by A. J. Rosen
“Keeping you alive is now my utmost priority. And since there is no safer place than the palace, I’m inviting you to live here.”
Live in the palace?
I knew I couldn’t cuss in front of the queen. Remembering what Lincoln had said about always accepting a royal invitation, I tried to sound grateful for the offer as I responded, “I’d be honored, Your Majesty.” I couldn’t help backpedaling. “However, if I lived at the palace, would I still have my freedom?”
The queen smiled as if she knew what I was getting at. “Yes. Of course. You can leave the palace whenever you like. But you can only go as far as the Court gate.”
Forgetting formalities, I blurted out, “Wait, what? Why?”
“Because you are in great danger, my child. You were nearly killed, and it happened inside the protective walls of this Court.” She shifted her icy gaze to Hudson, making him grimace. “I will not take any more chances. You’ll be guarded by these two.” She gave pointed looks to Officer Warwick and the guy standing next to him. “Officer Brad Warwick, whom you probably already know, and this is Officer Joseph Hudson.”
Had she just said Hudson? I looked at Commander Pete Hudson and he winked at me. Holy Poseidon! Were they brothers?
“I will protect her with my own life, Your Majesty,” Officer Warwick said with a voice filled with determination, and I could see that he meant every word.
“However, I’d like to appoint one more person to guard you.” Queen Rhea signaled to the Palace Guards and they opened the door, revealing a girl with blond hair and similar facial features to the queen. “This is your additional guard, Scarlet Christoulakis.” She paused for a heartbeat before adding, “My daughter.”
My jaw dropped and I noticed Hudson’s did too. Hudson was the first to recover. “Scar, what are you doing here?” From his tone it was clear that he knew her, and from the way he used a nickname instead of her title—Lady Scarlet Christoulakis—it was also clear that he had known her for quite a long time. Scarlet was not a princess because according to our law, the next queen would be chosen by the gods, not by lineage.
Lady Scarlet only looked a little older than me. I couldn’t believe that Queen Rhea had a daughter so close in age to me. I guess the queen just looked much younger than she actually was. Pure Royal beauty treatments, I supposed.
Scarlet smiled. “Why, Petros? Do you really need to ask?” She gave me a once-over. “Time to put my training into practice, of course.”
Petros? Why did that name sound so familiar? I looked at everyone, expecting someone to tell me that this was all some kind of joke. Instead, the queen concluded the meeting just as abruptly as she began it. “You all may leave.”
Commander Pete Hudson bowed. He may have been in a hurry to get back to his life, but I was still figuring out my new life and had so many questions that were still unanswered.
“Your Majesty, please.” There was desperation in my plea. “I was told only you could answer all the questions I have.” Where should I even begin? I took a breath. “Where are my parents?” Queen Rhea seemed hesitant, but I wasn’t about to give up. “Please. I need to know.”
“Yes. You deserve to know. But please understand some things must remain a secret for now. They say ignorance is bliss, but in your case, Lady Stavros, ignorance could mean safety.”
I nodded in response. I would take whatever information I could get.
Queen Rhea reached out and held my hand, which only made me even more nervous about what I was about to hear. “All I can tell you is that after the Great Massacre, the killing didn’t stop—as you know. The Faction tracked down any remaining Stavroses throughout the centuries until there were only five families left. We were left with no choice but to establish an order of our own, made up of the most trusted Court Guards. These guards were sent to protect these families and to track down the Faction, ensuring they would never harm another Stavros.”
The Myrmidons, I thought to myself. They had been here on official duty to the queen, like Vlad, Kris, and I had suspected. Back then, I had been sure that they had something to do with the Faction—not that they were the ones fighting against them. Since my first official meeting with Drake, though, I had known otherwise.
“But one of the remaining families believed that one day the Faction would become powerful enough again to complete what they had set out to do—to kill all remaining Stavroses. They sent their son, your father, to live among the Nescient, hoping he would have a better chance of survival if the Faction were to rise up again. They cut all ties with him to make sure he couldn’t be traced.
“Not long after sending your father away, their vision came true and the final Stavros families were murdered with Apollo’s arrow.”
I thought back to everything we had learned in Hellenic school about the Great Massacre and the final killings of the Stavroses. “Our history textbooks never mentioned a surviving member of those families. We were told this was when the bloodline became extinct.”
“Because I didn’t want anyone to know that there was still a Stavros out there. But the Faction knew—and they made it their mission to find him.”
“How did they know that my father was still out there?”
“Your father was adopted by a Nescient family that happened to live next to a Hellenicus family, your mother’s family. Your father, knowing he had to hide the fact that he was a Stavros, never told your mother, and your mother, thinking he was a Nescient, never told him she was a Hellenicus. They grew up not knowing each other’s true identity. Until”—a smile stretched across the queen’s face—“it was time for your mother’s first Gathering.”
I looked around the room. Everyone was enthralled by the queen’s story. I was sure they already knew all this, being Myrmidons, but they were listening so intently that it was as if they were hearing it for the first time as well.
“Your mother realized she was in love with your father and decided to forgo her first Gathering. She finally told him that she was a Hellenicus but was willing to leave it all behind to be with him. Your father urged her to forget him, to protect herself. But she refused, even when she found out his true identity. She knew that being with him would mean she would be putting herself in danger. Still, she chose to live in hiding with him. The childhood friends got married and had a daughter.” She gestured to me.
“But how did the Faction find them?”
“If we knew that . . .” She hung her head. “We would have been able to stop them. By the time we found out that the Faction knew of your existence, we could only save you.”
I felt a nudge on my arm and turned to see Officer Joseph Hudson offering a handkerchief. I realized that my cheeks were wet; I had been crying. I may have never met my parents, but my heart broke and ached for them and the rest of the Stavroses. I could never understand why someone would want to kill an entire bloodline. I wasn’t comfortable crying in public, so I asked to be excused. Even though I could see worry still dancing in her icy-blue eyes, the queen hesitantly agreed to let me go.
I was wheeled back to the Hyped with Officer Brad Warwick in the front and Officer Joseph Hudson in the back. Scarlet walked right beside me; she surveyed the surroundings like a hawk trying to identify potential threats. It was just a short trip back to my old unit in the Hyped, but the three of them were making it look like it was a major operation.
“I’ve read your file,” Scarlet stated. “I’m curious about your double click. How does it feel?”
How did they already have that information in my file? I gave her a one-word answer, as I wasn’t in the mood to talk. “Weird.”
“Hmm.” Scarlet did not seem to be satisfied with my answer. “Surely this can’t be the first time something like this has happened.”
“What?”
“I mean, if it’s happened to you, it’s likely happened before, right?”
“Do yo
u know where I can find that kind of information?”
“The archives, of course.” A knowing smile formed on Scarlet’s rosy lips. “Do you want me to take you there?”
Officer Warwick hesitated, but after some convincing, the three of us found ourselves at Court Guard Headquarters. Scarlet led the way to the archives, which was hidden below the Headquarters. The elevator ride down to the vaulted room took almost ten minutes, plunging us deep toward the center of the earth. By the time the doors opened, Commander Hudson was already there and clearly hadn’t wasted any time getting stuck back in his work. He was reading a file with eyes that could burn a hole in the paper.
“We meet again so soon, old man,” I greeted him. He was visibly taken aback to see me here.
According to Scarlet, this was where the Court kept all their records. Top secret and all. Only someone with a certain level of clearance, like Commander Hudson, knew the passcode. Well, and someone like Scarlet too.
Not only was Scarlet a Pure Royal and a descendant of Zeus but she also happened to be the daughter of our queen, Rhea Christoulakis. I still couldn’t figure out how on earth someone like her ended up being a Court Guard. Or why her mother allowed it. A mystery for another day, I guessed.
“Why are you here?” asked Hudson accusingly.
I stood from the wheelchair, no longer feeling any unbearable pain, and walked closer. I didn’t feel intimidated by him anymore. “It’s a free Court, Commander.”
Hudson dropped the file he had been holding in a box labeled X2211. He replaced the lid on top, closing the box before I could see anything inside. “You didn’t answer my question, girl.” He narrowed his eyes and walked toward me with a domineering look.
“It’s none of your business.”
Just as I said that, Scarlet came up behind us with a file and yelled, “Found it!”
Commander Hudson squeezed his eyes shut and massaged the spot between his brows with his thumb and index finger as if that would release some of his frustration. I almost felt bad for giving him trouble, but at the same time, there was no way I was going to back down when I was this close to an explanation for my double click.
“What did you find?” Hudson gripped Scarlet’s wrist firmly and took the file from her hand. She tried to wriggle away but failed miserably. He glanced at the cover, a stern look on his face as he turned to Scarlet again. “You cannot read this.”
“Oh yes, I can. I went to school and learned how to read, so of course I can read it.” Scarlet rose to the balls of her feet, her free hand reaching for the paper while Commander Hudson stuck his arm up, holding it out of her reach.
“You don’t have the clearance.”
“To hell with clearance.”
As they continued their struggle, I walked behind Commander Hudson and stood on top of a box laying on the floor close to his right foot. It gave me just enough additional height to snatch the file from his hand.
Commander Hudson and Scarlet stared at each other, baffled. Hudson let go of her wrist and, flipping her blond hair to one side, she blew at a lock that had fallen on her face.
“What are you doing bringing her here, Scar?” Commander Hudson asked. “How on earth did you even get in here, anyway?”
“I made a mental note of the passcode the last time I was here with you,” Scarlet answered.
Hudson took a deep breath to calm himself down. I’d thought Pure Royals like her got special treatment, but it seemed like Scarlet was no exception when it came to needing a certain level of clearance for this kind of thing.
“Anyway.” She walked over to me and I handed her the file. She opened it up and placed the contents on top of a wooden desk. “This should be what we came here for.”
I peered over Scarlet’s shoulder and read the contents.
January 1867
Lady Isabelle Stavros (18) reported the unusual click she had with two men: Mr. Jonathon Chance (21) and Lord Icarus Christoulakis (24). She was able to read both men’s minds, however, only Lord Christoulakis was able to read hers, possibly because Lord Christoulakis is a Pure Royal, like Lady Stavros, while Mr. Chance is a Regular.
June 1867
Lady Stavros and the two men were called to meet the queen in her chamber.
Three Court Guards were on duty: Travis Hawke, Todd Warwick, and Typhon Lincoln. Additionally, the usual four Palace Guards were guarding the door of the queen’s chamber.
A scream echoed from inside the chamber, and when the Palace Guards burst in to check on the queen, it was discovered that Lady Stavros had disappeared.
Witnesses to the occurrence were sworn to protect the secrecy of that night under the queen’s order.
– the report continued to Classified files –
– the queen’s authorization needed –
“That’s it?!” Scarlet angrily rampaged through the rest of the file. Some photos dropped onto the floor.
I bent to pick up the photos and then froze. Commander Hudson bent on his knee and took the photograph from my hand. He looked down at it with narrowed eyes then looked up at me.
“What is it?” asked Scarlet.
Scarlet put one hand on Commander Hudson’s shoulder and peeked at the photo. “Holy Zeus with a capital Z!” Her mouth dropped open as the realization hit her just as hard as it had hit us. “She looks exactly like you!”
I had no idea what to say.
I stepped into the lobby of the Royal Quarters with my new entourage, Officer Warwick dutifully pushing my now abandoned wheelchair. I was about to head to the Ambrosias’ suite to meet Kris when I bumped into Vlad. And the first line that crossed his mind was, Damn it.
“How flattering.” I crossed my arms in front of my chest. I started to move past him when I suddenly recalled something. That promise. The one he’d mentioned when we were standing in front of the tree. Now that I could read his mind, I could finally find out what that was about. My hand reached for his arm as he started to walk away, stopping him from going anywhere. “I have to talk to you.”
“Then talk.”
“Tell me about that promise.” I tried to read his mind, but I got zilch. Maybe I wasn’t very good at this, or maybe the fact that I could read two guys’ thoughts caused my signal to get disrupted from time to time.
“The one that stopped you from kissing me that time by the tree.”
I heard collective gasps from Officer Warwick and Officer Hudson, and a light giggle from Scarlet, but I didn’t care. I wanted to know the truth, and now that I had a chance to grab it, I wouldn’t let it go to waste.
“I can’t.” Vlad shook his head.
“I’m going to ask again. What promise?”
“It’s—”
I didn’t give him a chance to finish his sentence. “Don’t you dare say that it’s none of my business because if you’re going to look at me as if you want to kiss me but then pull away at the last second, it is my goddamn business to know what’s wrong.”
“—complicated.” He completed his sentence as if I had not said anything. He was staring at me, a look of utter torment distorting his features. I felt my heart ache—perhaps this bond caused me to have more feelings for Vlad than I had before.
“You promised that you wouldn’t have anything to do with me.” He didn’t say yes, but he didn’t say no, either, so I took it that I had hit close to the target. “Who did you make this promise to?” I moved closer to him, and somehow—maybe it was my gut feeling—I could read him better now that I was nearer. “Tell me.”
“I can’t. I’m a man of my word.”
“Vlad, if it involves me, then you need to tell me. I deserve to know the truth.” I lifted both of my hands and cupped his face, forcing him to look at me. “Who was it?”
He didn’t say anything, but an image flashed in my mind. It was a face I knew all too well.
Adrian.
Acknowledgments
First of all, I would like to thank God for letting me have that dream when I was thirteen years old and then again ten years later. Thank you for being with me every step of the way; that’s what sustains me through the years.
Loads of love for my family for being so understanding when I suddenly paused while walking—or doing anything really—fished my phone out, and started typing rapidly. My dad, Joe, who let me dream and follow my dreams. I realize now that it’s such a privilege. I thank my mum, who’s the strongest person I know. Mom, you always push me to do my best and honestly, I owe it to you. I’m lucky to be able to call you Mom and Dad. For my sister Elizabeth, who dragged me out to get food—I’m alive because of you; and my youngest sister, Sandhra, for being an inspiration and force to be reckoned with. My dear aunt and godmother, Intan—you once told me when I was ten to never leave any task incomplete and to always do my best to achieve my goals. I have taken that with me since. I managed to finish Entwined because of you. My brother Steven for simply being him, you’re amazing, bruh!—I’m pretty sure he’d laugh if he heard I said bruh in my nonexistent accent. Also, I want to thank my generous cousin Ariel Yoe for giving me his phone in the most dire situation during the writing of this story when my five-year-old phone died in the most inconvenient way possible—Man, you honestly saved Entwined.
I’d like to thank my first readers who had to go through very rough drafts back in 2017: Cinderella Pharaon, Clara Quezado, Damini Thakur, Daniella R., Daniella Irewole-ojo, Donna Fieldhouse, Fatima Rafiq, Fernanda Lemos, Gia Hunter, Hafsah Nadeem, Jovana Mrdalj, Krissy Ash, Maggie, Mariam, Marsela, Mlaika Nadeem, Muhammad Rizqi Fadlillah, Nwezeh Joyce Chiamaka, Priya Chauhan, Sanskriti, and Zeinab Faour. You gave Entwined a chance even when it had no reads and fame whatsoever. Your constant support, enthusiasm, and love are something I will cherish forever. Also, the fact that this book is now getting published means that I have indeed lost the bet. Pizza on me, fam!