Mangum bit his lip.
“Please don’t say anything. I don’t think I can handle finding out that the guy I like is engaged to my stepsister AND deal with my mother’s anger.” Her eyes welled up with tears. “It’s just too much.”
The lines in his face deepened as he frowned. “Renna, this is a dangerous secret.”
She blinked back her tears. “It will be fine. I know my place and it’s not with Prince Ezra.”
“You know your place?” he confirmed.
Renna nodded.
Mangum let out a heavy breath. “Fine.”
Renna jumped into his arms.
“We’ll keep this just between us,” he said, patting her on the back. “But I’ll be watching you closely.”
“Thank you, Mangum.” Renna pulled back from the hug. “Thank you for understanding.”
He blushed and looked away, clearing his throat. “Your mother is waiting for you. You better go in.”
Renna took one deep breath then rapped her knuckles against the wooden door.
Cypress opened the door with the same disapproving look she always wore. “Your mother has been waiting for you.”
“I came as soon as I could.” Renna stepped around the maid. She found her mother sitting on a red velvet chair, reading a book.
“I’m glad to see that you supported Seran on the outing today. I worried after last night that you would be uninvited.”
Renna sighed. Her mother couldn’t even make it through one sentence without bringing up her missteps from the night before. She couldn’t even imagine what her mother would have done if Mangum had told her about Trev.
“Mom, I think you’re looking at last night all wrong. My behavior only made Seran look that much better. Isn’t that the point? To make Seran look good for the prince?” Renna smiled, hoping to soften her mother’s mood.
“You embarrassed yourself and me. I’m concerned that if you keep behaving that way, King Carver will call off the wedding.”
Renna clenched her jaw. She was pretty confident that, with everything at stake in his conflict with Tolsten, there was no way King Carver would call off the wedding. But there was also no way to convince her mother of that.
“I’m sorry. I’ll try to do better.”
“I would appreciate that.” Mariele stood, walking to the balcony’s open doors, her arms folded over her chest like she was trying to keep her emotions locked inside. Renna hoped that the scene last night hadn’t spun her mother into some sort of episode.
“The soldier you met at Wellenbreck,” her mother said, her face to the window. “Is he here?”
How could she answer this question without worrying her mother? She considered her words carefully, then replied, “No. The soldier I knew at Wellenbreck is definitely not here.”
In a way, that was true. The man she thought she knew, the one she had dreamed up a future with, didn’t exist anymore.
“How are Seran and Prince Ezra getting along?” Her mother’s countenance cheered.
“Delightfully,” Renna muttered.
17
Renna
Renna had successfully avoided Trev and Seran all last night at dinner—sitting across the room with Joniss, her back to them. She was proud of herself, dodging the happy couple like a soldier would his enemy during war. Not that she was at war. Well, maybe she was at war with her heart, but nevertheless, she still considered last night a success.
There was no way to avoid them the next morning during the palace tour, though. At least her mother was there as a buffer. Renna did her best to hang back with the queen as they weaved their way through the kitchen, sitting rooms, dining rooms, and offices.
Trev’s palace tour included inconsequential details that no real tour of a palace would have, especially when amazing paintings and artifacts from before Desolation were displayed all over. He had this great way about him where he could keep a straight face even when he said the most ridiculous things.
“See this closet?” He opened a door in a high-ceilinged hallway, revealing cleaning supplies stacked on the shelves inside. “This closet has the sturdiest shelves in the entire palace.”
Renna shook her head. She couldn’t believe he was actually behaving this way in front of her mother and Seran.
“No, really. And look over here.” He walked to a light switch at the end of the hall. “This light switch is the fastest switch in the entire palace.” He flicked it off and then back on again, making the lights above them flash. “See. So fast, you didn’t even notice a difference.”
Renna choked back a giggle, cupping her hand over her mouth. Seran, at least, looked mildly amused, but her mother simply stared back at Trev with a blank face. Trev cleared his throat uncomfortably, clearly sensing that his humor wasn’t appreciated. “There’s one more room I want to show you all.”
Trev led them into a dark room and shut the door behind them.
“Should we be worried that this is where you send the assassin in to kill us in a dark, empty room?” Renna teased.
“Renna!” Her mother exclaimed.
“No one is going to die.” Trev laughed. “I promise you’ll like it. Just give me a second.”
Renna could see shapes all around and above her but couldn’t make out what they were. She could hear Trev shuffling around the room until he threw back thick, wine-colored curtains, letting rays of sunlight illuminate the space.
Renna immediately recognized it as the palace’s artifact room. The New Hope Government Center had one as well. The giant, open room had tables set up in rows with wide aisles between them, the displays making a maze to weave in and out of. Each corner had a different theme with information and artifacts that came from the Pre-Desolation world. The walls were dark mahogany, making the room feel rich and important, and the ceiling was domed in the middle with space large enough to suspend the wing of a pre-Desolation airplane down from the top.
“It’s huge!” Renna exclaimed. “So much bigger than the one back home.”
She marveled at the bits and pieces of what had once been life before Desolation. The first section was dedicated to artifacts that had been part of electronics. Probably things that had been collected in the rubble and donated over the years. She recognized a few items: a broken television screen, the top of a personal computer, a charred cellular phone, half of a remote control. They had a few things like that on display in New Hope as well.
Then there was the section on transportation. That was Renna’s favorite—twisted pieces of automobiles, rubber tires, handlebars, and wheels of all sizes.
Mariele paused, looking at an inscription hanging on the wall. Renna read it over her shoulder. ‘Handlebars of a child’s bicycle.’
Trev looked at the women. “You know I’ve always wondered why bicycles have never been deemed essential. Maybe I will bring them up for discussion at the next Council of Essentials.”
“Really?” Renna exclaimed. “That would be amazing! The only way the working class can get around is by walking or on horseback. It makes travel so much harder.”
“And a lot of people can’t even afford a horse,” Trev said passionately. “What are those people supposed to do?”
“Exactly.” Renna nodded. “It’s a big problem, especially for those in rural communities.”
Excitement danced in Trev’s eyes. “We could take the idea of the original bicycle and build upon it. Maybe design it so more than one person can ride it at once. And we could design some kind of wagon that can attach to it, so people could pull things.” His eyes went wide. “Or we could introduce cars. We already have transporters that are similar, we just need to make them smaller and more affordable so the average citizen can buy them.”
“I love your enthusiasm, but there are many other factors that need to be thought through.” Seran’s voice of reason broke into their conversation.
Trev and Renna turned to look at her.
“For instance, anything with tires would be difficult sin
ce our roads aren’t paved. Transporters were made to travel over uneven terrain, but cars and bicycles would mean the Council would have to allocate funds toward developing new infrastructure.”
“Maybe bikes could be designed with thicker tires so people can ride on uneven roads?” Renna offered.
“Perhaps.” Seran shrugged. “But there’s more to it than just tires and roads. If the working class is able to move around more easily, things like the economy could change and be disrupted. The Council is right. Things are much simpler when people stay in the region or area they were born in.”
“Oh,” Renna said, dropping her eyes to the floor. A flood of self-consciousness rushed through her. She hated how the Council always had the final word on everything.
Seran smiled in her genuine way. “It was a good thought.” She clasped her hands behind her back, walking away to join the queen at another display across the room.
Renna pointed to the fragments of what was once an automobile, a crushed door, a fender, a piece of a roof. “I still think the Council should let everyone have one of these. I know the Council helped keep peace and order after Desolation, but nowadays, it seems like they just want to regulate what we can and can’t do. For the working class, at least.” She looked pointedly at Trev. “Your father is a part of the Council of Essentials. Is he trying to regulate his people?”
Trev stole a quick glance at Seran and the queen as if he wanted to make sure they couldn’t hear his response. “Yes. Unfortunately, my father wants power. The Council of Essentials is where leaders can gain and exercise the most power over the world. I don’t think he started out that way. I think in the beginning he had good intentions. Over the years, those good intentions have turned into greed.”
Renna had been taught her whole life that the Council of Essentials and the leaders who were a part of it had the world’s best interests in mind. But ever since she moved to the Government Center, she was beginning to see a new side of the Council, a side that was more about power than protection.
“I worry that the same thing will happen to me.” Trev’s words broke into her thoughts. “I worry that I will start out with all these good intentions, like the bicycle, but I’ll change over time. I’ll start to only worry about what’s best for myself instead of what’s best for my people.”
His honesty tugged at her heart. He walked away, not waiting for her to answer or reassure him he wouldn’t be like his father. He stopped in front of a giant 3D model of the world before Desolation. Seran and the queen were already studying it. Renna followed behind to see what they were staring at.
She ran her finger over the area on the map labeled Indonesia. It was hard to believe that the eruption of a supervolcano halfway around the world had set off a chain reaction that changed the world forever.
“It’s amazing anybody survived those seventeen years,” Renna said quietly. She already knew what events led to Desolation and the rebuild—the eruption, the natural disasters, the nuclear wars—but seeing it laid out like this tied her stomach up in knots. What if that had been her? What if she had lived when the earth swallowed itself up? The thought made her uneasy.
Next to the Pre-Desolation model was a model of the seven kingdoms built on what was left of the North and South American continent.
Seran raised her chin proudly. “The world, as we know it, is smaller with less inhabitable land, but we will be stronger. The Council of Essentials makes us stronger.”
Seran had so much confidence in the Council of Essentials, in government, while Renna’s was fading. Nothing that the Council did made sense anymore. There was no equality.
They all stared at the model quietly, until Seran and her mother moved to another display about occupations. Trev nodded for Renna to join him in the opposite direction. She had some anxiety about being alone with him but followed anyway.
“Ah! This is what I wanted to show you.” Trev motioned for her to come over by him. His hands rested on the sides of a glass case. Inside was a paper book with pictures of people all over it.
“It’s a magazine,” he said.
“No way! It’s almost completely intact still! I’ve only ever seen a few ripped pages of one.”
“I know, right?” His excitement was contagious. Then he did something crazy. He lifted the glass and gently started turning the pages of the magazine.
“What are you doing? You can’t touch that!” Renna looked around in a panic. “You’re going to get us in trouble.”
“Who’s going to yell at me? Besides, Drake and I used to sneak in here when we were boys and look through it.”
She raised her eyebrow. “You don’t respect the preservation of precious artifacts from history, do you?”
Trev snickered. “I do now that I’m older, but this is a special circumstance. There.” He stopped at a picture of a beautiful woman in a fancy dress. Her arms and shoulders were bare. The red fabric of her dress curved perfectly around her breasts, pushing them up, spilling them over the top. The fabric continued down her body, hugging her tightly until the dress dramatically split open over one thigh, revealing one bare leg. The other leg was hidden under the red silk. The woman had her hand on her hip, posing for the picture.
“See what I was talking about? No modesty rules.” He seemed pleased to show her something new.
She looked at Trev accusingly. “Now I can see why you and Drake would sneak in here.”
“We were very resourceful,” he said with a mischievous glimmer in his eye. “We weren’t just looking at the pretty women. We read the articles too.”Renna laughed, rolling her eyes a bit. She read the caption silently, shaking her head in amazement. ‘Blake Lively brings her A-game to one of high fashion’s most glamorous events in a strapless Vera Wang dress.’
“A strapless dress? How did it stay on without sleeves holding it up?” She leaned in closer to get a better look.
“It was probably too tight to go anywhere,” Trev guessed.
“I suppose you’re right.”
Trev lifted the glass back over the magazine, leaving it on the page of the stunning young woman.
“You kind of look like her, you know?”
Renna let out a very unladylike laugh. “In your dreams.”
“Maybe I will dream about it . . . you and me . . . dancing in fancy clothes. You said yourself back at Wellenbreck that you wanted another chance at dancing.”
Trev shouldn’t be saying things like that, but his smile was so innocent, so charming.
Renna’s heart beat obnoxiously until her guilt pulled her into reality. She looked around the room for her mother and Seran, who thankfully leaned over a display of children’s toys. Renna pretended to be interested in another display to distance herself from Trev, but of course, he followed her.
“I almost forgot. I brought you something.” Trev pulled out a small napkin from his pocket. He gently unwrapped it and held it in front of her.
“What is it?” Her brows puckered together.
“It’s called chocolate.” He broke off a piece and handed it to her.
“Where did you get it?” she asked, examining it in her fingers.
“We did some trading with the kingdom of Cristole. The weather and humidity in Cristole make it the perfect place to grow cocoa beans. Now we have a whole stash of them in the basement.” He plopped a piece into his own mouth.
Slowly, she raised the small piece to her lips but stopped just short of them. “Is this where you poison me?”
“Do you think everyone is trying to kill you or just me?”
“Just you, I guess.” Renna smiled. “It smells good.”
“Would you just eat it?”
She quickly placed the foreign food into her mouth. Trev watched as her expression changed from nervous anticipation to complete bliss. “You have ruined me. I don’t think anything else will ever satisfy me again,” she said, taking in the delicious flavor.
“I feel the exact same way.” Trev stared at her intently,
all hints of joking gone from his handsome face.
Renna panicked. She did the only thing she could think of; she punched him in the shoulder and then whispered. “You are the biggest flirt I have ever met. Are you practicing all these lines on me first before you use them on Seran?”
Trev’s unwavering gaze broke as if the mention of Seran reminded him of who he should really be spending his time with. He looked over his shoulder at where Seran stood, her back to them. “I should go to her, but I’ll see you tomorrow. It’s the first day of the Tournament of Games.” He began to walk away slowly, still speaking to her as he went. “You’re really going to like all the competitions. I know it.”
Then he was gone from her side.
18
Renna
A buzz of excitement surrounded the outside of the palace for the Tournament of Games. The grassy lawn in front of the palace had been transformed into a small arena. Booths were set up with food vendors, and a few portable toilets lined the outskirts of the grass. Young men from the army and working-class men from nearby villages eagerly waited in line to sign up for the different competitions. Winners from each day would compete on the final day in a tournament of champions.
Renna felt the energy as she strolled among the crowd. Joyful sounds of laughter rang from young children as they ran around their mothers. Groups of women chatted while their men bragged about their own skills and talents. It was a happy day in Albion.
She smiled at passersby and tried not to look for Trev. Her smile faltered a bit when she finally saw him. He was seated in the stands next to Seran, front and center where the best seats were. They leaned their heads in close together, and Seran was smiling at something he said. The carefree feeling of the morning escaped with Renna’s breath.
But it was good. Good for her to remember he was Seran’s.
Someone better would come along for her. She just had to make it through the wedding, and then she could go home.
The Promised Prince: A YA Dystopian Romance Page 13