“Nearly everyone is unhappy with me right now, so that’s refreshing,” he said. “Honestly? It feels like I’m doing everything wrong, and I’ve only been given a portion of the royal responsibility. I feel like I can’t make any mistakes at all, but everything I do causes discontent.”

There was vulnerability in his voice. Ledi knew that feeling well. She’d spent most of her life thinking if she did everything just right, things would work out. She’d be adopted, she’d get into a good school, she’d get the right practicum. In the end, nothing had worked out as planned, but everything had still worked out. She had her practicum, she had found her family, and she was on a noble steed with a handsome prince. Not too shabby.

“If I have to say one thing about you it’s that you’re persistent and you own up to your mistakes. And you care. That’s a good start for a future king.”

She closed her eyes and for a moment imagined what it would be like to be his future queen. To have such responsibility would be nerve-racking, but the trade-off would be getting to help people. Being royalty might have its upside, but thinking about it in relation to herself was asking for trouble.

“You won’t ever be perfect—”

“Because of the fuckboyism?” he cut in.

“Because you’re human,” she said. “And humans make mistakes.”

“So I’ve heard. So. I’ve. Heard.” He maneuvered the donkey around an SUV.

She thought of Thabiso’s expression that day in the park when he’d tried to tell her the truth; that night when he’d tried again. And again. She thought of Portia, who had made mistakes but who she missed so much it hurt. That was the thing with people getting past your defenses. They were bound to fuck up, maybe a little, maybe a lot. It was what they did afterward that counted. Ledi wondered if her Velcro was always defective, or if sometimes she was so scared of being hurt that she preemptively ripped herself away.

She turned her attention back to the town instead of digging deeper into that revelation. The sky was slate gray and overcast, and glowing streetlights illuminated cars and motorbikes and goats that rambled along the streets, a mix of ancient and modern.

“This is where my family is from.”

Thabiso murmured a sound of confirmation behind her. Ledi strained, tried so hard to remember a life with her parents that she briefly felt dizzy, but came up with nothing. She didn’t remember a damn thing about this place.

“Funny. I hate snow.”

He didn’t say anything, but it didn’t feel like a careless silence. He seemed to be giving her space to breathe.

It was hard to take in, the differences from the life she’d known in New York and what she saw before her. As they passed a larger house, a group of children came bolting out of the gate, pelting each other with snowballs. Their happy laughter echoed off of the cobblestones, and a couple of women in parkas came out and joined in the snowball fight. Ledi caught sight of the sign in front and sucked in a breath.

LEK HEMANE ORPHANAGE

“It looks like any other home here,” she said. “The group homes I was in always felt like what they were. A place for kids they didn’t know what to do with. Not because the social workers didn’t try, but they were underpaid, overworked, and fighting a system that should have been helping them along.”

Thabiso dropped the rein with one hand and circled his arm around her so she was cradled against him. It felt good, too good, but she allowed herself the comfort. “Children who lose their parents in Thesolo are raised by the community. They live with the caretakers at the orphanage, but the orphanage is at the center of town because we believe everyone should interact with and take care of them. Nya works at the school that is attached.”

She thought of the lonely halfway houses and overcrowded foster homes. Those children had run past like they were free and happy, and unafraid of anything. Had she ever felt that safe?

You do now, in Thabiso’s arms.

She ignored the emotions that threatened to overtake her when he pulled her closer and sighed.

“Are we near the hospital?” she asked.

“It’s straight ahead, just a few blocks down.”

“Good.” She grabbed the reins just a bit below where he held them and pulled, as she’d seen him do; he released his hold on her. The donkey stopped and she gave him a pat on the head. “I’ll get off here and do some looking around before speaking with Dr. Bata.”

She slid down to the ground, her body suddenly cool where Thabiso had kept her warm.

He nodded. “I will tell her you’re on your way. Be careful, please.”

With that he was off. How did he make riding a donkey look sexy? D’artagnan looked back at her, batting his long lashes as if to say Girl, I know.

Ledi took a deep breath. She needed to get her head right before they arrived at the hospital. No thoughts of what it would be like to be queen, or of orphans, of Thabiso up against her back and promising to watch out for her. She was coming into an investigation that was already underway, and though she had already been brought up to speed there was so much more work ahead of her. They were already at step five of the outbreak investigation, trying to orient the data they already had in terms of time, place, and people. She needed to prove herself useful to Dr. Bata; that was the real reason she was in Thesolo, after all.