Page 136 of Serpent In White

I just want to be with my plants. I want to be in the lab, creating things. Dealing in science. Business is just a means to an end for me.

I decide to take them down to see one part of what we’re doing. My chemists are cultivating spores that will be turned into penicillin for new antibiotics. Very important.

“I can’t believe you guys make your own medicine here,” Rhiannon says, observing everything closely. And I’m stuck observing her. Making sure she’s not some kind of spy, gathering intel for a bunch of assholes who will try to rob me.

I’m not paranoid. That dickhead I wasted the other night was trying to do exactly that. I’ve worked too hard to allow worthless scum from the outside to trickle in and steal from my family what I’ve been building for two decades.

She doesn’t seem like she’s one of them, but I can’t know that from interacting with her for five minutes. And you can never be too careful.

“What about long-term illness?” She asks, turning wide, teal eyes on me.

I shake my head. “Rare. But we have the means to treat lupus, multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, things of that nature.”

“I only saw the med trailer from outside,” she murmurs.

“There are four.” I nod for them to follow me as we ascend the stairs. “Three surgeons, two in training. Two obstetricians, a neurologist, optometrist, dentist, orthodontist, psychotherapist. You name it, we have it. Pretty much.”

Once up on the platform, I take them back through the double doors. When we’re outside again, Abdiel steps away to speak with a few of the guys on patrol.

“How have you done all of this?” Rhiannon’s voice is full of awe. Honestly, it feels good. I suppose having an Outsider around can be useful for ego stroking. “It’s just… it’s amazing. You’ve created an entire community, a society, apart from everything else. It’s baffling to me that you’re completely self-sustained.”

“Well, notcompletely.” I lean up against my ATV, folding my arms. “We trade for a reason. There are some things we can’t manufacture for ourselves just yet, like the four-wheelers, other vehicles, certain medical and farming equipment… Though we do have some pretty excellent blacksmiths, mechanics, and a training program.”

Her face is one of pure shock, eyes wide, mouth hanging open. I have to laugh a little.

“Rhiannon, where do you think things come from? Human beings make them, with supplies provided from the earth and created by other human beings. A person can learn to do just about anything. So that’s what we’ve done. We have talented individuals here, who were cast aside in the outside world. Outside, most of them were nothing, barely working to their full potential. Living paycheck to paycheck, scraping the bottom of unattainable success, or even just struggling to find their self-worth. In here, they’re leaders. Masters. They’ve taught others, and from there, we grew.

“The problem with the outside world, with America in particular, is that it rarely rewards the hard-working. It focuses a lot on the teaching, but not on the application and allocation of knowledge. Here, that’s exactly what we do. If you have a skill, it’s put to the test and celebrated.”

I pause for a moment, letting it sink in. Allowing her to grasp what I’m saying. “Nothing is perfect, shy of our Mother Earth. The Principality understands that. We cherish it, the imperfections of the world. The natural balance.”

She blinks a few times, her gaze going to Abdiel, as does mine, watching him as he laughs. The sound is infectious, and it almost makes me smile. I glance back at Rhiannon to find her giving him the same sort of look. Her eyes dart to mine, and we squint at each other.

“You’re in love with him.” I give her a smug smirk.

“How could I be in love with him?” She scoffs. “I barely know him. We just met two days ago.”

“Irrelevant. Love isn’t as definitive as you Outsiders like to make it seem. Love can fade, it can expand. Over long periods of time, or short ones.”

She grins, a snide little thing. “You sound like you’re speaking from experience.” I freeze, my spine stiffening, though I make a point not to react to her comment, ignoring it. And then she says, “Tell me about your brother.”

I turn a warning glare on her. “I’m not in the business of discussing my family with strangers.”

“Well, I’m a guest.” She twirls a lock of hair around her finger as she peers up at me. She’s so small, it feels like she’s half my height. “You could indulge me.”

“Anything you’d like to know about him you can find out for yourself,” I grumble. “He’s a pretty transparent person.”

“Yea, except for the secret affair, right?”

Her words grip my gut, my heart thumping quick behind my ribcage.Abdiel told her so much. Is he insane??

“Does it bother you?” I decide to twist her know-it-all attitude back on her. “Knowing you won’t have him? Because he’s in love with my brother…”

A wounded look flashes through her eyes, revealing that I was right. She definitely has feelings for Abdiel.I mean, who doesn’t at this point?

But then I hear something… a flicker of a thought I grab onto.

She’s remembering a kiss. A searing, scorching, forbidden kiss between her and Abdiel. I can practically see it from her memory…