At some point while I’d been speaking, Dr. Hatchet had joined Richardon the side of the stage, his red hair fiery in the sunlight and the look on his freckled face relaxed and encouraging. I flashed him a small smile. He was the reason I’d risked my life and entire future to stay, but he was mine—he was private, and while anyone in Elsewhere could see the pair of us walking around together, working on target practice or tending to the recovering victims ofthe battle, I wasn’t going to tell the world about him. He was the c***k in my armor, and I wouldn’t give anyone the opportunity to use him against me.
“If you’ll bear with me, I promise this all has a point,” I said as more and more people began to shift and glance at their neighbors. The revelation that I was really the Prime Minister’
