Queen's Shadow by E. K. Johnston

Author:E. K. Johnston [Johnston, E. K.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Disney Book Group
Published: 2019-03-05T00:00:00+00:00

Sabé felt like every one of her nerves was humming as she made her way back to the apartment. It was always like this when a switch was finally over. She could maintain her calm as long as she was the decoy, no matter the stakes. The moment Sabé was free to be herself again, however, all of her feelings crashed into her at the same time, and that always made her jittery. She was hungry, too, since she’d been unable to eat for most of the evening, but decided to wait until she got home before she stopped for food.

She was on high alert, probably moving like some kind of stim junkie, and replaying all of the scenes from the party in her mind. She’d fooled Onaconda Farr! Who actually knew who she was, and who Padmé was besides. Then she’d held court amidst constant camera and holojournalist attention for most of the evening, without batting so much as an eyelash. She felt like she could do anything, be anyone, be Senator Amidala, be Queen of Naboo again. Her adrenaline surged, and she reflected that it was probably for the best she was headed home. She was worse than a junkie right now, and she needed something to ground her.

The apartment was dark when the door slid open to admit her, and she thought maybe Tonra was out. Then she noticed his boots, neatly lined up beside the space where hers went, and realized he must just be in bed. She took off her boots as quietly as she could and then tiptoed into the kitchen to see if there was anything to eat. She had just started to rummage through one of the cabinets when the light came on, and she jumped.

“Tonra!” she said, turning around to see him. “You startled me.”

“First time for everything, I guess,” he said. He was dressed for sleep, his tall frame leaning on the doorpost while he looked at her. “Are you all right?”

“Yes,” she said. She gave up on getting real food and cracked open a ration bar instead. It wasn’t very tasty, but it got the job done quickly. “I’m all right, Padmé is all right. Everything is all right.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” he said. “I missed you this week.”

She hadn’t contacted him. Not even once. It was procedure, of course, but now she wished they had set up a protocol to meet while she was gone. It must have been hell for him to wait and not hear anything.

“I missed you, too,” she said. “It’s so easy to get caught up in Padmé’s orbit, but I missed the work we do here.”

“She’s been your friend for a long time,” Tonra said. “It makes sense that you get caught up in her when you’re with her.”

“It’s more than that,” Sabé said. She finished the ration bar and wiped the crumbs off her hands. It was never easy to explain, even to the closest of insiders, the bond that all the handmaidens shared.

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