8
" I am very sorry, sir, but I cannot give you the Windsor crown,” Rita said calmly. “I do not have it, and even if I did, it is not mine to give away.”
“I don’t know if you heard me correctly,” the sergeant repeated, his words falling like bricks. “I said, hand it over.”
Rita smiled serenely and stood, holding her thin hands clasped in front of her. Nora glanced up at her, a worried look in her eyes.
“Quite possibly it was you who did not understand my reply. I said, I am very sorry, but I am afraid I cannot give you the crown. But I can offer you a nice cup of tea, and I just baked a batch of cheddar scones.”
A muffled snicker went through the room. I could even see Wesley, who stood by the door, trying not to smile. "
― Galaxy Craze , The Last Princess (Last Princess, #1)
9
" Move quickly and don’t say anything,” Wesley ordered as he pushed me forward. The steel wire fence of the Death Camps rose up sharply in the light of the moon. I stopped, whirling around to face him.
“How can you live with yourself, working for this army?” I asked in a trembling voice, staring deep into his eyes. “If you’re going to kill me, go ahead and do it now.”
He pushed me forward. “Didn’t you hear me?” he hissed. “I said, don’t speak. Keep walking.” The moonlight fell across his angular cheekbones and lit up the dark hollows of his eyes.
We had passed the camps and were now walking down the dark field toward a windowless brick building. “Where are you taking me?” I said through clenched teeth.
He pulled me to a stop and began to untie the rope binding my wrists.
“You’re not taking me to the camps?” My voice was filled with confusion.
He took a second gun from his uniform and placed it in my palm. “Do you know how to shoot?”
“Yes.”
“There’s a full round in there. Don’t let go of it. If we get separated, if the Roamers get you, just shoot them. Don’t hesitate or they’ll kill you first.”
I nodded mechanically and wrapped my fingers around the grip, wincing at the pain as I placed my finger experimentally on the trigger.
“I’m taking you somewhere safe, but we have to go through the woods to get there,” Wesley went on. “And we need to be quiet and careful. If I’m caught helping you, we’ll both be killed.”
I raised my eyes to his. I wanted to trust him, but what if this was just an elaborate trap? “Why are you helping me?” I asked.
He looked toward the Death Camps in the distance. “You’re not the only person here with something to hide, Eliza. "
― Galaxy Craze , The Last Princess (Last Princess, #1)
11
" The sound of my real name made me freeze. An owl hooted overhead, perched like a statue on the limp of a tree. Everything was in slow motion, as though time had come unhinged.
“You know who I am,” I said, but my voice was scarcely audible. The night air chilled my skin. It was so dark I almost couldn’t see Wesley in front of me.
“Yes.”
“Does anyone else know?”
“Not that I know of.”
I stumbled back a step. “How? When…?” I shook my head before asking the question that had plagued me for weeks. “Why did you let me escape that night in the palace?”
He nodded, as if he had expected this. “I looked in your eyes, and…I just couldn’t do it.” He paused, fumbling for words. “Please trust me.”
I thought about the times he’d been alone with me, with a weapon, when I’d been unarmed. If he’d wanted to kill me, he would have done it by now. Finally I nodded. “Where are we going?” I asked, still dazed, as we walked together back toward the center of camp.
“You’ll see,” he said somberly. "
― Galaxy Craze , The Last Princess (Last Princess, #1)
12
" What had been the purpose of my too-short like? I had been a daughter, a sister, a friend. Was that enough? My mother always said the most important thing in life was to love and be loved. I had done both.
“Come along.” I felt the guard nudge me forward.
“Wait.” I steadied myself enough to slip my feet out of my shoes, stepping onto the dewy grass, which felt soft and prickly at the same time. I needed to feel the grass beneath my feet one last time.
“I want to run,” Jamie said, is voice rising hopefully. “Please.”
“No running,” the guard responded sternly.
“Please let him,” Mary pleaded. “He’s been ill his whole life, until now.”
I heard the second guard shuffle his feet and whisper something to the first. I wished I could see their faces. “All right,” the first guard reluctantly agreed. “Three minutes. We’ll take off your blindfold so you don’t trip,” he added gruffly.
I couldn’t see Jamie, but I heard the patter of his feet, the joy in his voice as he cried out in happiness. Moved, the soldiers let him play for much longer than three minutes. And for once in his life, Jamie got to run outside like a normal boy, as the rain fell harder and the Tower chimed the hour of our execution. "
― Galaxy Craze , The Last Princess (Last Princess, #1)
15
" Wesley pulled me into his arms, wrapping me in a cocoon of warmth. “It’s late,” he said. “You should get some sleep. Take the bedroom--I can sleep here.” He gestured to the sofa.
I nodded, but didn’t want him to let go of me. “Come with me?”
He stood and led me into the bedroom. I lay down under the covers, still in my uniform, pulling him down with me. He placed the lantern on the bedside table, turning the wick low so the room went dark. He wrapped his arms protectively around my waist as he settled in. His skin smelled sweet and fresh, like water. I closed my eyes, pretending for a moment that this could last, that we could always be like this, together in the warmth of this tiny cottage in the middle of a poisoned forest. "
― Galaxy Craze , The Last Princess (Last Princess, #1)
