Testament by Katie Ashley

almost the same reaction that happened when people couldn’t get enough food. Kellan’s voice made me jump. “You wanna tell me what the hell that was about, Red?”
    Raising my head, I glared at him. “I have a name you know.”
    “Yeah, I know.”
    “Then why don’t you use it?”
    A smirk slunk across his face. “Because I like calling you Red, and I like doing what I want.”
    I rolled my eyes. “Just when I thought you couldn’t be more arrogant…”
    Kellan held up his hands. “All right, all right, I concede. Cadence ,” he paused, “tell me why you didn’t want to give the geese bread.”
    “This,” I gestured to the loaf, “would mean a lot to some starving people I know. That’s why I was having a hard time giving it to some overfed palace geese.”
    “Oh,” he murmured.
    “That’s all you can say is ‘oh’?”
    Jamming his hands in his pockets, he retorted, “What do you want me to say?”
    “That you can understand why I reacted the way did, or that you feel really shitty that after everything people have been through, there are still starving people.”
    He stared at me, a quizzical expression on his face. “Wow, I really don’t know how to reply to that little tirade. I mean, you really put me in my place.”
    I sighed. “That wasn’t my intention. I just wanted you to realize there’s a whole world outside this property.”
    “And, I appreciate that.”
    I couldn’t tell if he was being sarcastic or sincere, so I chose to drop the subject by spreading out the last pieces of bread. Then Kellan started walking off along the shore. Rolling my eyes, I followed behind him. An uncomfortable silence hung in the air, weighing us down. Finally, my frustration broke lose, and I blurted, “Why am I here?”
    Kellan arched his eyebrows. “Excuse me?”
    I rolled my eyes. “I realize I’m a woman and allegedly inferior to your brainpower, but don’t insult my intelligence by pretending not to know what I’m talking about.”
    “Hmm, you want to know why you’re in the Top Three?”
    “Yes,” I hissed.
    He smirked at me. “I’m surprised you’d even have to ask. I would think a simple glance in the mirror would answer that question.”
    “But there were other girls in the Top Seven prettier than me,” I argued.
    His eyes roamed from my face to take a lingering stroll along the curves my body. “I don’t think so.”
    “So you’re that superficial and shallow? All you want is a pretty face you could tolerate looking at for the next fifty years or so.”
    “No, that’s not the only thing about you.”
    “Then what?”
    “I like your spunk.” My eyes widened, as I realized Laurel had been right about him. “None of the girl’s has what you do when it comes to personality and attitude. You remind me of Venessa and…”
    “And who?”
    “My mother.”
    “Oh,” I murmured. On impulse, my hand reached out to rub his arm. “I’m so sorry about her…well, you know.”
    Kellan’s expression suddenly darkened. “She tried to overthrow my father’s regime. She became a traitor to the government and me.”
    “Surely you don’t believe that.”
    He raised his eyebrows in surprise. “That what she did was traitorous?”
    I chewed my lip, wishing I had a tiny edit button to keep me from always saying too much. “Perhaps to the government, but not to you. I’m sure she loved you—that she still does. A mother’s love doesn’t die, especially one as strong as your mother’s.”
    He sucked in a breath. “And just how do you presume to know about my mother?”
    “My stylist used to work for her.”
    “Laurel,” he murmured.
    “Yes.”
    Shrugging, he grumbled, “She’s just a lowly servant. What would she know?”
    My eyes narrowed at him. “Yeah, well, we ‘lowly servants’ aren’t so intellectually stunted that we can’t see and feel, sir.”
    When he stared at me in disbelief, I ducked my head. “You certainly say and do what you feel, don’t you?”