Starfall: A Starstruck Novel Read Online Free PDF Page A

left by prior Sovereigns?”  
    “I haven’t exactly looked yet. But I will.”  
    “Yes, do. Though perhaps not tonight. We have that breakfast meeting at eight, then petitions in the Royal Audience Hall followed by a luncheon and a meeting with the Healers. After that, I’ll do my best to rearrange a few things to give you time to devote to this new project. I, ah, recommend against mentioning it to Nels just yet.”
    I managed a wry smile. “Yeah, I’d rather not have him nagging at me while I’m trying to figure it out.”
    Mr. O’s smile looked more genuine than mine felt. “I’m glad we are in accord. Good night, Excellency.”  
    He headed for the door but Sean hung back. “I’ll catch up in a minute, Dad, okay?”
    Though his father raised an eyebrow, he nodded, bowed to me and left.
    Sean turned to me, his bright blue eyes as sympathetic as they were interested. “It’s great you remembered that Archive thing. Wish I’d thought of it yesterday. Figuring it out will probably do a better job than all this political stuff to—”
    “To distract me?” I finished, making him grimace. “I’m sorry, Sean, that’s not fair.” Especially since I’d had that identical thought just now. “You haven’t gloated once about Rigel leaving, even though you have every reason to be glad.”
    “Hey, give me a little credit. It’s true I was never a fan of you two as a couple, but I didn’t want you hurt. Ever.” He held my gaze, willing me to believe him.
    “I know. And I really am grateful. You’ve been right there for me ever since we got to Nuath.” I paused, then added in a bitter rush, “Unlike Rigel, who deserted me right when I needed him most.”
    Sean made a small motion of denial but I plunged on.  
    “No, it’s true, you know it is.” A totally unexpected surge of anger—at Rigel —swept through me. “He said himself he was taking the coward’s way out and he was right. Nothing can ever excuse what he did to me.”
    Sean shook his head again. “I thought the same thing at first M, but—”
    “But what?” My sudden anger threatened to spill over onto Sean. “You agree with your dad that what he did was all noble? That it was ‘the right thing to do’?”  
    Sean hesitated for a long moment, then shrugged, not quite meeting my eye. “No. Hurting you definitely wasn’t right. But…you should still cut him a little slack. These past few months were pretty rough on him, and I…well, I made it worse, lots of times.”  
    Surprise at his unexpected defense of Rigel undercut my new anger—but I refused to let go of it. It felt so much better than despair. Empowering, even. “You’re a good guy, Sean, you know that? Maybe if—”
    “Look, I…I gotta go.” Still not making eye contact, he turned toward the door. “We’ll talk tomorrow, okay? And, uh, good luck with that Archive thing.”  
    I frowned after him, wondering what could have sparked his sudden change in attitude, then shrugged. I already had enough puzzles to solve. That one would have to wait.  
    A few minutes later, as Molly was finally helping me out of my fancy gown, I let my gaze wander around my bedchamber. Surely, if prior Sovereigns had left any sort of record or clue for their descendants, it would be somewhere in this apartment?  
    The Royal chambers, I’d learned, contained a variety of compartments and amenities accessible only by someone with Sovereign blood—like the secret elevator. A non-Sovereign couldn’t even use the hot water shower (something less than 1% of households in Nuath boasted, water on Mars was so precious). If not a journal, maybe there was some kind of crystal reader hidden in a genetically coded hidey-hole I hadn’t found yet.
    As soon as Molly left, I put a robe on over my nightgown and channeled the welcome energy of my newly-discovered anger at Rigel to begin a systematic search.
    *     *     *
    “So, did you, um, find anything last night?” Sean whispered as