“Because we don’t intend for the second flare to impact us. Once you return with the cerecite, we’ll save our world from the second flare.”
“That’s an awfully big gamble.” My thoughts turned dark. “But I must admit, a lucrative one. How much will you get to replace every power grid on the planet to operate on cerecite? Tens of trillions? Hundreds of trillions?”
“I’m not at liberty to reveal the amount.”
I shook my head. Betrayal warred inside me.
I remembered what Ivan had called me when I’d first met him. A lab rat. Yes, he must’ve known all along. He was in on this, too.
I ground my teeth. A sense of overwhelming hopelessness settled in my chest. If I failed at finding all seven objects, the world died. Vortech had used me, and I would pay the ultimate price for it.
Words escaped me. Panic tried to engulf me, so I closed my eyes. There had to be some silver lining to this situation.
Something Fifteen said surfaced in my memory.
“Fifteen,” I asked tentatively. “What happens if I manage to open the gateway on this side? Could it reverse the coronal wave and stop the second flare from happening?”
“There’s no way to know for sure, but that’s a possibility.”
“Then I have no choice, do I?”
He didn’t answer. He didn’t have to.
Either I found the seven objects and opened the gateway, or the world died. And we all died with it.
Chapter 20
I dreamed of Dad. He stood across a bridge, calling for me, and when I started to cross, the bridge collapsed. The sense of falling woke me. I couldn’t get back to sleep after that. Dark thoughts nagged at me. The queen, Rosa, the poisoned porridge, the missing cerecite... something wasn’t adding up, and I planned to find out the truth.
I got up, dressed in my uniform, and grabbed a bowl of porridge from the kitchen. I had an idea in mind, and setting a trap was part of it.
I knocked before entering Morven’s room, but I didn’t wait for a reply as I opened the door. When I stepped inside, I stopped abruptly. Morven’s aunt stood by the open window. Thick clouds obscured the sky, and the sunlight didn’t stream inside as it usually did. She clasped her hands in front of her, as if she were a mannequin.
“Miss Harper.” She said my name with an icy tone.
“Queen Regent.” I held the bowl in front of me. “I’m surprised to see you here.”
She bobbed her head. “Indeed. But let’s be honest, you shouldn’t be too surprised.” She fingered the silver key around her neck. “Did you think I wouldn’t notice when you stole my key and escaped the palace?”
I narrowed my eyes at her. How had she found out? My annoyance turned to anger as I looked at the prince’s empty bed. “Where’s Morven?”
“Why do you care to know?” She ambled toward me. “You’ve not done what I asked. I instructed you to study the scrolls I provided, and you haven’t reviewed one.”
“That’s not true. He already knows those scrolls backward and forward. I don’t understand why you think he needs to study them.”
“Because he’s to be king!” Her voice turned sharp. I hoped she hadn’t seen me flinch. “I’ve no doubt he can recite the information, but does he know it? Understand it? Will he use it when the time comes?”
“I think you’re worrying too much. He’ll be a better king than you think.”
She gave me a condescending glare. “Is that so?”
“Yes. If you’ll allow it. Where is he?”
She pinched her lips. “That’s none of your concern. Return to your room, Miss Harper. Collect your things. I no longer have any use for you.”
“You’re firing me?”
“Yes.” She spoke in a detached tone.
I balled my hands into fists. I’d only found three objects. What was I supposed to do now? But none of that seemed to matter anymore. I was almost certain the last four weren’t in the palace, anyway.
“Have you harmed him?” I demanded.
“Harmed him?” she asked, her eyes wide.
“Yes. Harmed him. The way you’ve been harming him for half his life. I found out about the poison.” As if to prove my point, I lifted the bowl of porridge.
Her gaze narrowed. “Are you accusing me of poisoning him?”
“Yes.”
“What a ludicrous thing to say. To think I invited you into my home. You’re to leave from this palace now, and I expect you to never return. I never want to see your face again. Is that clear?”
“No, it’s not.” I ground out, standing tall, anger burning like wildfire through my chest.
“No?” she asked.
“I won’t let you hurt him any longer.”
“Hurt him? I’ve done nothing but help him since his parents died. How dare you accuse me of doing such—”
“His porridge was poisoned. You’re the only person who has motive to hurt him, to make sure you can control him. If you can’t do that, what then? What would you do if he weren’t forced to sit in a chair all day and do what you demanded?” I took a step forward. “If he got stronger, if he could walk and do what he pleased, then what? You’d have no other choice but to kill him.” I stood over her, my hands balled into fists. “What did you do with him?” I demanded.
Fear flashed through her eyes. “Nothing,” she hissed.
“Then where is he?”
“He went downstairs to the swimming bath after I told him I was dismissing you.” She stuck her nose in the air.
“Truthfully?”
“Yes,” she bit out. Her eyes turned icy. “Believe what you want, but I’m telling the truth, Miss Harper.”
“But someone was poisoning him. I found yellow cerecite in his porridge. You’re the only person in the castle who would benefit if he died.”
She shook her head. “I don’t know anything about that.”
“You must know something. How could you not know he was being poisoned?”
She stiffened as she locked me with her gaze. “How did you know?”
“I tasted his porridge.”
“Well, that’s something I never did.”
Confusion plagued me. Why did I get the impression she was telling the truth? If she wasn’t poisoning him, who was?
“Did you really not know he was being poisoned?” I asked.
“No. How could I know? I spend my life toiling over the affairs of this palace and the lives of my subjects. Do you know how hard it is to run a country? No. I suppose you don’t. I worry about my nephew. You may not see it, but I love him dearly. He’s like a son to me.”
I shook my head. “How could I possibly believe you? You’ve been horrible to him since I arrived here. You’ve done nothing but bully and belittle him.”
“No,” she snapped. “That’s not true. I’m pushing him to become a better person.”
I almost laughed at the absurdity of her comment.
“When Morven’s parents died, and they left him to me, I didn’t know what to do,” she explained. “He was this young, innocent child, and I was certain that whatever I did would never be enough.” She turned to stare out the window. Her voice became wistful. “Do you know how hard it was for me when his parents passed?”
“I suppose I don’t.”
“I was completely unprepared to raise a son,” she explained. “Let alone raise a child who would become king. Something broke inside me the day his parents died. I remember standing over their caskets, heartbroken that my sister and brother-in-law had left me so suddenly. I’d never been a mother, never ruled a kingdom, yet it was all thrust on me in that single day. I’ve never been the same since then.” She shook her head. “I know I’m harsh. Some might call me cruel. I know I said things to the prince that I can’t take back.” She twisted her hands. “But poisoning him? How could you possibly accuse me of such a thing?” Her tone turned sharp. “How, Miss Harper? When all I’ve ever done is protect him? How dare you!”
Her words gave me
pause. “Then... it really wasn’t you who poisoned him?”
“No,” she said shrewdly. “I would never do such a thing to harm my sister’s child. Gwendolyn meant the world to me.”
“Then who would’ve done it?”
Her eyes shifted. “Any number of people, I’m afraid, including the miners, who have wanted to take the palace for a long time. Although...” She pressed her eyes closed, as if pained, then opened them again. “I do appreciate you bringing this to my attention. Your astute observation may have saved his life.”
“You’re welcome.” I gave a single nod. “Does this mean I’m no longer dismissed?”
“No,” she said with a strained smile. “I’m afraid you must go. There’s no other option at this point. You’re too much of a distraction to my nephew, and that’s the last thing he needs right now. However, I will allow you to tell him goodbye. He’s down in the swimming bath. By the conservatory.”
Hmm. Still the same old queen regent, just perhaps not as evil as I had supposed.
“You should leave now.” She straightened once again and threaded her fingers together, then turned away from me to stare out the window at the gathering storm.
I left the bowl on the table by his bed, then I walked out of the room. A mixture of relief and confusion warred within me. The relief came from knowing she was most likely not behind the poisoning—the confusion coming from wondering who was.
Hallways blurred as I passed through them from one level to the next, worries tugging at me like a hook caught in a fish’s mouth, pulling me to some unknown place where I would finally discover the truth.
I made my way down the stairs. My footfalls echoed through the domed chamber as I walked from one passage to the next.
I spotted the bathing pool down the hall from the conservatory. Lightning streaked through the sky, and a gray pallor glowed through the glass domed ceiling as I entered through an open door.
A pool filled with dark blue water took up the center of the room. With the greenery, the trickling waterfall, and the hovering trails of mist, I felt as if I’d wandered into a jungle. Humidity permeated the air.
Scanning the water, I searched for Morven, but only a few ripples broke the surface. Where was he?
A head of dark hair rose from the water near my feet, and Morven looked up at me. Water streamed down his face as I knelt beside the pool’s edge. Tiny ripples splashed against the stones surrounding it.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
“I always come here.” He smiled.
“Really?” I questioned. “I didn’t know you could swim.”
“There’s a lot you don’t know about me.” He wiped the hair from his eyes, water dripping. “I swim all the time—mostly when I’m angry, which happens quite frequently. Sometimes multiple times a day, especially when I’ve been in the presence of my aunt.” His face turned grim. “Did she speak to you?”
I nodded, glancing away. “She was in your room. I thought she’d hurt you—or worse. But it turns out you were taking a relaxing swim.”
“It was this or kill my aunt. I thought this was the better option.” He sighed, looking past me to stare out the windows. “I asked her not to send you away, but of course, she never listens to me. She only does what’s best for her. Since I wasn’t becoming more submissive and obedient to her will, she took it out on you. I’m sorry, Sabine. This is my fault.”
“You don’t have to apologize. I have a feeling she would’ve found any reason to let me go. No one will ever be good enough to be your caretaker.”
“Caretaker,” he said, chuckling. “What a ridiculous title. Makes me feel like I’m a child in need of tending.”
I straightened the strap on my bag. “Are we still traveling to the cave?”
“We’ll have to be quiet about it, but yes.” He rose from the water. Droplets streamed down the exposed skin of his chest. Sinewy muscles flexed in his back as he turned away from me to grab a drying cloth resting on a rock. He wore black shorts that hugged his thighs, exposing his skinny, underdeveloped calf muscles. His body was an odd amalgamation of strength and frailty.
“How were you able to swim when you were paralyzed?” I asked.
“It wasn’t hard. I used my upper body. When I swim, I feel free, because I can move wherever I want to go. Even now, although I can walk again, it takes a lot of effort. It’s exhausting. If I had my choice, I would swim all day. But I hardly have any choices here.” He ran the cloth over his head, and I tried not to notice the way his biceps flexed as he moved, or the beads of water clinging to his chest.
My cheeks burned. I took a step away from him. What was wrong with my head? I wasn’t supposed to be attracted to him. Or to anyone. Not while I was on an unfamiliar world, with the possibility of never returning once I found a way to leave this place.
What happened when I found the seven objects and crossed back to Earth? It was what I wanted, wasn’t it? I had to see Dad again. That was a given. But what about Morven? Was I supposed to just leave him behind?
“What’s the matter?” Morven asked, approaching me, the drying cloth slung over his shoulder.
“Nothing,” I said, tempted to tell him the truth—that I came from another world, that I was pretending to be someone else, that this thing we had—whatever it was—could never last. As far as he knew, I was a commoner from a fishing village, and he would have to keep believing it. “I suppose you should get changed.”
“Yes.” He wiped his face. “It won’t take long. I brought extra clothes. Meet me by the velocipedes?”
I stuck my hands in my pockets. “All right. I’ve got something I need to take care of anyway.”
He gave me a second glance, like he was trying to decide if I was okay. I turned away from him, pretending to be interested in the view outside the window. He got the hint and turned toward a doorway which I assumed led to a changing room.
When the door slammed shut, I headed to the exit, past the pool, where the rippling water had grown calm, its surface smooth and glassy.
I treaded on quiet feet through the hallways, passing a few people. When I neared the prince’s room, a female’s silhouette appeared at the end of the antechamber. She quickly stuffed something into her pocket, then brushed her strands of long blonde hair over her shoulders, as if to act casually.
Justine.
What a coincidence to find her here.
“Miss Sabine.” She gave me a surprised smile. “Fancy seeing you here.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Same goes to you.”
“Me?” she said with mock disbelief.
“Yes.” I nodded toward her apron’s pocket. “What did you put in your pocket just now?”
“My pocket?” She shook her head. “Nothing.”
“You’re lying.”
“Excuse me?” She placed her hands on her hips.
“You work in the kitchens all the time, don’t you?” I asked. “You must’ve known what was going on in there. What was going into His Majesty’s food, and what you must have snuck into his food just now. Were you working alone, or was someone paying you to do it?”
She shook her head. “I had nothing to do with his porridge.”
“I didn’t say anything about porridge.” I ground my teeth. “I only called it his food.”
Her eyes widened. “Good day, Miss Sabine,” she mumbled as she attempted to march past me, but I grabbed her arm.
She whipped around. “What are you doing?”
“Tell me the truth. Did someone hire you to poison the prince?”
She tightened her lips, not speaking.
“Tell me,” I repeated with heat in my voice.
“What do you think?” Her cheeks flared red. “It wasn’t my plan to poison him, but I wish it were. He despised everyone. There was a time I had eyes for him, and he wanted nothing to do with me. He ignored me, as he should’ve done to you. He’ll get what’s coming to him. He deserves it.” She jerked her arm away, then turned a
nd marched down the hall, her skirts swishing.
I caught up to her and blocked her path.
Anger burned in her eyes. “Move,” she demanded.
“No. First, you tell me who gave you the poison to put in his food.”
She fisted her hands.
“Tell me, Justine.”
She pursed her lips and didn’t answer.
I balled my fists. “Was it a miner?”
She hesitated. “I don’t know.”
“You’re lying.”
“No, I’m not,” she snapped. “Leave me alone, Miss Sabine, or you’ll be sorry you ever met me. You’re worried about the prince being poisoned? You should worry more about yourself. Don’t follow me.” She pushed past me and stomped away.
I watched her go, her words ringing in my head.
I still didn’t know the identity of the poisoner, but one thing I knew for sure. Someone in this castle wanted Morven paralyzed or possibly dead. And they most likely wanted the same for me.
Chapter 21
After traveling for hours, Morven and I rode into a canyon. Steep walls hid the sunlight and kept us in shadows. The incessant vibrations of the engine made my legs cramp. Wind gusted with a shrill wail, and strands of hair battered my cheeks.
White patches of crystals grew from crags along the canyon’s floor. I got the impression that I was seeing this world as it really was for the first time, not hidden by the contrived plants—the real ecosphere—wherever it was. A planet? A moon? If so, then which one?
The sound of the engine’s humming echoed through the chasm—an empty amphitheater carved by nature. We rode up a steep incline and onto a plateau. Craters punctuated the rocky surface, as if we traveled on the moon—or on a moon.
What if...?
When we stopped for a brief rest, I sat on a stone and sipped warm water from my canteen.
I wiped the beads of sweat from my forehead, then motioned to the landscape. “This doesn’t look anything like the city.”
Morven propped against a stone, his eyes roving the landscape. “No, it doesn’t.”
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