Chapter One #2
“I am. I’m all in with you, Arden.” The sudden gravity of his tone affected me as strongly as his nearness. “Whatever happens in the coming days, remember that.”
“I’m all in with you too,” I whispered, taking his wonderful confession and planting it in the Beloved Moments section of my memory garden.
Since my childhood, I’d longed to work in agriculture.
I’d been forced to join the military instead.
Now, I gardened the only way I could—inside my mind.
What better way to keep track of my double life?
Less than a minute remained until we arrived.
Doom prickled me, a seed born of mysterious origins, and my stomach curdled.
Why feel this way? Inhale, exhale. No reason to discuss it right now, adding to our plate of problems. I’d wait until I’d dug deeper and discovered the source.
For the time being, I buried the doom in my least favorite section of the memory garden: Problems for Later.
“I can’t tell you everything that will happen today,” Cyrus said, “but I can tell you this. We’ll be separated. You’ll be shut in a room, tested for Madness, and questioned.”
I swiped my tongue over suddenly dry lips. “Got any hot, new tips for thriving during a CURED interrogation? Something you may have forgotten while we practiced?”
“Just remember what I told you. The interrogator’s comments and questions might seem innocuous, but they are designed to trigger your defenses so that you’ll elaborate and explain why you did certain things, what you thought or intended.
Don’t fall into the trap. Answer only what is asked, never elaborate. ”
“No elaborating.” I tapped my temple, pretending this was all no big deal and I wasn’t a weak link in our partnership.
He wasn’t done. “Don’t lie or exaggerate. Every word will be used against you at some point.”
“Noted. I’ll take a page from your book and misdirect.”
He might have winced. Since his misdirection had led me to shoot him with a netter gun and flee his presence as if my life depended on it, it wasn’t exactly our preferred topic. “Never deviate from our agreed story.”
“No deviating.” I gave an almost-confident nod. “Is there anything I can do?”
“We’ve already discussed how much you’ll miss me.
” Cyrus captured one of my fingers between two of his, gentle, so gentle.
A slight touch I felt in the deepest depths of my soul.
“For the next few weeks, I’ll be traveling to and from Theirland to meet with the emperor.
I won’t have many opportunities to see you. ”
I’d thought I wouldn’t see him for a day, maybe two. Now I might have to go weeks? Do not whimper.
“We’ll tackle this one day at a time,” he assured me. “As soon as possible, I’ll establish a mode of communication between us.”
The train slowed before coming to a squealing halt. Once again Cyrus severed all contact. He rolled back his shoulders.
My heart raced as the door opened, revealing the cluster of armed knights and barons awaiting us.
As predicted, they immediately oversaw our separation.
Most accompanied the future king, marching him one way, while ten soldiers herded me the opposite direction, each keeping a hand on the hilt of a netter.
I struggled to mask my tremors. This was my first time being back at the base since my big change.
While I knew I was free of the Madness, the coming test marked my debut screening as an active member of the Tome Society.
A.k.a. a Soalian. A.k.a. a glower. Someone CURED touted as the worst of the infected.
For people like me, “treatment” wasn’t optional. Or humane.
Breathe in. Out. Taking in the acrid bite of scorched earth and aged leather, I wrinkled my nose.
Thanks to my connection to Soal, invisible scales had fallen from my senses.
The truth was so clear now. Oozing shadows as thick as paint coated limestone and granite walls.
The same gloom coiled around every jewel-studded marble statue we passed.
Images of old gods. Giants who were half human, half animal.
They produced a low, almost-imperceptible hum, like some kind of machinery worked beneath the surface of the stone.
A vibration I felt in my bones. But. Hmm.
Their eyes, once lifeless, now seemed to follow us, their gemstone irises catching the light like watchful predators in the dark.
I must be mistaken, my imagination going haywire. Yes, yes. High-stress situations had never brought out the best in me.
Our procession ended at a small, sterile exam room with gray walls, zero windows, and a metal shackle attached to a gurney.
I swallowed a denial and clutched my new necklace—my connection to Cyrus—allowing the soldiers to push me onto the stiff mattress and bind me to the bed. Eye on the prize. Long game, long game.
Out went all guards but two, and in came a medic. He didn’t seek permission before pricking my finger with a needle and scanning the chip embedded in my hand. But then, he didn’t need it. CURED controlled all within these walls, even the treatment of my body.
A beep sounded, the results in. Per custom, I wasn’t told the results before he exited. As minutes passed with agonizing slowness, more and more perspiration dotted my palms.
CURED might not know I’d switched sides, but they absolutely suspected I’d had dealings with Soalians.
Even if a suspect was innocent of wrongdoing, such transactions almost always led to accusations of illness.
So. This could go one of two ways. Either CURED lied, labeling me “infected” so they could “treat” me, or they told the truth and allowed me to go so they could secretly observe me in my natural habitat.
Dr. Korey, the physician who’d overseen my “care” since my first day at the base, entered with a sure stride. “You’re about to meet Emperor Dolion’s right-hand man,” she announced. “I suggest you behave.”
Showtime.
A handsome gentleman with cold eyes strode in next. Though we lowly peons wore uniforms, he dazzled in a black-and-white pinstripe suit. His slick, put-together appearance should’ve inspired calm. I only wanted to vomit as he looked me over, silent.
“Congratulations, Lady Roosa.” Dr. Korey pulled different things from her lab coat pockets and placed them on a rolling table. “You are negative for Madness.”
Relief deluged my muscles, unraveling knots of tension. Observation in my natural habitat for the win.
“Your identity chip is now registered with a special designation reserved for the royal family.” She grated the words as if they tasted foul. “From now on, medical personnel must explain what we do.”
Thank you, Cyrus, for logging me in as a royal.
As she shifted my shirt this way and that to adhere small, round transmitters on my neck, collarbone, and above my heart, she said, “I’ll be monitoring your vitals while you chat with Mr. Vyle.”
Great. A man with no royal title but a higher clearance than Cyrus would catalog every blip of my tumultuous emotions.
Normally I might have replied “I’ve got nothing to hide, carry on,” but that would’ve been an elaboration, so I stayed quiet.
Mr. Vyle dragged a metal stool in front of the gurney, unfastened a button on his suit jacket, and eased down. In his early thirties, he projected enough confidence to fill the entire base.
“I’m pleased to meet you, Lady Roosa.” His rich baritone stroked my ears, conveying only charm. “My dear friend Count Folley tells me High Prince Dolion is quite smitten with you. That he encouraged you to question officials about our protocols.”
Uh-oh. We were starting off with a bang. Mr. Vyle had just let me know he’d investigated my actions at a high society event where I’d quizzed the former head of Ourland Medicine about forbidden things. Designed to make me defensive indeed.
“I’m romantically involved with Cyrus, yes.
” Excellent. Short, sweet, and as unembellished as it was true.
Now, for the rest. “I did ask Count Folley and others about the mass outbreak of Madness that had just transpired among civilians, but I did it of my volition. As a lady-in-training, I’m eager to learn prevention rather than intervention. ” Oops. I’d explained my reasons.
Mr. Vyle’s lips quirked at the corners. “Such a diplomatic answer. Cyrus has coached you well.”
A lump grew in my throat. I couldn’t deny the claim without jumping headfirst into an obvious trap, exactly as the high prince had, well, coached me. I merely offered a fleeting smile.
“Didn’t Cyrus coach her well, Dr. Korey,” Mr. Vyle stated without glancing her way.
“He did, sir,” she replied, bowing her head in deference. Something she hadn’t done even for the high prince.
Mr. Vyle tapped his fingers over his knee. “Let’s get business out of the way. Not too long ago, Cyrus consumed a berry grown only in Theirland. You are the budding horticulturist assigned to map his reaction. How do you think this berry affected him?”
Hold up. “You aren’t here to ask me about Tagin Dolion’s death?”
He arched a brow. “Is there something you’d like to share about Tagin Dolion’s death?”
Okay, so, I’d expounded when I shouldn’t have. “I can only tell you what happened.”
“All right. Please do so.”
Hmm. He’d urged me along a specific route, yet now we were traveling another.
Either he’d played me, or I’d played myself.
Nothing I could do but forge ahead. “Cyrus and I argued about our relationship. I left. He hunted me down with his father’s help.
” As I spoke, I divided my attention between Dr. Korey and Mr. Vyle, gauging their reactions.
She grew tenser. He displayed only polite interest. “The three of us headed to the base. In the vehicle, mid-drive, Tagin broke with Madness and killed an entire contingent of soldiers. To save myself and Cyrus, I confiscated one of Cyrus’s weapons and killed Tagin.
” There it was, everything and nothing, all rolled into an accurate but misleading story.
Mr. Vyle didn’t take notes or ask a follow-up. He merely adjusted a cuff of his jacket. “Thank you for the information. Now, let’s return to our discussion about the berry.”
I gulped. The fact that the fruit mattered more than a king’s death couldn’t be good.
Did Mr. Vyle envision pinning Tagin’s death on Cyrus, courtesy of the little fruit?
“I know Cyrus was assigned to bring a berry back to the base. In order to succeed, he was forced to eat it. I’ve since noticed no differences in him.
He is the same today as he was before.” Truth.
“Then describe him.”
“Excuse me?”
“If he is the same, describe who he was then and who he is now.”
Sweet goodness, I’d walked myself into a trap, hadn’t I? “He’s . . . honorable.” Another truth.
“A great thing to be,” Mr. Vyle replied, obviously expecting me to say more.
No, thank you. A full minute passed in silence. Toward the end, Dr. Korey huffed with aggravation.
Mr. Vyle cast her a quick frown, nothing more, yet it seared deep pink into her cheeks. She bowed her head and withered, making herself smaller. With a wave in my direction, he continued. “You saw the berry. Describe it to me.”
Easy. “Small, round, and glowing red.”
He nodded and stood. “Thank you for your time, Lady Roosa.”
My eyes widened. That was it?
“That’s it,” he said, as if he’d read my mind. He refastened the button on his jacket. “You may go to class. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you not to discuss this with anyone save Cyrus.”
“Understood, sir.”
“If you recall any other details, inform Archduke Heta or Dr. Korey that you wish to speak with me.” With a graceful pivot, Mr. Vyle motioned for Dr. Korey to leave, which she did after removing the electrodes.
But. Where were the intimidation tactics? The accusations that I must be hiding something? The threats of being punished if I’d uttered a single lie?
“I don’t understand,” I breathed out before I gave my mind permission to speak.
Mr. Vyle stopped in the open doorway and turned just enough to meet my gaze. An almost smile tinged his perfect features. “The only thing you need to understand is this. I’m certain there’s a glower in our midst, playing both sides of the war, and I will stop at nothing to find them.”