Chosen

by Samantha Britt

  I bowed my head, trying to hide my shock at hearing the rebellion mentioned so casually. “I will. Thank you, again.” I set off down the path she indicated, eager to arrive and see my brother and finally find out what he’d been up to since my recruitment.

  I entered the tavern. My eyes needed a moment to adjust to the dim light. The establishment seemed busy for morning. Tables of human soldiers lined the walls and filled the center of the room. I had no choice but to lower my hood. I couldn’t see clearly with it on.

  A busty woman approached. My eyes widened as I observed her revealing top with the deep neckline.

  And I thought the kitchen uniforms were scandalous.

  “Looking for someone, sweetheart?” She sounded bored but appeared willing enough to help.

  I was about to describe Lin but paused. I didn’t know if he wanted to be seen. “N-no,” I stuttered. When she raised her brow, I explained, “That is—I don’t believe he is here yet. May I sit at a table while I wait? Preferably in the back?”

  She waved me to follow. “This way.”

  I felt several pairs of eyes trail over me as I was led to a small, two-person table in the back corner of the tavern. I sat in the chair facing the door, trying to avoid the interested men’s attention as I waited for Lin to arrive.

  The minutes passed slowly. Eagerness and nervousness made my knee bounce beneath the table. I observed the room, watching the pretty waitresses glide gracefully around tables as they served the soldiers, each one attractive enough to have entered the companion market. I marveled as a man drank a full pint of an odd smelling brown liquid in one long gulp.

  “Beer not your drink of choice, Amelissa?” Agent Leith appeared from behind my shoulder. He slid into the seat across from me.

  My expression relaxed. “You? What are you doing here?”

  “Same as you,” he answered, leaning back. “Waiting for our mutual friend.” Agent Leith raised a hand at a passing waitress.

  Friend?

  As he ordered, I returned my gaze to the room around me. Many more eyes were turned to our table. Apparently, the presence of the census agent was not typical.

  “You are drawing attention,” I whispered once the woman left. I leaned forward so as not to be overheard by the nearby tables. “Why are you here?”

  His dark eyes glinted. “I told you. I’m waiting for Lin.” I stared into his eyes, looking for any hint of deceit. I could only see light flecks of gold in his gaze.

  “You’re half-draekon?” I didn’t think of whether the question was considered impolite.

  He frowned. “Why do you ask?”

  “Your eyes,” I replied. “They are lighter than most draekon.”

  The corners of his lips lifted. “Indeed? What an acute observation. Though, I suppose I should have expected nothing less from you.”

  The compliment confused me. “Why?”

  “Because I have often praised your intelligence and attention to detail.” The familiar voice floated over my shoulder. I inhaled sharply. Aware of the curious eyes around me, I forced myself to turn around slowly.

  Lin, looking the same as the day of the Choosing in Caldiri, gazed down at me with a warm, brotherly smile. “Hello, Lissa.”

  Lin.

  He was really standing there. The only person who always put my wellbeing before his own: the man who marred his face to avoid being taken away from our family. He gazed down at me, looking so happy. So whole. Unharmed.

  I choked. Tears filled my eyes. I couldn’t stop them.

  “Hey.” Lin snagged an empty chair from a nearby table and spun it to ours. He sat down and grabbed my hands in his. “It’s going to be okay, Lissa.”

  Tears rolled down my cheeks. “Y-you’re really h-here.” I sounded like a blubbering mess. I barely noticed Agent Leith shift his body to block me from the rest of the room.

  Lin’s own eyes watered. “I told you I would come for you.”

  A sob escaped me. “I know.” How could I have ever doubted him?

  He squeezed my hands. “How have you been? How’s Lorie? What are your positions? Have you been mistreated?” He fired the long awaited questions. He’d been just as worried about us as I was about him.

  “I’ve been good. Lorie’s been even better.” I gave him a watery smile. “Can you believe she is working as a kitchen server, and she actually seems to enjoy it?”

  Despite the tension in his face, Lin managed a small laugh. “No. I cannot believe it.”

  “It’s true. She’s even making friends.” My voice lowered when I saw a man at a nearby table turn towards me.

  “Neither of you has been mistreated?” I could see the darkness of the nightmares that plagued him through his blue eyes.

  “No,” I breathed. I hated to see the pain our unknown fate had caused him. “We’ve been lucky with our situation. I tried to send you letters telling you of what happened, but I don’t believe you ever received them.”

  Lin’s lips flattened. “No. As you know, we don’t receive letters from recruits.”

  “I’ve explained to your brother,” Agent Leith chimed in, “that the treatment of the Census in Caldiri is unique to the region. Lord Stanley likes to keep his citizens in the dark and afraid.”

  There it was, the confirmation of my suspicions. But why would Lord Stanley do such a thing?

  “Recruits from other regions seem inclined to serve in Draek,” I informed my brother, supporting Agent Leith’s claim. “It’s been hard for me to believe, but after living here these past months, I realize our understanding of life among the draekon is misinformed.”

  Lin released my hands and crossed his arms. He looked upset. “You prefer your life in Draek?”

  “Of course not.” That wasn’t what I said at all.

  Was I treated well and enjoying my work as the castle healer? Of course.

  But that didn’t mean I did not want to be reunited with my loved ones.

  Did it?

  “You believe humans should be forced to serve them? To help run their city?” A muscle in his cheek twitched. I knew my brother well enough to realize he was becoming angry, but I didn’t know why.

  “We aren’t mistreated.” I realized my words sounded pathetic, almost brainwashed. Why was I arguing with him?

  “You were forced to leave your childhood home.” Lin clenched his fist. “Do you think that’s right?”

  “No,” I breathed. Of course, it wasn’t right.

  When did I start believing my recruitment wasn’t wrong?

  Was kindness and being treated with dignity really all it took for me to be okay with working for the draekon? Did things change because I was relieved to not be forced to mate with one of the powerful creatures?

  Shame, hot and suffocating shame pressed down on me. I lowered my head.

  “Are you content to spend the rest of your life away from your true home, away from the people who love you? The people who need your help in Caldiri?”

  More tears welled in my eyes. I tried to keep them at bay, but one landed on the table below me.

  “I believe you have made your point, Lin,” Agent Leith interjected, keeping my brother and his unanticipated temper at bay.

  I closed my eyes and breathed through my nose, trying to regain control of my emotions.

  How could I have become content living among my captors? Sure, my castle prison was comfortable and filled with goods and luxuries I’d never experienced, but it was still a prison.

  “I’m a fool.” That was putting it nicely.

  “No,” Agent Leith stated firmly. “You are not.”

  I raised my head. He stared at me intently. “You are making the best of your situation, Amelissa. There is nothing foolish about that.” He swung his gaze to my brother, giving him a reproachful look.

  “And you need to be aware that your sister has done everything in her power to keep her and your sister safe. She denied the companion market despite the temptation put in front of her at almost every
moment of her first day in Draek, and she has managed to secure a healer’s position in the castle. She not only treats draekon but human recruits. Amelissa is making the most of her recruitment and doing so in a manner where she helps those in need. Do not begrudge her for not wallowing in self-pity.”

  I swallowed the knot in my throat. How did Agent Leith know all of that? His words made my spine strengthen.

  I readied myself to intervene when Lin ultimately decided to jump at the agent for speaking to him that way. My brother wasn’t one to handle criticism well.

  Shock coursed through me when I watched my brother blink slowly, then sit back in his chair. “Apologies, Lissa.”

  I gaped at my brother. Then I looked at Agent Leith.

  What type of relationship did they share where he could reprimand Lin and not receive the full force of his ire? Lin hated draekon.

  “Your brother and I are working together.” Agent Leith seemed to read thoughts directly from my face.

  “Working together? On what?”

  They shared a glance, debating between them whether or not to tell me the truth.

  I waited patiently, but the passing seconds only heightened my anxiety.

  Lin cleared his throat. “We are working to end the draekon’s tyranny in the kingdom,” he replied in a low voice, careful of the king’s human soldiers surrounding us. “We are working with the rebellion, and we are planning to take back our continent.”

  29

  “Are you mad?” I hissed, unable to control my reaction. Anger, swift and sudden, replaced my previous sorrow. If Lord Erwin was correct with his claims about the elven attack, it had been orchestrated by members of the rebellion. As such, any members of the traitorous group were now guilty of endangering the lives of the highest-ranking draekon—the most prominent being Prince Finn. Not to mention, the threat the attack posed to Lorie, me, and other human servers who were unfortunate enough to be out in the courtyard.

  If my brother worked with the rebellion, his life was in danger.

  “Easy,” Agent Leith murmured. “We are still in public.”

  I managed to moderate my tone, but I could not conceal my frustration. “How did you even come to associate with the group?” I asked my brother.

  We’d discussed the subject after the welcoming banquet. The rebellion had been nothing more than rumors in the wind—whispers in the night when downtrodden humans needed something to hope for.

  When did it become real in Caldiri? And when did my brother join its ranks?

  Lin tilted his head toward the draekon. “He approached me after the Census. He is the one who managed to get me released from jail.”

  I blinked. My brother was locked away for his outburst after hearing Lorie’s name called, and a census agent was responsible for his release? I pressed my fingers against my temples. I was so confused.

  The two males took turns explaining the events that had occurred since I left Caldiri.

  Lord Stanley took some convincing, but he eventually agreed to release Lin when Agent Leith came forward with a substantial amount of gold. The ruler of Caldiri didn’t even bother to ask questions. His greed was satisfied by the bribe, and that was all he cared about.

  After Agent Leith returned Lin to our home, he revealed his true purpose in Caldiri. The half-draekon had spent the past six months traveling with census agents, visiting different regions of the kingdom. His goal was to recruit humans for the rebellion, scouting the populations for discontent and unhappy citizens.

  Apparently, it wasn’t easy to do. Most regions were plied with enough money and treasure to render their people content with draekon rule. At least, that’s how it appeared. Agent Leith explained there were many unhappy citizens in the dark shadows of every region, but he hadn’t spent enough time in their midst to root them out. It wasn’t until he reached Caldiri that he found a host of people unhappy with the sanctions imposed upon them.

  Suddenly, Agent Leith’s surprise during our first conversation made sense. He’d questioned my desire to be recruited and was stunned to hear I didn’t want to live in Draek. He’d never encountered people so unwilling to participate in the Census. He’d never seen a region with so little to incline us to respect the draekon’s ruling over us.

  No. All he found in our region was fear and resentment. Caldirian’s feared draekon but hated the loss of our best and brightest citizens to the capital. Both emotions could be sharpened into powerful weapons. Both could be used to motivate a group to rise against the rulers of our kingdom with the help of outsiders.

  I listened as they described the rebellions numbers, food stores, and weapons inventory. I heard my brother speak with such pride to be involved in an organized group devoted to bringing down the draekon conquerors. I glanced around to make sure no one was listening to our conversation. If any of the soldiers heard a word, we were as good as dead.

  No one looked our way.

  Agent Leith discussed their headquarters location, refusing to be specific, but stating there were several bases located within the Royal Forest. He mentioned allies, and a rough, cracked voice played in my mind: “They’re in here.”

  “Goblins?”

  Agent Leith understood. “Yes,” he answered. “I assigned a small team to try and retrieve you and your sister from the caravan. As you are well aware, it failed.”

  I rubbed my temples. The goblins had been sent to help us.

  “Why?” I asked. “Why just Lorie and me? Why my brother? Why us?”

  The agent could have arranged for Lin to join the rebellion without me and my sister. So why attempt our rescue? Why did Agent Leith seem so determined to get my family involved with the rebellion?

  Agent Leith leaned forward, his face open and relaxed. Too relaxed.

  “Because I saw your strength at the banquet. I saw how the pair of you stuck together. The rebellion needs that kind of intelligence, that kind of loyalty and awareness.”

  I didn’t believe him. There was another reason Agent Leith fixated on my family. But I knew I would not get the truth out of him then. Whatever his motives, the agent wasn’t willing to share them.

  So, I pivoted the conversation. “You are a leader of the rebellion.”

  “I am,” he confirmed.

  “And you are half-draekon.”

  My brother stared in surprise. He hadn’t known.

  Agent Leith smiled. “Like I said, you are intelligent.”

  I ignored the compliment. “Why help? This society is made to benefit you. Why shake the foundations built to lift you up?”

  I didn’t know what I expected to hear. A well-spoken speech about how seeing mistreatment of humans negated any pleasure he could obtain? Or maybe an elaborate tale highlighting an event which made him aware of the injustice of draekon society?

  Any number of words would have been expected.

  What I didn’t anticipate was to see cool hatred seep into Agent Leith’s eyes as he said, “Because the king killed my mother, and I’ve made it my life’s mission to see him and his entire family fall.”

  “I shall escort you back to the castle.”

  The conversation after Agent Leith’s reveal had become subdued. Neither Lin nor I knew how to react, or if we should ask the dozens of questions swirling in our minds. We opted to let the subject drop.

  I learned I’d been right about Agent Stone’s involvement in Lorie’s and my recruitment. Shortly after we left for the capital, she returned to Caldiri and sought out Lin. Apparently, she gave him another proposition, an inappropriate and seductive one.

  Needless to say, Lin declined.

  My hatred for the female draekon flared. I’d yet to see Agent Stone in Draek, but if I ever did, I feared I wouldn’t be able to keep myself from lunging at her to try and claw her pretty, dark eyes from her head.

  Seeing my agitation, Lin sought to distract me.

  He asked me questions about me and Lorie and our life at the castle. I answered him, careful to make sure I didn�
��t sound too complacent with my life as a recruit. I was so happy to see him and relieved to know he was all right. I didn’t want to cause any more tension between us.

  I asked about Jem and was relieved to hear he and Jane were doing well. Jem had been hired for work nearly every day since the Ceremony. Lin said my lifelong friend was making good money. The only downside was that the increase in work was due to Jasper Green’s recruitment. Before that, Jem and Jasper split the odd jobs around town.

  Half an hour later, Lin expressed the need to leave the tavern. He began to look around at the establishment’s patrons with wary and assessing eyes. I didn’t know what timeline he was observing, and I didn’t ask.

  That was when Agent Leith offered the unexpected service.

  “Why?” I observed him with thinly-veiled distrust.

  “So that if anyone questions where you’ve been, they will see me and assume I am courting you.”

  I wanted to laugh. “No one would believe that.”

  He had the gall to appear offended. “And why not? Am I not attractive enough?”

  I ignored the last comment.

  But it was Lin who said, “Because I’m certain my sister has made her dislike of draekon clear.” He said the words without inflection, but his eyes gleamed with amusement.

  I withheld my correction. My issue wasn’t with being escorted by a draekon but that particular draekon. Agent Leith had lured my brother into his rebellious acts and beliefs, and I didn’t want to spend any more time with the life-endangering draekon.

  But despite my lack of enthusiasm, I ended up with Agent Leith as an escort back to the castle. We walked arm in arm per his insistence. Apparently, it would be less inconspicuous than if we didn’t.

  With my right arm wrapped around his left, I kept my body rigid to avoid extra contact. The cloak added some protection, but I still felt when his leg brushed against mine, or my hips bumped against him when we turned down streets. Each time, I pulled back an extra inch. Agent Leith was perfectly aware of my aversion to contact, but instead of respecting my desire for additional space, he seemed inclined to step a tiny bit closer every few steps.