by Everly Frost
Olander replied. “President Vale, they aren’t children anymore.”
President Vale prowled right up to Quake, appraising him. She stopped at Blaze next, and finally Rift. “So it seems.”
She spoke quietly for the first time, addressing Rift. “What is your name?”
Rift glared back at her. “My name is Rift.”
She frowned. “No, your Seversandian name.”
“My mother called me Ephron.”
“Meaning ‘the fields of the dead.’” The corners of her mouth turned up in a brief smile. “It’s a good name. Your mother chose well.”
Rift flinched. “Death follows me, so, yes, the name fits.” He cleared his throat. “It’s clear that we’re a payment in these negotiations. My mother kept me prisoner here. Do you intend to do the same?”
President Vale paused. “Your own actions will determine that. Do you intend to flee?”
“At the first opportunity.”
She smiled. “I wouldn’t expect anything less. General Gaza, please take our wayward sons to the Starlight Pod. They need food, water, and rest. I fear they can’t attend the feast tonight, however, given Ephron’s declaration just now. See that they are kept safe.”
I was undecided about her intentions, but the offer of food and water didn’t sound like she was going to mistreat them. I fought the urge to fight to go with them. No doubt, both Presidents were working their way up to dealing with me.
General Gaza and several of the warriors left the room with my brothers and President Vale quickly returned to Olander.
“Now,” she began. “Where is the mor…”
She stopped mid-sentence, frowning at the back of the room.
Any softness I might have imagined in her features bled from her face and body. In an instant, she became like granite. She snarled. “How … Dare … You…”
She advanced on Olander, drawing her dagger from its sheath. Her voice rose to a deadly pitch, screaming into Olander’s face.
“How dare you bring that monster here?”
Olander backpedaled. The soldiers who had previously circled my brothers tried to pull him back and close ranks, but they weren’t fast enough. President Vale grabbed him by the throat, far faster and stronger than the soldiers.
She pressed her blade to his throat.
Olander spluttered.
Alexander sauntered out from behind the soldiers into clear view. “I assume you mean me.”
The Seversandian warriors around the room shouted in unison—a war cry in Seversandian. At the same time, they dropped to their knees, revealing the warriors behind them.
The fighters in the back row were not men after all, but women. Some of them were girls not much older than me. Each pointed an arrow at our group.
President Vale hissed. “Every blade in this room is dipped in mortality poison. Including the one at your throat, Olander. You will answer for this monster’s presence among us or die.”
A quick glance told me there were at least one hundred female warriors around the room, all armed. That meant there were one hundred mortal arrows pointed at our small group. If the arrows didn’t do their job, the rows of men in front were ready to attack. They may be on one knee to allow the women to aim and see, but it looked more like a prime position to lunge upward and finish us off.
Vale said, “In Seversand, it is the women who kill. Only those who create life have the right to take it. In Evereach you think women are weak. Here, you will fear us.”
Olander struggled to regain his composure. “Alexander is an Evereacher and he has immunity from your laws.”
“No, he’s a murderer who is wanted by seventeen tribes for atrocities committed against them. Give me one good reason why I don’t cut you both down right now.”
“Because I have the girl.”
Olander’s reply was simple enough.
President Vale’s gaze flickered straight to me and I realized that she’d been keeping visual tabs on me the whole time. Michael moved in front of me, blocking me, but a quick glance told me there were at least three arrows pointed at his heart.
I whispered to him. “We can’t let them fight.”
“Let them kill each other.”
“I won’t take the chance you’ll be caught in the crossfire.”
He sighed and I knew he’d let me go. I pushed past Aaron and the other guards, making my presence clear.
President Vale looked me up and down while she continued to grip Olander’s throat. “You’re the girl who broke the world.”
Her words grated on me. “I’m not the only one. It takes two mortal girls to make a war. One, on the other hand, makes a slaughter.”
She growled. “True. But what would you have me do? Alexander was banished from our land hundreds of years ago. He stole children from their families and attempted to raise them in his image. He fed them to the sand sharks when they disobeyed him.”
My stomach turned at that. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to gain control of my emotions.
She continued. “Of his lesser crimes, he brought the lions to near extinction, hunting them relentlessly. What am I to do with such a man now that he stands before me?” Her gaze remained solidly on me, refusing to look at Alexander who paced, clearly annoyed at being ignored. “And what should I do with the man who brought him here?”
“You should imprison him. Maybe even kill him. But … you can’t.”
“Can’t? Tell me why not?”
“Because there are boatloads of mortality weapons in ships positioned off your northern coast. And I don’t think that’s all. If I’m right, Olander has been dispatching ships for some time now to circle your coastline. All they needed was the weapons. They’ve had me for days. Long enough to create an artillery of mortality weapons.”
I sighed. “The world needs peace.” I glanced at Alexander. “Before it needs justice.”
President Vale released Olander with a disgusted grunt. She put away her dagger. “Very well. I won’t raise a hand against Alexander, but he’s here at his own risk. I won’t be held accountable for the actions of the tribal leaders. Do you understand, Olander?”
Olander ran a hand across his throat. “Understood.”
Her voice became quiet. A small smile crossed her mouth. “And you should also know that while your fleet circles my shores, my own fleet circles yours. You’re not the only one who’s been busy. Imagine what we’ll do with mortality serum and nuclear weapons combined.”
An expression of disquiet flashed across Olander’s face. He stepped backward into the protection of the Evereachers who closed around him, forming a protective barrier. President Vale motioned to the female warriors to lower their weapons. Her expression was stony while Alexander crossed his arms.
Vale gestured to the warriors at the head of her guard. “Please show the President and his men to their quarters. They’re welcome to join our tribal leaders at the feast. If they dare.”
Her challenge was definitely for Alexander. She’d already said she wouldn’t guarantee his safety from the leaders. He huffed.
She shook her head. “In the meantime, I’ll escort Ava Holland to the banquet myself.”
That brought Olander barreling out from behind the Evereachers, his face red. “No.”
President Vale laughed. “What are you afraid of? That some harm will come to her? That our deal won’t go ahead? I give you permission to bring your soldiers to the feast as long as they leave their weapons at the door.”
Olander advanced on Vale, but she quickly grabbed her dagger and wiggled it in the air, making him pause.
He glared at the weapon, his anger palpable. “You will respect our agreement.”
“Of course. But if she’s to make Seversand her home then she may as well start now.”
President Vale motioned to General Gaza who had returned and seemed to be enjoying the new spectacle. “General, please show Olander and his officers to the south wing.”
To me, she said,
“You will stay.”
Before Aaron could restrain him, Michael shoved through the exiting soldiers. “I’m staying with Ava.”
I eyed the weaponry around me. “Michael…”
President Vale’s demand was swift. “Who is your mother?”
Michael didn’t hesitate this time and when he said his mother’s name, the President smiled. “Of course she is. Your people will be glad to meet you.”
She signaled to the General and he and twenty warriors ushered Olander and the Evereachers finally from the room.
A weight lifted from me once they were gone. I hadn’t realized how poisonous Alexander’s presence was. Even standing in the same room as him made me feel ill.
Once she was satisfied they were gone, President Vale waved to one of the women at the side—a warrior who had taken a step forward at the mention of Michael’s mother.
The girl’s skin was olive and her eyes were green. I guessed she was around my age. She tapped her chest without taking her eyes off Michael. “May the sun never set on your years.”
President Vale smiled. A real smile for the first time. “Ember’s grandmother is here as the representative of her tribe. The Rivera tribe. I believe Ember may be your closest cousin. You should meet your family, Michael.”
Michael’s face was awash with emotion. He’d always felt out of place in Evereach and even more so in Starsgard. For the first time in his life, he had a chance to meet his extended family.
A playful smile toyed with the edges of President Vale’s mouth. “You may, of course, stay with Ava the whole time.”
Ember grinned. “You really are your mother’s son. She’s a legend among our tribe. Among all the tribes, really. We heard she’d had a son, but I can’t believe you’re actually here.”
Michael’s eyes shot wide. So did my own.
He mouthed, a legend?
The President called out in Seversandian—a single word—and I guessed she’d just dismissed the other warriors because they disbanded, silently filing through a door at the side of the room and closing it behind them.
She strode ahead of Michael and Ember, catching my arm and whisking me along with her, through the doors and into the corridor outside. The sun was setting, but golden stones placed at intervals along the corridor lit our path.
I was shocked to find myself looking into the eyes of a very different woman. The President’s ferocious façade was gone. The woman who appraised me now was troubled.
She said, “My intelligence told me that you and my sons were safe in the Starsgardian mountains.”
I stared at her in surprise. My thoughts split in two directions at once. She’d called them her ‘sons,’ but she couldn’t mean that literally… And as for my second thought… “You speak as if you were happy that my brothers were there and not here.”
“You call them your brothers?”
I shot back at her, “You call them your sons.”
She laughed. Took a deep breath. “To answer your first question: yes, I was happy they were there. I had every reason to believe that Robert Bradley would steal them all those years ago and I did nothing to stop him. Unfortunately, one of my guards was overzealous and the girl remained behind.”
My thoughts swam. I pressed my hands to my temples. “I really don’t understand where you’re coming from right now.”
“You have many questions and I promise I will answer them in time, but I want you to know that I’d planned to send Olander packing when he didn’t show up with the boys. I never wished for you to be wrenched from your home.”
She chewed her lip. “I’ve promised Olander a swap: our girl for you. But I don’t trust him for one second. He’s been too willing to play along.”
She pulled me to a halt outside a chamber. Music and singing spilled out of the room and the scent of food made my mouth water. “I’ll leave you here in Ember’s capable hands. I have dignitaries to meet—our treaty has captured the attention of the world.”
As Michael drew close, he captured my hand, always able to read my thoughts. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m not sure. I feel like … she was trying to warn me.”
I couldn’t say anything else as Ember swept us into the room.
Chapter Fifteen
I FELT IMMEDIATELY out of place. I was still wearing the white cloak with cotton pants and shirt underneath. In contrast, the room was filled with women wearing elaborate silk dresses and men in fine suits. It was a surprising change from the armor Ember wore.
She strode into the room as if she owned it. Three women at a far table stood up and called out to her. She paused only long enough to gesture us along with her.
Michael leaned into me. “This isn’t what I expected.”
“You and me both. I’m seriously underdressed and I’m trying to remember the last time I had a shower.”
He pulled me to a stop in the middle of the room. “Ava, what’s going to happen after this?”
I returned his serious expression. “I don’t know. They keep talking about a swap. They keep saying this is my home now.”
“Then it’s mine, too.”
I leaned into him, allowing our bodies to touch for the first time in a week, drinking in the contact. In response, he wrapped his arms around me. I half expected someone to leap up from one of the tables situated around the room and wrench us apart. His arms flexed around me as if challenging anyone to come near us. Clearly, he had the same thoughts as me.
He said, “These are stolen moments. But I’ll snatch them where I can.”
I tried to smile. “I miss you, Michael.”
He kissed my forehead, the lightest touch, and ran his hand down my arm. I clasped his hand, wishing the rest of the room would disappear. Worry for my brothers was never far from my mind. I hated that these people were eating and laughing while my world was crashing.
Ember waved us over. An older lady, her hair falling to her waist, rose from her seat as we approached. Her dress swished regally around her body as she tapped her fist to her chest.
“Michael, son of the river, may the sun never set on your years.”
“This is Grandmother,” Ember explained. “And two of my aunties. My mother isn’t here tonight.”
“You honor us with your presence, Michael,” one of the other women said. Like Grandmother, her hair was dark brown along with her eyes and skin.
We took our seats and within minutes, food arrived, and despite my worry about Quake, Blaze, and Rift, I forced myself to eat. Michael, too, chewed slowly.
At the next table, the conversation alternated between talking and singing, almost as if song was a natural part of the interaction. I couldn’t make out most of the words. Mostly, they sang in Seversandian, but spoke in the same language as Evereachers, switching between the two mid-sentence. However, the way they kept glancing at Michael was unmistakable. They were talking about him.
“Our tribe has long prayed for your mother’s return,” Grandmother said.
“I heard she’s a legend,” Michael replied, attempting to sound casual, but his shoulders were too tense to pull it off.
Grandmother smiled, but her eyes narrowed. She lowered the bread she’d raised to her mouth. “I sense a need for information. As if you feel we know more about your mother than you do.”
He shrugged. “You do. Mom never told me anything about her life here.”
The aunties gasped.
Grandmother’s eyes shot wide. She dropped her bread. “Then, you don’t know…”
One of the aunties spoke to her in Seversandian, but Grandmother replied, “It’s a woman’s unquestionable right to speak or not speak according to her judgment. If she hasn’t told her son, then we will not.”
I swallowed my food. What on earth…?
Michael shook his head. He sighed. “I had to try.”
“Forgive me, son of the river. I don’t mean to insult you.” Grandmother’s tone softened. “But you must understand our customs. A woman’s wo
rd is absolute here. And so is her silence.”
Ember shot wide eyes at her grandmother and aunties. They shook their head at her. She turned to us, her face flushed. “I’m sorry…”
There was a tumult behind us and General Gaza strode into the room. He headed straight for me.
“Ava, the President needs to speak with you immediately.”
“I…” I’d eaten only half my food but the way he spoke made me put down my fork. I took a last gulp of water.
Michael stood up with me and so did Ember, but Gaza stepped between us. “Only Ava.”
Ember didn’t look happy. “But—”
“With respect to you, Ember Rivera, the President has requested this.”
I glanced between them, getting the strong impression that Ember outranked him, but she didn’t outrank the President. “Very well. Michael, stay with me, please.”
I squeezed his hand. “I’ll be okay.”
I followed General Gaza from the room to find President Vale pacing outside. As soon as she saw me, she pulled me down the corridor, away from the chamber and listening ears. Even General Gaza remained behind.
“Quickly, we don’t have much time.” President Vale’s fingers were calloused where they met my arm, as though she’d deliberately cultivated a thick skin.
She said, “Everything’s changed.”
I followed her through the large doors to the outer corridor with the glass wall. Hundreds of feet away, the tree was a shriveled thing, barely visible in the dark.
She asked, “Do you see the tree?”
I shivered. How could I not?
She continued. “In Seversand, we have songs, not stories. But I have no voice for songs, so I’m going to tell you a story instead.”
She ran her hand along the glass, her rings glinting in the light from the golden stones. “A thousand years ago, that tree was alive. For thousands of years before that, it flourished in the desert.”
She swept her arms out. “The grass grew and flowers bloomed for miles all around. The tree was lush with leaves so green they were brighter than emeralds. Many people believed—and still do—that this is the very tree from which Eve was allowed to take fruit and become immortal.