Seven Crowns (Bellaton Book 1)

by E. V. Everest

  “Ana, why does it matter how we met?”

  “That’s not an answer. Did your dad tell you to find me?”

  “I care about you.”

  “Did he tell you to date me too? Is any of this real?” she hissed.

  “Of course. Ana, please, don’t do this.” His green eyes locked on hers, and she thought he really meant it, but it was too little too late.

  “Did you know your dad plans on marrying us off?”

  It was Adam’s turn to look surprised. “What?”

  “Oh, don’t worry. It’s not happening,” Ana said icily.

  Adam paused in the middle of the dance floor. “I would,” he said after a moment. “I would do it. I would marry you. My father is a jerk, but he’s right. You would be safe.” His breath was too close to her neck. His body too close to hers.

  “And you would get another council vote. At least that’s the plan, right?” She clenched her teeth, biting back a scream and the desperate urge to run.

  As they swiveled slowly on the dance floor, a man appeared. Behind his mask lay familiar brown eyes. “Might I cut in?”

  25

  Uncalculated Risk

  “Now is not a good time,” Adam said through gritted teeth.

  Ana dropped his hand and took a step back. “Actually, it’s a great time.”

  She accepted Samuel’s hand, and he placed his other hand just below her shoulder. The orchestra started another tune, and they began to glide across the floor.

  “What are you doing here?” she hissed in his ear.

  “Checking on you, of course. I was going to remain hidden, but I could sense something was wrong.”

  “You’re supposed to be at the academy, feeding Petrie.”

  “Don’t worry. I left the handsome devil with six bowls of food.”

  Ana sighed. “You know he’ll eat it all at once.”

  “Carbo-loading is a time-honored tradition for warriors. He’ll be fine. Besides, don’t we have bigger issues at hand?”

  “You’re telling me. Adam’s dad just proposed.”

  Samuel’s jaw dropped, and his eyes flashed dangerously through the holes in his mask.

  “Well, he proposed on Adam’s behalf,” she corrected.

  “And what did you say?”

  “I said no obviously!”

  To her surprise, Samuel was an excellent dancer. It reminded Ana of how little she knew about Samuel and his life on Bellaton. Who had he been before he ran away to Earth?

  They twirled and spun. He was the only steady thing in her world. He met her gaze with his amber eyes. As the song came to an end, he dipped her low and whispered, “I need to disappear again. Be careful. You are being watched at every angle.” He returned her to her feet and dropped her hand.

  “You’re leaving?”

  “I can’t stay.”

  He made his way to the exit. Ana stood alone on the ballroom floor as another song kicked up. Adam moved toward her, but she found she couldn’t do it. She couldn’t fake it, couldn’t pretend everything was still okay between them. She bolted. Her desperate feet carried her through a series of ballroom doors, down the sky lift, and out into the neon streets. She felt like a prisoner gasping for air.

  This was real. These were real people. Nothing like the glittering masks and gowns and tuxedos inside the ballroom. Monstrosity covered by a veneer of perfection.

  In many ways, this street could have belonged to any big city. It was bustling and busy. People of all types pushed past trying to get to their destinations. But it was different too. Some of the faces were inhuman. Sky cars flew above, creating gusts of air as they rocketed between skyscrapers.

  She walked with no destination in mind. Not knowing or caring where she was going. Anywhere away from the ball. She wanted nothing more than to be lost in the crowd, but her gown made that difficult. People kept turning to stare.

  She turned onto an alley to get out of the main thoroughfare. A neon sign flickered ahead—Leon’s. The E bulb was burnt out. It almost looked like lions.

  A few ladies pressed up against the brick walls looked up at her and scowled. “I think you’re on the wrong street, sweetheart.” She said the word with no affection.

  Ana truly looked around for the first time and realized the ladies were right. She hadn’t blanked like this since the night Mom died.

  She kept her head high and quickened her pace. Never turn your back on a fight, came Hugh’s voice in her head. That is how you get sucker punched.

  A cart was set up on the sidewalk, and she had to go around. The man working it had shiny metal and thin wires dripping from his ear. He was showing a small metal gizmo to a heavily tattooed fellow but looked around him at Ana. “Hey there. You look lost, baby,” he catcalled. “Let me show you the way home. To my home.” He ran his eyes up and down her body.

  She was suddenly aware of her ballgown and how it hugged the curves of her body. Earlier it had made her feel fierce, now vulnerable. Like a dressed-up plaything. Ana avoided eye contact. She felt her muscles tense and her pulse quicken. She was ready to run. If it came to that.

  Another man emerged from behind the cart to see the main attraction. One of his arms was much bigger than the other. Muscles rippling. “Capital is that way, little rich girl,” he said. “We don’t need your trouble.”

  Just like that, an arm wrapped through hers, and she screamed. She turned to face her attacker and saw Samuel. His long hair was down, and he was still wearing his tuxedo. She sighed.

  “Ha, little bitch is meeting up with a tweaker. Shoulda known. Now get the hell off our street.”

  Samuel obliged and whirled them in an about-face.

  “They think you’re a drug addict,” she whispered. His eyes were a little bloodshot.

  “I’ve been called worse.”

  Samuel pulled her by the arm for the next two blocks without stopping.

  “Alright already,” Ana moaned. “Let go.” She shook Samuel’s grip from her arm. “I can handle myself.”

  “Yeah, you were doing a great job,” he said sarcastically.

  They walked for another minute in silence.

  “Samuel, do you think Adam was dating me just to secure a family alliance?”

  “Probably.”

  Ana stopped in the middle of the crowded sidewalk. “And you didn’t say anything?” She could feel her voice rising with every word.

  “I did say something. I warned you to stay away from the Rockwells. Twice. Once on the ship and once after the parade.”

  “You could have tried a little harder!”

  Samuel raised an eyebrow. “Would you have listened?”

  She bit her lip. No. She wouldn’t have listened.

  “What do you think the chances are that the ship you escaped on happened to be piloted by someone your own age? Someone so closely related to the Rockwell chair? And then your first friend, your first champion, was of the same family? And the son of the Rockwell chair?”

  Ana was silent. Now that it had all been laid out for her, it was obvious. She felt stupid and small. She tried to find a way to make it untrue. To disprove what Samuel was saying. “But how would they know to put him on that ship?”

  “How indeed?”

  Ana groaned. “They orchestrated the attack.”

  “Or had knowledge of it.”

  “Where can I get a drink on this godforsaken planet?”

  “We’re not going to a bar, Ana. We’re taking you back. It’s not safe out here.”

  “And it’s safe in there?” She was almost screaming now. Passersby were beginning to turn and stare. A guy took a phone out of his pocket and looked like he might snap a photo.

  Samuel took off his jacket and draped it over their heads. He pushed her back the way they came, trying to get away from the interested crowd. They approached a door and a wooden sign that read “The Horseman and the Heart.”

  Samuel pulled the jacket down and pushed them through the door.

  “
ID?” the bouncer asked.

  Ana faltered. She didn’t have one. Not even a real one. More less a fake one that said she was old enough to go in a bar.

  Samuel stepped in. “Here you are,” he said, pulling two IDs from his inner jacket pocket. He slipped the jacket back on.

  The bouncer motioned them forward, giving Ana’s ball gown an unusual look. Samuel bowed cavalierly and allowed her to pass through first. Inside, the bar was snug with old wooden floors and walls that had been written all over.

  “How did you get those IDs?” Ana asked.

  “You really don’t know me, do you?” He feigned hurt. “It’s not that I approve of this plan, but it’s better than being out on the street. Either of us could be recognized. We’ll just lay low for an hour and then head back to the main city center.”

  People were giving Samuel and Ana odd looks. In a ball gown and tuxedo, they did not fit in with the crowd of revelers here. There was a wide range of fashion, but none of it was formal. They moved out of the doorway and found seats at the far end of the bar.

  “Take off your jacket,” Ana suggested.

  He took it off and threw it over the back of his chair. He struggled with his necktie, and Ana helped him loosen it. He pulled it over his long hair and looped it around the chair.

  He squinted at her. “How did you—”

  “Three brothers,” she reminded him. “Lots of proms and homecomings.”

  “Ah.” He nodded. “I don’t suppose there is anything you can do about that dress?”

  Ana considered for a moment. “Maybe. Do you have any money?”

  “It’s built into the ID. You just tap it against another person’s and say the amount.”

  “What’s the equivalent of twenty bucks here?”

  “Forty-two bellies would be the slang for it. But why? What are you doing?”

  “You’ll see.” Ana headed for the bathroom. When she exited fifteen minutes later, she was wearing a skintight lilac dress that with an open back, and another woman came out behind her in a scarlet ball gown.

  Samuel heard the scrape of the chair and muttered, “Seats taken.”

  “Samuel,” she laughed. “It’s me.”

  He turned and did a double take. “Whoa.”

  “Like what you see?” she asked, waggling her eyebrows.

  He ignored her.

  The bartender checked in on the unlikely pair. “What’ll it be?” he asked.

  “Just a beer. Whatever is on draft. A water for her.”

  Ana glanced at the specials board. “A four horsemen, please.”

  The man nodded.

  Samuel frowned. “That has four liquors in it.”

  “Exactly.”

  Samuel’s beer arrived shortly followed by Ana’s double shot glass. When she picked up the glass, the color turned from dark, murky brown to electric yellow. Samuel took a sip of his beer, and Ana tilted her head back like a seasoned pro and downed the entire glass in one gulp.

  Samuel’s eyes bulged. “Whoa. What are you doing?”

  His shock just made it all the more fun. Ana was sick of being responsible. She was sick of studying. She was sick of wearing clothes that were laid out for her like a toddler. She was sick of floral prints. She was sick of trusting people who didn’t deserve it.

  Before all of this started, back on Earth, she worked long hours. Sometimes she was tired. Sometimes she was sad. But she did it all on her own terms. Now she was a pawn on someone else’s chessboard, and it didn’t feel good. She wanted to make her own rules.

  The speakers shuttered on, and an amp screamed. A band had taken stage in the small venue and were starting their set. Music pounded through the room, obliterating any ability to talk. That was fine. Ana didn’t want to talk. She walked out onto the floor and melted into the crowd.

  It was funny. She had left Georgia. She was an unfathomable distance from home, and yet this music was almost country. She joined in a line dance on the floor with ease. As she moved with the crowd, she could feel the alcohol coursing through her veins, making her feel light-headed and loose-lipped. She danced through three whole songs before returning to the bar.

  Samuel stared at her like she had sprouted tentacles. “Who are you?”

  Her cheeks were flushed from moving around on the floor, and she flagged down the bartender. “You don’t know everything about me,” she yelled over the music. “A lot happened in the year after my mom died. My roommate was a college student. This isn’t my first line dance or my first drink.”

  The bartender slid a bottle to her across her countertop. She caught it and took a few sips.

  Samuel lit a cigarette.

  “I want one.”

  “I guess if I don’t give you one, you’re probably going to go snort a line in the bathroom instead.” He rolled his eyes and handed her one.

  The cigarette felt clumsy and awkward in her hand, and she burnt herself with the lighter as she struggled to ignite the tip. A slight smile played across Samuel’s lips, as though he were thankful he had finally found some naivety left.

  “Want to dance?” she asked.

  He shook his head. “I’m good.”

  “Oh, c’mon. Live a little,” she said, dragging Samuel and her beer bottle onto the floor with her.

  Samuel stood awkwardly next to her. “How do you even dance to this?”

  “I guess the Jacobses didn’t teach this at cotillion, huh?” she said too loudly.

  He glared at her.

  “Sorry,” she muttered. “You just need the basic step.” She showed him a grapevine step with the little flourish kick the locals had added.

  The dance floor was hot and crowded, and the energy was infectious. Ana moved in time with the line, swaying and kicking. Her hair was slipping out of her ponytail and sticking to the nape of her neck. She felt alive for the first time in a long time.

  She looked over and saw Samuel was still struggling with the steps. When a slow song kicked on, he looked relieved. All the people on the dance floor began to partner off.

  Samuel turned to her. “We should get going. We want to get you back before the Fleurs are worried.”

  A young man with a chiseled jaw smiled at Ana from a few paces away and began to walk over. “Want to dance?” he asked.

  Ana started to nod, when Samuel grabbed her hand and twirled her twice on the dance floor. “Not today, cowboy,” he muttered.

  Ana was feeling a little dizzy. She leaned against his chest and laughed. She couldn’t help but notice how close their faces were together. He smelled like old books and aftershave. Recklessly, she closed the gap. Kissing Samuel wasn’t like kissing Adam. It was heady and seductive. There was no hesitancy. For just a moment, his lips claimed hers. She leaned in and deepened the kiss. The crowd jostled them.

  Samuel broke the kiss and pulled back. “We can’t do this. It’s wrong.”

  Ana’s face fell, and she hurried for the door of the bar.

  Samuel fell in step behind. “Ana, wait up. You can’t be out here on your own. Especially in that dress.”

  She put her head in her hands. “I’m so embarrassed. I don’t think I can ever look at you again.”

  “Ana, chill. It’s fine.”

  “It’s not fine. You must think I’m such an idiot.” She broke down in hysterical tears. “First Adam, now this. And I’m crying. You must think I’m such a little girl.”

  “No, that’s not how I see you,” he said quietly.

  They walked the rest of the way in silence. Ana teetering on her heels, and Samuel walking a respectful distance behind her. When they got to Ophelia’s building, Samuel waited as the doorman let Ana in before slinking off into the night.

  26

  Fleur Laboratory

  Ana was the only one in the apartment. Ophelia and her aunt were both still at the ball. It was just as well, Ana felt terrible. Dizzy and nauseous. She was about to head up the stairs for bed, when she noticed the greenhouse door ajar.

  She
wandered inside. Maybe there would be a good nausea cure in here. Ana learned many herbal cures in botany class. What was it called? Bindi root?

  She ran her hand along a row of shrubberies, petting them as she passed by.

  Ana knocked over a potted plant and whirled around to pick it up. She almost fell over but righted herself. Right under her nose was the stargazer lily. Ana remembered it from Ophelia’s presentation on the first day of school. The plant that could cure anything. Well, that would certainly get rid of a hangover, right?

  She plucked a large blue petal. She raised it to her lips, but then she heard the front door slam shut. She shoved the petal in her pocket and hurried back in the living room.

  Ophelia and a few of her cousins were at the door. They noticed Ana, and she waved, trying to appear nonchalant. She leaned against the spiral staircase, willing the room to stop moving.

  Lauren glided over in her manicured white gown. “Looks like somebody had a better night than the rest of us,” she said eyeing Ana’s scandalous dress and messy hair.

  “Not exactly,” Ana muttered.

  “Adam was acting really weird all night,” Jasmine said, raising an eyebrow.

  “Sorry, I’ve got to get changed before Ms. Fleur gets back.” Ana turned and started up the spiral staircase.

  By the time Ophelia made it up the steps, only ten minutes later, Ana had already fallen asleep.

  * * *

  Someone was banging on the door.

  Ana’s head felt like it would split into two. She was lying at the foot of an empty bed. A quilt was wrapped around her with one leg hanging out. Her hair felt glued to the side of her head. The midday sun was too intense.

  From down below, she could hear a man’s voice. “Is she here? Is Ana here?”

  Adam.

  Ophelia’s soft voice answered. “She’s sleeping.”

  “Sleeping?” he echoed. “Is she okay?”

  What time is it? Ana wondered.

  Adam’s voice grew louder. “Let’s wake her up then. I need to talk to her.”

  Ana stumbled over to the edge of the loft and steadied herself on the metal railing. The room spun. Her hair was disheveled, day-old mascara was thick under her eyes, and she was wearing an oversized T-shirt with no pants.