Page 56 of Kingdom of Tomorrow (Book of Arden #1)
In the end, all will reap a harvest of what they’ve sown.
Cyrus straightened with a snap. “You knew the code.” Incredulity drowned out his previous amusement.
Had he not expected me to get this far? No, no. He’d said he wanted to read the chip, and I believed him. “Soal gave it to me,” I admitted, opening the little flap to reveal a lone chip.
“I thought I’d have to walk you through decoding,” he insisted.
See. A perfectly reasonable explanation.
Heart beating like a war drum against my ribs, I freed the tiny device from its prison.
Closer than ever to answers. Even still, indecision beat against my brain.
Stealing secrets from the king meant prison for life, if not outright death.
If he discovered the chip’s absence before tomorrow’s meeting, he’d know who took it, no matter what the camera feed showed.
If he didn’t need it before then, I could return it.
No harm, no foul. But the risk didn’t swing in my favor.
Cyrus pretended to stroke invisible Arden’s hair. “There’s a replacement chip in your bracelet. When it’s inserted into a reader, it shows all files are corrupted and secretly opens a back door.” He checked his timer. “One minute remains.”
“I love having you in my corner.” Relieved, I fiddled with the bracelet until I found and removed the fake chip.
As I’d donned the other pieces, I’d learned one of my new rings acted as a single-shot netter, while the other hid a powdery sedative strong enough to put a hulk to sleep.
The hairpin sheathed a small dagger laced with a paralyzing toxin.
One of the necklaces could be used as wrist cuffs.
“Any other secrets I’m wearing?” I inquired.
“Many.”
A nonanswer answer. I didn’t push for a list as I switched one chip with the other. “Thank you, Cyrus. For everything.” He’d prepared me for war while doing everything in his power to protect me, exactly as he’d promised.
He gave me a sheepish smile. “My intentions aren’t entirely altruistic. I like having you around.”
I only hoped he’d say the same if the files implicated Cured of wrongdoing.
Sickness stirred in my stomach. I returned the candy tin to its proper place and locked the drawers.
Cyrus stood, and as he mimed helping me to my feet, I closed the distance and gave him my hand for real.
He led me from the office, my heart thudding harder with every step away from the scene of our crime.
Part of me expected someone to leap out from the shadows and inform the whole party of what I’d done.
I pasted on a smile, attempting to control my too-expressive face, and we rejoined the throng.
Cyrus kissed a corner of my mouth and stated softly, “I’m ready to go home. You?”
Home. The word echoed in my mind. “Yes, please,” I rasped. I’d gotten what I’d come for and then some.
We maintained our silence as we walked the hall, rode the elevator, and entered the— our apartment. He wasted no time, removing a reader from a drawer and ushering me to the couch. After unbuttoning his jacket, he sat in a corner and tugged me onto his lap. I didn’t protest. I liked where I was.
He held up the reader. “We’ll go over the documents, whatever they are, and talk afterward.”
“Okay.” My preference as well. With trembling fingers, I removed the chip from the bracelet and inserted it into the reader. The stirring in my stomach graduated to churning as the blank screen lit up and a blurry video appeared.
With a tap of the screen, the image crystalized and played, revealing a room I recognized. Cyrus’s office at Fort Bala. He perched behind his desk, Jericho across from him.
In real life, he stiffened behind me. “I’ve changed my mind. Let’s talk before we watch.”
The churning worsened, and I shook my head. “No.” We watched now.
He paused the video anyway, grating, “Let me think. I don’t understand why my father would want you to view this. To hate me.”
“Hate you?” I twisted to examine him, ready to vomit. “What did you do?”
He scrubbed a hand over his shell-shocked features.
Still speaking to himself, he muttered, “He had to know this would send you straight to Soal, something he’s hoped to avoid from the beginning.
What Soal wants, Astan wants too. Therefore, my father is determined to win you. So why would he do this?”
What would send me straight to Soal? “Cyrus,” I croaked, clutching the lapels of his jacket. “I’m hearing you say your father purposely put this chip in his safe, hoping I’d steal it and watch.”
“Yes. He must have.” His head canted to the side.
“He must believe you’ll join Soal and recruit me, succeeding where others have failed.
This is his countermove. Give you up to keep me.
” He closed his eyes for a moment and braced, as if preparing for a blow.
“Do it then. Watch. But give me an opportunity to explain afterward.”
I almost couldn’t bring myself to press Play, but in the end, I did it. Because I had to know.
The video resumed. “You were overheard speaking with Arden today.” Video Cyrus tapped his fingers against his light board, working on his computer. “You told her you saw me eat a berry given to me by John Victors.”
My grip tightened on the reader. He’d spied on me.
“So did you?” digital Jericho demanded.
“I won’t be answering any of your questions, and you won’t be mentioning this again. You will pack your bags, leave the base, and keep your mouth closed. That’s an order.”
“I won’t let this go,” Jericho spat. “Are you a Soalian?”
On the screen, Cyrus flipped up his gaze and went still. “That’s a serious accusation.” He stared at Jericho so long and so hard, the lord squirmed in his seat.
“But is it true?”
Determination hardened the HP’s features, and I stiffened. I knew that look. Consequences were about to be dished out.
Casually reaching inside his desk drawer, he said, “You are rude and self-centered. Ready to hurt anyone you deem weaker to prove your so-called strength. Character is something that can only be taught to a willing participant, and as of yet, you don’t qualify.
Your disobedience will cost you dearly.”
“I had a purpose for doing what I did,” real Cyrus said, pressing his forehead between my shoulder blades and tightening his hold on me.
Bile seared my throat.
Video Cyrus lifted a gun and squeezed the trigger twice. Pft. Pft. Jericho jerked and grunted. Bright crimson spread over his shirt. He gasped for breath he couldn’t catch while sliding out of his chair.
I jolted with both shots. With a ragged groan, I dropped the reader and wrenched from Cyrus, bounding from his lap. He jumped to his feet, and we faced off.
“You killed him,” I gasped out, hit by an avalanche of horror. “You murdered him to hide what you’d done.”
“His inquiries made him a target. He was going to break, as Shiloh did.”
I flinched. “How do you know that?”
“This isn’t the time to—”
“Enough! You told me Jericho left Fort Bala and didn’t return. You lied,” I accused, desperate for a reasonable explanation. “Unless this is a doctored video. Tell me it’s doctored, and I might believe you.”
A moment passed in terse silence. “I can’t tell you it’s doctored,” he said, his voice raw. “But I didn’t lie. Jericho was still alive when he was carried from the base.”
Cyrus might not have lied, but he’d misdirected. Again. Anger heated into fury, boiling in my blood. I couldn’t stay here. Couldn’t stay with him. Not in this building. And I didn’t have to.
“Did you or someone else force Shiloh to break?” I demanded.
“I didn’t.”
“But someone else did. Or could have.” More misdirection. “I’m going,” I stated flatly, backing away. How did I ever fall for this monster? “Don’t try to stop me. You won’t like what happens if you do.”
His posture turned rigid in an instant. “You’re staying here, Arden. Darkness comes in a matter of hours.”
I didn’t care. Because I was going to do it. I was going to sign on with Team Soal. Full stop. Nothing held back. Decision made. Cured and its associates only ever dished out betrayal.
“I can be in front of the Rock in a matter of minutes,” I boasted.
“Consider me your enemy. I’m accepting the invitation to the Tome Society.
Until my dying breath, I will fight to dismantle Cured .
” Soal wanted my loyalty. Very well, I’d give it.
But he would have to help free my mother.
“You and your family have done enough damage to the world. It’s time someone ended the deceit, thefts, and destruction. ”
A muscle ticced beneath his eye. “I’ll escort you to the Rock in the morning, when I can do it without alerting Cured .”
“As if I will ever trust you again.” I pivoted on my heel and marched toward the door. “I’ll come back for my plant. If you or your father bring any harm to my mom—don’t harm my mom, Cyrus.”
Pounding footsteps sounded behind me, fast and sure, and I knew he’d overtake me any second if I didn’t stop him. So, I shifted, aimed, and fired my netter ring. He flew backward and hit the floor, pinned by a metal cage he couldn’t remove.
“Arden,” he snarled. “Do not leave this apartment. I mean it.”
“Goodbye, sugar bear. In case it’s not clear, we’re over.” I turned the knob, opened the door, and sailed into the hall, then the elevator. I removed a glove, pressed my palm onto the ID pad, and selected the first floor.
Down I went, determination hardening into unshakable resolve. Though my heart pounded with increasing heaviness, I exited as if I hadn’t a care, my steps unhurried. Chin up, shoulders back. Happy smile for all to see, even those watching the camera feed. But inside I boiled hotter and hotter.
Shiloh had tried to tell me. Ember had warned me. The more time it took to make my decision, the more tragedy I would be forced to face. Because of my hesitance, two men were dead. I wasn’t waiting a minute longer than necessary to join the Soalians.
I scanned the building’s lobby. An armed baron guarded the door.
“Please help me.” In my pink finery, I must look the part of a silly, lost little woman. I approached him, and he let me. All the while, I fiddled with the proper ring. “A tenant immobilized High Prince Dolion with a netter.”
Concern instantly seized the man. He palmed the gun holstered at his side and stepped my way, meeting me in the middle. “Do you know who did it?”
“Yes. Me.” I wasted no time in blowing half the powder into his face.
His eyes widened, and he jerked just before his knees buckled. He hit the floor hard. I stepped over him and approached the final ID pad. Thanks to Cyrus giving me royal access, the door unlocked.
Deep breath in. Out.
Ready for anything, I left the safety of the building and entered the warmth of the day.