Page 61 of Kingdom of Tomorrow (Book of Arden #1)

A fool’s mouth will usher in his destruction, his words an unavoidable snare.

I worked to control my breathing as Cyrus led me through a maze of hallways, reading nooks, storage rooms, and exhibits.

We still sported our party clothes, unwilling to stop and change.

Not that our appearance garnered much interest. Few Soalians noticed us.

They were busy rushing in the other direction, assembling weapons on the go, as if they were headed to a different battle.

“Tell me what you read,” I pleaded.

“I first opened the book six months ago, but I’ve only deciphered a few passages.

The newest snippet featured a heavily redacted scene from the future.

” Tone flat, he told me, “My father has done something terrible to certain trainees and knights to ensure they obey the worst of his commands. At some point, he leads this group into your mother’s building. Unless we get there first.”

“Hurry!” I pumped my arms faster, increasing my speed.

We entered a narrow hallway. “The guard I sent to protect your mom is working for my father,” Cyrus continued. “He has orders to incapacitate you if you show up. I’m not expected.”

My heartbeat quickened. “So the plan is, we take out the guard and move my mom into the library.”

“She can’t access the library, which is the sole doorway. Even if she manages to bypass the stone, the librarians will stop her.”

“She’ll become Soalian. She wants to.” Guilt threatened to weigh me down. Twice I’d convinced her not to travel the very path she’d needed. “Maybe she and I can share a room.”

“Even if she’s allowed to stay, you can’t. You have orders to return to Fort Bala.”

“People will learn what I am—what we are—when we snatch my mom from the guard.”

“We’ll think of something. I won’t allow harm to come to either of you.”

But what about to himself? He planned to destroy his future over this; I knew it.

And I couldn’t let him. Maybe I was supposed to face my deepest nightmare alone.

For too long, I’d allowed terror to hobble me.

Again and again, I’d crumbled under the pressure of what-if.

But here, in the battlefield of my mind, with the lives of Cyrus and my mother at stake, I accepted a forever fact.

For their safety, I would risk everything.

With the decision, peace bloomed, offering me the fruit of tranquility. For the people I adored, I could face my fear head on. Nothing would stop me from doing everything in my power to win this.

“Get me to the building, and I’ll do the rest,” I told Cyrus. “I’m still decked out in my wonderful new jewelry. I’ll be fine.” I’d only used half the ring’s powder on the doorman. Plus, the mini dagger hairpin hadn’t lost its sharpness.

If I could snag my mom without detection, I’d tell her about Soal on our way to the Rock. She’d join the club, and I’d return to the base with Cyrus and run missions for Soal. But I knew. I couldn’t avoid detection.

My powerful companion shouldered his way through huge arching double doors into another exhibit. A display of ancient rockets used to fly into space. Pinpricks of light scattered over the walls and ceiling, resembling the star-studded sky I’d only seen on my trips to Theirland. Breathtaking.

The sweetest peace filled this place, an invisible lace woven through the air, and I knew. The night was never supposed to be a time of fear but beauty, rest, and renewal.

“You are surprisingly calm,” Cyrus said, helping me into what looked to be a liquid chrome cart. But it wasn’t liquid. We sat on a solid bench, side by side, and the cart shot into action, zooming us through other hallways.

Wind whipped through my hair. I clasped his hand, squeezed. “When you know the end from the beginning, there’s no reason to fret over the rest.”

He almost grinned, I was sure of it. “Who even are you?”

“Yours,” I wanted to say. But I didn’t. Not yet. “You once told me you were born to rule Cured . Is that still the case?”

“Yes. But I intend to do it with Soal, not Astan.”

Would I be at his side? “Shiloh and I admitted we weren’t right for each other.” And my friend was correct. Best to get the extra stuff out of the way while we had the opportunity. “I told him how much I care for you.”

Cyrus didn’t respond for a moment. “You care for me?”

“Very much. You are strong and amazing and wonderful, and if you give me a second chance, I promise I will trust you from now on.” The words erupted from me, my confession spewing all over him.

At the same time, thoughts bubbled up. I couldn’t let this man destroy his future for me.

And that’s what he would do, because it was what he did.

Risk everything for those in his care. But this time, I was looking out for him .

In the process, I’d show him how much I trusted him.

Prove how much I adored him. Ensure he reaped a harvest from the seeds of protection he’d planted.

If I used the sleeping powder as soon as we reached the final entryway, he wouldn’t lose his position in Cured and become forever labeled an outlaw. Only I would.

“Please give me a second chance,” I repeated. And forgive me for what was to come.

Another pause, this one almost more than I could bear. “Will you give me time to explain myself, if ever you doubt me again?”

“I’ll never doubt you again,” I vowed in a rush.

“You will. Many times.”

“Then I’ll give you as much time as you need.”

His gaze burned into mine. “Yes, I’ll give you a second and a third and a fourth chance.”

Joy burst from the chambers of my heart. “I do want it noted that I was the brave one who mentioned feelings first.”

“So noted.” He kissed my lips, a swift pressing of his mouth to mine, and—no joke—multicolored lights exploded overhead. “And hint taken. I care for you, too, Arden. We’re in this together.”

I ran my hands up his chest, pausing at his racing heart, where my fingers got tangled in the new necklace. “What’s this for?” Another weapon, no doubt.

“A last resort,” he muttered, grim.

That didn’t sound good.

The cart stopped, ending the reprieve, and we climbed out. We continued motoring forward on foot, hand in hand, crossing a few more halls and rooms before we stopped in front of a plain, ordinary door with an extraordinary glass handle. The inside swirled with more of those glittering stars.

“This section of the Rock is the closest one to the apartment building where she now lives,” Cyrus said. “It’s known as the Fork because it has four sections and it’s one street over.”

“Yeah, I know it.” For years I’d walked miles longer than necessary to see the building. One of the most secure in the province. “Thank you,” I rasped, overwhelmed by his kindness.

He squeezed my fingers. “It’s still dark, so the doors are locked, but you’ll be able to key in. I gave you my security clearance in the provinces as well as the base, which means you can override lockdown protocols if we get separated. But we won’t get separated.”

Oh, we were going to get separated all right. “The last time you said something like this, we were separated minutes later,” I reminded him. My way of preparing him for what was to come.

“Trust me.” He kissed my lips and smiled. “You’re ready.” A statement, not a question.

“I’m not. Not yet,” I told him, preparing my ring. Wasting no time, I struck.

He caught my wrist, his smile widening. “I read the future, remember?”

“Yeah, but only some of it,” I grumbled. I’d had to take a chance.

“I’m doing this, whatever the consequences. You are a priority to me, and I will never again give you a reason to doubt it.” With that, he reached for the door.

“Wait!” I tugged, stopping him. “It’s pitch black out there. We need a source of light.”

He craned his neck to wink at me over his shoulder. “We are the light.”

Opening the door, he rendered any objection from me obsolete. Determined, I followed him into the unknown. Goose bumps spread over my limbs as screams and howls sounded in the distance. Still we continued forward.

The second the thick cloak of darkness fully encompassed us, a shocking heat sparked deep in my chest. Fronds of warmth radiated from me, seemingly pulled out by my companion. He produced a soft golden light as peaceful and calming as the library itself.

“I want to glow like that,” I said, awed.

“You already are,” he said, and I gasped.

A bright light flickered over my skin. “We’re like pritis,” I breathed out.

“That’s because we produce pritis. But that’s a story for another day. Incoming.”

What did he mean, we produce pritis ? Movement snagged my attention. I stiffened as a group of maddened approached, snarling and swiping at us but always stopping just short of contact.

Fear attempted a surprise attack, swooping in, but I resisted. Cyrus wasn’t afraid, and he knew more about the situation than I did, so why should I let panic rule my thoughts? “This is awesome. Did you not light up to reach the Rock after I netted you?”

“I couldn’t. I was with the king’s men. They wouldn’t have seen the light, but they would have noticed how the feeders avoided touching me. My father doesn’t know I’m Soalian. Just assumes I’ve lost my mind for you. A truth I can’t deny.”

I smiled inside.

We made it to the Fork without incident, entering the lobby. A much ritzier place than Mom had ever lived. A knight patrolled the area.

“High Prince Dolion,” the guy said, saluting.

Ring time. Except, Cyrus unsheathed a gun and shot him. The guy collapsed, unmoving.

“Pegged him with a sedative,” Cyrus told me. “He’ll wake up in a few hours.”

As we rode the elevator to the proper floor, I told him, “I’m assuming we’re shooting my mother’s guard, too, then collecting her and racing to the Rock. Unless you’ve got a better idea.”

“Just follow my lead, and we’ll get to where we need to be, when we need to be there.”

The cart stopped, and the doors opened. I halfway expected Tagin to have soldiers waiting for us, but no. The hall was empty. We keyed into the designated apartment, and Cyrus entered first. We checked every inch, but Mom and her “protector” were nowhere to be found. Fear tried again to invade.

“Let’s try the commons,” he said, and I agreed. Many people chose to gather together inside their buildings, even at times of great risk. Something I’d never understood. “From what I read, at least one other person was with her.”

“All right.” It wasn’t a place my mother usually visited, but maybe she’d taken my advice and made friends during my absence.

We took the elevator to a higher floor. I exited first, with Cyrus directly behind me.

Around fifty adults congregated in the area.

Some were eating, others shopping, while most occupied the bar section, playing an array of games.

I scanned ... there! Mom sat in the food court with two other women.

At the sight of her, my chest clenched. Tension etched her face, and she’d lost weight she couldn’t afford to lose, no doubt due to worry for my safety.

Oh, how I’d missed her. The guard was ... hmmm. Frowning, I expanded my search. Finally I spotted him in the shadows behind her. A big burly man with enough muscles to bench-press an entire city and a scowl that proclaimed I kill for fun.

People noticed Cyrus, and conversations tapered to silence. Eyes zoomed in his direction. Murmurs arose, many containing his title.

My mom spotted me and shrieked. “Arden!” On her feet, she hurried over and threw her arms around my shoulders.

“You shouldn’t be here.” The knight closed the distance, his concentration centered on Cyrus. “The system automatically alerted your father when you entered the building.”

Cyrus shot him without hesitation. The knight banged into a table as he fell.

Other people reacted, scrambling out of the way.

“Everything is fine,” I announced. “We’re leaving. Please, for your own good, don’t try to stop us.”

My mother’s excitement vanished, and the color in her cheeks drained. “What’s going on?”

“Come with us.” I hurried her to the elevator, Cyrus a watchman behind us, daring anyone to make a move. “Should we leave through the front or back?” I asked him as the doors closed around us.

“Arden,” my mom repeated, her voice frayed and almost as shaky as her grip. She eyed Cyrus.

“You were right. Mr. Garfield was right,” I told her. “There’s an invisible library and so much more. I’ll explain when we’re safe. Okay?”

A tear tracked down her cheek, but she nodded.

“Let’s go through the front,” Cyrus said. “Ember should have a car waiting for us. But that’s the last detail I gleaned. The remaining details were sparse.”

The elevator came to a stop. I tensed, and Cyrus readied his gun. The doors slid open and we headed for the exit.

“We can’t go out in the dark,” my mother screeched, digging in her heels.

“Mom. Mom, Mom.” I faced her and cupped her jaw. “As long as you stay near us, you’re safer outside than inside. Trust me, please.”

“You’re wrong.” She shook her head from my clasp, locks of hair slapping my wrists. “We can’t go out there. We can’t. We can’t!” Hysteria layered her voice.

I cast my gaze to Cyrus while readying my ring. “Do me a huge favor and catch.”

“What are you—” she began, attempting to back away.

I blew the powder in her face. Her eyelids slid shut and her knees buckled.

Cyrus caught her as requested, then hefted her into his arms. Ignoring a tide of guilt, I sailed forward, opening the door and entering the night.

Battle sounds grabbed my attention. Grunts, groans, and the clink of metal against metal. The darkness hid a raging war.

Before the heat sparked in my chest, igniting the glow and allowing me to see, pritis lights were uncovered all around, spotlighting us. I drew up short, Cyrus stopping behind me.

“Hello Arden.” Tagin Dolion’s calm baritone hit my ears, and I stiffened. “Cyrus, thank you for doing as promised and delivering the infected ladies to me. Let’s get them to treatment.”