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“Blimey, Michaela!” Eirene pushed to her feet again. “Must you always be so American?”
I staggered to my feet. “I swear, it’s not personal.”
A little too smug, I took a step toward the goal and in the next breath, a semi broadsided me.
Okay, no. Not a semi.
A Dagny, working like a linebacker for the Niners. Like a cartoon, I likely had a Dagny-shaped imprint on my rib cage from her impact.
“What are you doing?” I moaned, aching for landing on the forest floor yet again.
Dagny towered over me, backlit by the sun. “I told you. The snoods would hide your shoes. I am a snood, and I will.” Bending, her grip locked around one of my boots. Shocked, I scrambled backward like a crab, but she remained focused on her work. I kicked and shook and fought, but she stayed with it like a bronc rider in the last seconds. With one final jerk, the boot was in her hand.
“Now, I will hide your shoe.” Dagny took off running, leaving me with one boot on and one fuzzy sock between my foot and the snow.
“What is happening?” I had to be dreaming. Any second, I would wake up.
Out of the corner of my eye, Eirene shook her head, preparing to go again. That was the last thing I wanted. Sadie was waiting for me at the finish line. I dug my fingers into the snow and propelled myself to my feet. Over my shoulder, not only Eirene trailed, but Gwen had joined the ranks. I sprinted the best I could in my one boot and fuzzy sock. Every step screamed the lunacy of my situation.
Thud. Thunk. Thud. Thunk.
I went over the hill, searching for Sadie. Fitz waited with the cameramen. As I came into focus, his eyes widened dramatically. Was it my appearance, or was it because I had the flag clutched in my grip? I didn’t have time to analyze. I needed Sadie. This was supposed to be her win.
“You went after it?”
I shook my head out of confusion. “Um, well, no, it was Sadie.” I twisted one way and then the other. With all the fighting and arguing, Sadie had plenty of time to get back here. Fitz still watched me like I needed to explain everything. Sighing, I did my best. “Sadie had it. Eirene stole it. I had to fight off snoody Eirene to get it back, and hey, I think Dagny is possessed. So, there’s that. The little scamp stole my boot.” I pointed at my foot before I picked up my rambling story again. “Do you have witch doctors to help with the Eonix issue, or maybe a snood extractor?” I shook my head. “I mean, that’s beside the point—“
“You have a black eye.” It wasn’t an exclamation. More a statement of fact in case I didn’t know.
“Yeah,” I scoffed, “probably from tackling Eirene. We came down pretty hard. Or maybe when I took the hit from Dagny. She’s not playing around.”
His eyes widened farther, too shocked at first to say anything. “You did all that to win?”
I stopped searching for Sadie and instead took a second to realize my predicament. Four cameras watched me with rapt attention. How did it look that I was willing to physically assault the other contenders to get a kiss from Fitz?
And it was all recorded.
I held the winning flag.
What had I done?
“It’s not my win,” I tried again. “Sadie found it. I was just her… running back. That’s all.”
Fitz still stared at me, absolutely incredulous. “I don’t see Lady Sadira anywhere.” His eyes narrowed. “Are you sure you don’t want to take credit?”
Where did she go? She had a solid head start. My eyes locked on the white pom that adorned the top of Sadie’s hat, all but hidden behind a large black crate near the vans.
“Your Highness, allow me a moment to confer with my teammate.” I didn’t wait for his permission and instead rushed over, one foot getting colder by the second. Sliding around the back of the box, I crouched beside my hiding partner.
“What are you doing? I have it all set up for you.” How could Sadie throw this away? Yes, she had an ex to get over, but Fitz wasn’t just some guy.
“But why?” she asked. “Take him for yourself. It’s clear you are the object of his desire.”
Come again? Me? His desire?
I peeked over the box, only letting my eyes show. Fitz spotted me right away. Both arms went out to his sides, obviously asking what was taking so long. I shook my head, frustrated that my puppet master routine had gone south. Couldn’t people fall in love on command? I sank back down, determined to convince Sadie to listen to me.
“Trust me,” I said to her, “I’m not the one he wants. But you could be.”
