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“I’ve been banished.”

“It’s not fair.” I wipe my eyes. “I should go with you.”

“You belong here.” She holds my gaze and plays with a lock of my hair. “You’re not only heir to the throne, but you need to figure out what this is all about. And besides, you’ve found love. You don’t want to walk—or should I say swim—away from that. Trust me, you’ll regret that for the rest of your life. You’ll always wonder what could’ve been.”

“Aren’t you doing exactly that?”

She shakes her head and smiles wistfully. “No. If what your dad and I had was love, we wouldn’t be in this position. Also, we had twenty years together. There’s nothing to wonder about.”

“But—”

“Really, I have to leave. I love you, sweetie.” Mom kisses me, then she hurries away. The sound of her sobs carries back to me.

I start to chase after her, but someone stops me. Bash pulls me close and wraps his arms around me. Runs his fingers through my hair and whispers, “It’ll be okay.”

I lean against him and let him comfort me. “I hate this.”

“Your dad sucks.”

I don’t disagree. He rubs his hands up and down my back. His touch on my skin sends a shiver down my spine.

Halen races over. “There you two are! What happened?”

“She needed to talk to her mom one last time,” Bash says.

“Were you eavesdropping?” I ask.

He gives me a crooked smile. “Guess we’re even now.”

I lean my head against his and close my eyes, the reality of the situation sinking in. I’m never going to see my mom again. A girl needs her mom. I look back at Bash. “How have you survived so long without your parents?”

He frowns. “It hasn’t been easy, but I have my band. They’ve been there for me through thick and thin. Now I have you, and …” His voice trails off as he looks deep in thought. “It’s like I said in the song I wrote for you—it’s so much easier to come up with the right words when I’m putting them to music. It just—”

I press my lips on his and kiss him deeply, losing myself and forgetting my heartache for a few moments.

“Someone’s coming!” Halen nudges me.

Bash and I pull apart. Voices sound down the hallway. I’d know those anywhere—Dad and his new fiancée. I throw up a little in my mouth thinking of her that way. Halen grabs my arm and yanks me down a corridor. Bash quickly follows.

“I thought I heard voices down here,” Mrs. Middlebrooks says. Her voice grates on me. Has it always been so nasally? Or is it just because she basically banished my mom to land?

Halen puts a finger to her lips, as if I’d say anything and risk having to talk to those two.

“They must’ve gone back to the academy,” Dad says.

“I’m sure they did.” Now Mrs. Middlebrooks’s voice sounds sultry. I picture her leaning against my dad, rubbing her palms over his beard. I close my eyes, but can’t get the image out of my head. “I don’t have to be at my office until morning. That leaves us with the night to ourselves.”

Now I throw up a lot in my mouth. Without thinking, I race down the hallway until I find a bathroom.

Halen joins me and grimaces. “Can you believe them?”

I rinse out my mouth. “My dad can’t get enough of ruining my life.”

She digs into her purse. “Have a mint.”

“Thanks.” I take it and we head back into the hallway.

“You okay?” Bash asks.