out of nerves than anything else.
Dieter Prince looks at his wife. He seems to be searching for a way to extricate himself from this deal without getting in trouble.
Mrs. Prince has a different perspective.
“This way is better,” she says, softly. “More money. More allies. No marriage contract.”
Her blue eyes meet mine for one swift second.
She doesn’t say anything else, but I’m certain that deep inside of her, there’s some measure of sympathy for Zoe. And very little love for her son.
“So be it,” Mr. Prince says. “Rocco is young. Plenty of time for him to find someone else.”
He sniffs, dismissing Zoe in a breath as he stares at that laptop screen again.
I’d like to smash it over his fucking head. But I’m too elated by what I just managed to pull off. The biggest fucking deal of my life. For the greatest prize imaginable.
“Let’s toast,” I say, “While I draw up the contract.”
By the time we’ve all signed and shared three rounds of drinks, I know I’m barely going to make it back to the dock in time. Moroz has been pouring shots that fill his tumbler, and he’s starting to get a crazed gleam in his eye. I want to get the fuck out of here before he gives me a backslap that knocks my fucking head off my shoulders.
We bid our farewells and part ways in the lobby, all of us waiting for the Malina to leave first before we feel comfortable heading out in the dark on our own.
I sprint down to the docks, still wearing my suit, having forgotten my uniform back at the hotel.
I’m ten minutes past the three hours Ares and I agreed upon.
Yet the sleek black boat waits at the end of its berth.
“You were supposed to leave without me,” I tell Ares.
“I know,” he sighs. “I kinda need you to get back through those rocks.”
“And you were mildly concerned that I might be dead.”
“Concerned, or hopeful?”
“Definitely concerned.”
“Only ‘cause I thought I might miss out on my cut of this super important deal.”
I laugh. “There is no cut. I’m broke as fuck now. Spent it all.”
Ares shakes his head at me. “That doesn’t sound like a very good deal.”
I picture Zoe’s face when I tell her what I’ve done. The way her disbelief will melt into a smile brighter than the dawn.
“It’s a fucking fantastic deal,” I tell him. “The best I’ll ever get.”
21
Cat
When I don’t see Zoe at breakfast, I worry that something awful happened to her again.
Instead, she comes bursting into my room down in the Undercroft while I’m stuffing my backpack with books.
She rarely comes to visit my dorm—nobody who isn’t a Spy likes to come to the Undercroft. They find it creepy, and to be fair, the Spies are less than welcoming.
We’re the only division where the male and female students share the same floor. While I’ve gotten to know some of the older students like Shannon Kelly and Isabel Dixon, I hate visiting the bathrooms at the far end of the tunnel, because it means I also have to pass the doors of some of the absolutely terrifying residents like Jasper Webb and my own asshole cousin Martin Romero.
Their rooms are caves, and I have a sneaking fear that if I don’t run past their door fast enough, they might reach out a tentacle-like arm and drag me inside.
For all these reasons, it’s usually me that visits Zoe in the bright, clean Solar.
Today I’m simply relieved to see her at all, especially since I can tell at a glance that her face is beaming with excitement.
“He did it!” She cries, her voice choked with emotion. “Miles did it!”
“Did what?” I say, blankly.
“He convinced the Princes to dissolve the marriage contract.”
I stare at her, open-mouthed, not able to process what I’m hearing.
“How . . . are you sure?”
I want to celebrate with my sister, but I’m afraid this can’t possibly be true. I don’t want her hopes dashed as quickly as they rose.
Zoe lowers her voice, though we’re alone in my room. Rakel already left for class.
“He snuck out last night with Ares. They went to Dubrovnik and Miles made a new deal with the Princes and our father.”
Zoe sounds feverish. I haven’t seen her this happy in . . . maybe forever.
“Does Rocco know?” I whisper.
“Not yet. But he will.”
Zoe is triumphant. She can’t wait for Rocco to hear that his schemes have been ripped out from under him.
I, on the other hand, feel a new level of dread.
Rocco isn’t going to take this well. Not at all.
I don’t want to say that to Zoe, however. I don’t want to eat away at her joy in this moment.
So I just throw my arms around her and hug her hard.
“I’m so, so happy for you Zo,” I say. “You deserve this.”
She hugs me back even harder, her slim frame shaking with excitement. “The deal is for you too, Cat. Our father won’t make a contract for you. He’s not allowed to. You won’t have to marry anyone you don’t like.”
I let out a long sigh. That was a future horror I had never even considered, because it scared me too much.
“Miles did that? For me?” I say.
“Yes,” Zoe pulls back to look at me, smoothing a few wild curls back from my face. They immediately spring forward again, disobedient as ever. “He knows how much I love you.”
I’ve never imagined a free future for myself. It’s overwhelming. I don’t know where to begin making plans. I feel like I’m standing in front of a buffet with a thousand dishes.
What would I do, if I could truly do anything in the world?
Would I go to Pintamonas?
That’s what I planned, before I came here.
But I don’t know if I want that anymore. My progress at Kingmakers has been hard-won. I started at the bottom of my class, the weakest, the least competent. Slowly over the school year, I’ve grown. I’ve learned things. Discovered reserves of strength and ingenuity I never knew I possessed. Bit by bit my grades have improved, so I’m no longer failing. I might even find myself at the middle of the pack.