“Unlike me,” Jaya agreed, though even divulging that little bit of honest information about herself felt like too much, like giving the lion a waft of blood when you’re trapped alone in a cage with him. “Anyway, she befriended this group of boys near where we lived. They were her age, and they ran a motorcycle repair shop. Isha’s pretty mechanically inclined, a skill Appa really wishes she’d keep more under her hat. She was constantly messing around with Appa’s cars in the palace garage, bribing the mechanics with cigarettes and snacks so they wouldn’t say anything to him. Tinkering with cars isn’t very becoming of a female royal, you know—greasy hands and ball gowns don’t mix.” She paused, waiting for a flicker of recognition. She’d read somewhere that your eyebrows don’t lie; when faced with someone or something you recognize, they rise very slightly. Grey’s eyebrows looked like he’d had a shot of Botox recently: immobile. Was he just that good a liar? She supposed that wasn’t completely surprising; deception ran in the Emerson bloodline, after all.

“Anyway,” she continued, “the boys told Isha one day that they were having trouble keeping their doors open. Their father had taken ill, and with one man down, they just weren’t able to fulfill customers’ needs like they used to. People were beginning to take their bikes to the rival shop. The boys were worried they wouldn’t be able to support their family anymore, or get their father the medical attention he needed.”

“Ah,” Grey said, and Jaya thought she saw a ghost of a smile at his lips. “Isha to the rescue?”

Jaya began to bristle but then noticed that, strangely, there was no sarcasm or smugness in his voice. If anything, he looked vaguely impressed. Frowning slightly, she said, “I suppose you might say that. She began cutting classes so she could assist at their shop during the day. She’s very good; she just made sure to stay in the back where customers wouldn’t see her. Even if no one recognized her as a Rao, people would definitely remark on a female mechanic. The boys were sworn to secrecy, and they had a reason to keep the secret. She managed to keep it going for several weeks by forging a letter from our mother to her teachers, saying she was ill but would be back soon.”

“So what happened?”