Into the Spotlight: A Little Mermaid Remix

Chapter 10

Prince Liam felt awful.

Worse than awful.

Ashton had left and gone back home.

Which Liam understood. Ashton had essentially taken a break and left his kingdom for two months, which was an extended period of time. He had to go back.

Liam knew that.

The most painful part was without Ashton, Liam felt truly alone.

He suspected his sister felt just the same, due to Fiona's absence, if not worse than he did. In fact, Liam had felt so badly and wallowed so deeply in self-pity, that he'd failed to go to Oceania Remembered's concert.

He'd broken his streak.

And he was severely regretting it now.

So much for making friends with the most elusive and cut-off guy in Alleba.

To take his mind off Ashton's absence and how he'd failed Rem, Liam decided to check up on Kayden Kestral. It was something he should have done weeks ago, but he hadn't been able to talk himself into it.

Kayden had acted oddly... again.

Liam wondered if he would ever have the chance to see the youngest Kestral without him nearly fainting in front of him. So far, the answer appeared to be a solid no.

But the things Kayden had said swirled around in his brain.

"I'm perfectly fine, my prince."

Liam looked out the window of the car, as he was driven back to the castle. Perfectly fine my prince.

It sounded like something Oceania Remembered would have said.

Liam sighed. No matter what he did, he always ended up thinking about the masked pop star. Rem might as well have been a printed picture from a Nikon camera, laminated in colorless plastic and taped to the inside of Liam's brain, always in sight and never entirely out of mind.

Liam forced his focus to the blurring green and brown outside from the trees they were driving past. It reminded him of Kayden's eyes.

They had been very strange. The first time he'd met Kayden, Kayden's eyes were brown. Clearly brown. But this time, they had seemed blended, like two colors hastily layered on top of each other. Brown on top of something much lighter... green or blue, Liam hadn't been able to tell.

And then there was that half-completed breathless sentence.

"Would you rather... me faint from..."

Faint from what? Liam hadn't found that out. But Kayden had been gasping for air and hissing with pain, as though each gasp was absolute torture.

Liam didn't understand it.

The only possible explanation he had was severe asthma. But Kayden hadn't used an inhaler, and when his sibling had run toward them, they'd been carrying water, not an inhaler.

Nothing made sense.

Liam leaned his head dejectedly against the window, figuring he should try and come up with an excuse for when he next saw Oceania Remembered.

Until he realized he didn't have to wait until the next concert.

His head snapped up and he turned to his driver.

"Take me into the city please. To 189 Street."

His driver complied and Liam resisted the urge to fidget in his seat.

There was one person who could find Rem for him.

Elizabeth Quentian Graham.

*v*