“What?” Jonah asks. He looks enraged now.
“There was a truck loaded and scheduled to ship canned foods to Frankfort,” Rain says with a shrug. “I compelled the driver to fill the other trucks with Defenders and farm animals then brought them all here. I brought the animals with their owners, of course. So, apart from the Defenders, we’ve added another ten people to our group.”
“What animals?” I ask.
He looks at me. “Five goats, ten sheep, a flock of chickens, three pigs, two cows…and a partridge in a pear tree.”
“A what?” I ask, but my question is drowned in the millions of other questions like, how are we going to feed all the animals, where are these animals going to stay, how are we going to keep the food fresh, and how on earth did Rain manage to steal twelve shipping trucks from right under Titus’s nose.
“We’ll discuss it at the camp,” Jonah finally says. “As long as we’re safe, I don’t need answers yet.”
When we return, Jonah immediately begins doling out tasks. Since half the people here have Beta Blood, meaning they were born with the antitoxin in their system, they are sent to compel the farmers. The farmers have to be compelled because, when they received their careers, they were ordered to serve Ky. Since we don’t have the antitoxin, we have to compel them to work with us for now. But it feels dirty treating them like slaves just like Ky did. Although, I’m sure once they receive the antitoxin and find out how Titus has been treating them, they will work very willingly for the Resurgence. In fact, if we can somehow distribute the antitoxin to all the Defenders, and their eyes are opened, I’m quite positive they will all turn against Titus, and overthrowing the government will be easier than cracking an egg.
Speaking of eggs…the chickens roam around free. We set some hay up for them to lay eggs in. I help the others build a temporary corral out of sticks and rocks to keep the cows, horses, and other livestock from wandering around the caverns, and we build it a good ways away from us so we don’t have to smell them. And, so much food. Oh my. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much food in my life. We’re all unloading it. Cans and cans of vegetables, fruits, beans. Richa is in heaven, and immediately begins directing everyone how to organize the food and where to store it.
Once everything is unloaded, Rain and the other drivers drive the trucks to the other side of the caverns where they’re out of the way but still accessible if we ever need them. So we easily have enough food to feed the Resurgence and the five hundred Defenders for at least a month, if not more.
We have that much time to decide what exactly we’re going to do. And Rain and Jonah have it all planned out. Trouble is, their plans contravene. Because Rain wants to bring in more Defenders and have me and Aurora compel them to be on our side. Jonah wants to work with what we have and take the risk, bring down the government next week during one of Titus’s many picnics.
Levi has his own ideas. He wants to return to Frankfort, find the antitoxin, and slip it to all the Defenders in Ky so we don’t have to keep hauling them in and compelling them. And I honestly think that’s the best idea. The most humane idea. Because then the Defenders will be fighting by choice, not force. And after watching Leaf take his own life without even knowing it, and after those two Defenders I compelled to take down Titus lost their lives, I don’t ever want anyone to be forced to fight in a cause they don’t know anything about again.
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
After dinner—the biggest feast I’ve had since leaving Frankfort—Rain approaches me, oil lamp in hand and Julius at his heels—as always. I sit up a little straighter from my place on the log and look at Julius.
Julius. My favorite black tiger. He trots up to me like he remembers me, and I scratch him behind his velvety ears. His head is the same size as my torso and his tiger teeth could snap my neck, but I’m not afraid anymore. Not of Julius. He’s just a big, friendly, oversized cat. Of course, one word from Rain and he could become a monster, but maybe that’s what makes Julius so beautiful. He kind of resembles Rain’s cold but gentle character.
“And how are you, Julius?” I say, stroking his chin. He nudges his head against my shoulder, nearly knocking me over, and the gesture brings a delightful laugh out of me. I wrap my arms around his neck. “I missed you too, buddy.”
“Alright, alright,” Rain mutters. “Don’t get too attached.”
I grin up at him, and Julius nudges me again, reminding me to pet him. “Getting jealous?” I ask with a wicked smile.
Rain rolls his eyes. “Look, I came here because I need to speak to you. Alone.”
I look at him in surprise. He’s hardly said a word to me all day. Of course, we’ve all been busy, but still. I nod and stand from the ground, walk beside him down the tunnel, glad when Julius follows.
“So,” he says as we walk. “Aurora is actually your twin.”
“How did you find out?”
“I dragged it out of Forest. Don’t ask.”
Which means Titus finally broke down and told Forest.
“So you literally have an evil twin.” He laughs like it’s the funniest thing he’s heard all day.
“Yep,” I say.
“And have you two bonded yet?”
“I don’t think she’s capable of bonding.”
“Well of course not. She’s Titus’s favored sister.”
The way Rain says that irks me. I don’t know why. I don’t want to be on Titus’s favored side.
“So what made you kidnap the princess?” he asks.
Great here it is. I have to tell him the whole truth, because it’ll most likely come out sooner or later, and I’d rather him hear it from me.
“Your mother,” I mumble. “She said kidnapping Aurora would create the necessary loophole to take down Titus.”
He turns to face me. “What? You kidnapped her based on something my mother said? Did you two bond while you were in Frankfort or something?”
I shrug. “I don’t know if you would call it bonding. She was pretty convincing though.”
Rain stares at me. Blinks twice. “And you didn’t even bother running this by me?”
“I didn’t think it was possible to kidnap her, but then there she was, an easy target. I didn’t exactly have time to go looking for you to run it by you. Besides, what would you have said?”
He rolls his eyes and resumes walking, shoving his hands into his pockets. “I would have said don’t do it. I would have told you that my mother is just like Forest, but perhaps a bit more conniving like Titus. I would have reminded you that she’s in close ties with the chief and everything she says and does is for him. Holy Crawford, Ember. You are so ridiculously naïve.”
Rage seeps into my marrow, but I try to remain levelheaded, because Rain has every right to hate his mother and be wary of everything she says.
“What if you’re the naïve one?” I peek at him. “What if, just like you, she’s been working undercover to bring down the government?”
He smirks and shakes his head. “Because I’m pretty sure the Resurgence would know if she was on our side.”
“Not if she was being so careful that nobody knew. She’s stayed in that position for so long, why risk losing it and dying just to let people know she has their back?”
He groans. “I don’t know, Ember. I don’t even know her. I can’t say whose side she’s on, or what her ulterior motives were. But I can tell you that I don’t trust her. I mean, I trust her even less than I trust Forest, if that says anything.”
It does. It says a lot. But the deed is done, and there’s no use arguing about it anymore. So I change the subject.
“How’s Forest?” I ask.
“Oh, he’s ticked off. He hates you now.”
I look at him. “What?”
“You heard me.”
Is he joking? But his features are so incredibly serious, it sends a disturbing sensation coiling in the pit of my stomach. “So…like…he wants me dead?”
“Oh, don’t get dramati
c. Of course he doesn’t want you dead. But he certainly won’t want to kiss you any time soon, what, with you stealing his girlfriend and all.”
I followed Rain’s mother’s orders to kidnap Aurora, and in doing so I pissed of Rain’s brother. How did I even get caught up in the Turner drama? But I shouldn’t be surprised. I knew Forest would hate me once he found out I was a part of the Resurgence.
“I guess I just hoped he’d be understanding,” I say.
Rain stops now, looks at me like a child. “Come on, Ember. You two got into a fight. Then you left with the Resurgence without telling him goodbye or what you were even doing. AND you took his precious little Aurora with you. So, what part of that doesn’t scream traitor? For all he knows, you never had feelings for him in the first place.”
I look down, defeated. Of course. Of course he would be angry. All my secrets are coming to light, and he knew none of them. And then there’s Aurora. Precious little Aurora, who somehow managed to wrap him around her finger. And I took her hostage. So yeah. Of course he’s sort of a lot pissed.
But at least he doesn’t want me dead.
Yet.
But…I really had high hopes for Forest. I’d sort of hoped his eyes would be opened by now and we could be together again. He was always my safe haven. But after our last two arguments, and now this…this thing with Aurora, I’m wondering if he’ll ever see me the same way again.
Or if I’ll ever see him the same way again.
“I don’t understand what you see in my brother,” Rain mutters.
I look at him in surprise. He’s never verbalized his opinion on our relationship, other than disgust.
“What do you mean?” I ask. “I thought you loved him? I mean, he’s your brother.”
“Well, yeah, I do love him. But that doesn’t mean I like him.” He blows out a breath. This is clearly a conversation he does not want to have. But he drags his hand down the length of his face and says, “It’s just—his best friend tried to kill you. Several times. And still wants to kill you. And Forest still stands on Titus’s side over your side. I mean, how are you even okay with that?”
I stare at the ground. “I mean, I guess I just hoped he would change. I hoped he’d eventually break down and be on my side. But…after seeing him when I was in Frankfort…” I look at Rain, and I’m suddenly unsure about everything. I mean, Rain’s right. If Forest is still friends with Titus after Titus stuck all those Defenders in to kill me, then maybe this is best. Maybe I don’t really want anything to do with him. At least, I shouldn’t. And after his obvious admiration for Aurora…
Ugh.
I’m so confused.
“Probably,” Rain says, breaking me from my mental tirade. “I mean, if you really want him back, you could take Aurora back with you, return her safely to Forest, and tell him the whole thing was Mother’s idea. He might forgive you then.”
“Um. That’s not really my call to make.”
“Would you do it, though?” He steps closer, sets the lamp down. “If it were?”
This is a test. I look at the flickering flame of the oil lamp as though I could find the answers there.
“Titus would kill me,” I whisper.
“Let’s say he wouldn’t,” Rain says, stepping closer. And he’s standing so close now, I can smell the heady peppermint on his breath, and my heart starts beating too fast. “Let’s say,” he says in a husky voice. “Let’s say you return with Aurora unharmed. And both Forest and Titus forgive you.” He tips my chin up so our eyes meet. “Let’s say you could go back to Frankfort and live freely as Forest’s girlfriend. All because you brought Aurora with you.” He stares at me, his gray eyes bright and guarded in the light of the lamp. And he reaches up, pushes a short lock of hair back from my forehead, and now I really can’t breathe, and I don’t understand why. He searches my eyes. “Would you do it?”
“Um…” All my thoughts have somehow scattered with Rain standing this close, and I have to shut my eyes to think.
Would you do it?
I mean, I never really wanted to return to Frankfort in the first place. And if I abandoned the Resurgence, they would fail. Titus would win. Aurora would always be around as my evil counterpart. And how could I possibly live with Forest with the knowledge that the entire country is brainwashed and the Proletariats—my people—are serving the government against their own free will?
What if I returned Aurora, and he chose her?
Besides, after my last visit with him, after all our heated arguments, I’m not sure we’re even compatible at this point.
“Nope.” I open my eyes to find a very relieved look on Rain’s face. “I couldn’t do it. It would honestly make me no better than Titus.”
Rain closes his eyes for the briefest moment, then opens them. “Good.” He cups my face, skates his thumb along my lower lip, and the gesture is so intimate that I forget how to breathe, how to think, what we were just talking about, and what on earth I was afraid of hours ago.
Because Rain is standing right here. So close. And all I can think about is how wonderful it would feel to have his lips pressed against mine and why this thought is filtering through my mind right after a conversation about Forest, and now I really feel dirty.
But then he drops his hands, steps back, picks up the lamp, and resumes walking. And I’m so confused about what just happened, but I jog to catch up to him, and decide not to breach the subject, because Rain’s mind is already somewhere else.
“Um,” I say, catching my breath. I clear my throat. “So, what did Aurora do? I mean, was she compliant when she compelled the Defenders?”
“Yes,” he says. “Very. Between her bloody hand and the gun I was holding to her head while she compelled them, she was very easy to get along with.”
I cringe at the memory of her nail being removed. “I didn’t know you had it in you to torture people like that. It was kind of scary and…gruesome.”
“But it worked.”
“Was it necessary? I mean, why couldn’t you just let me compel the Defenders?”
He turns fully to look at me. “Am I to understand that you feel sorry for your evil twin?”
“Um…I guess. A little.”
He laughs softly and resumes walking. “It was absolutely necessary to make her compel them, and to torture her into doing so. She’s very entitled and needs to be broken. Jonah has been spoiling her, and she’s not going to be any help acting the role of a spoiled little princess.”
My thoughts exactly. “But, I mean, did you actually have to chop her fingernail off?”
“Yes.” He looks down. “That was possibly the only tactic that would have worked on her. That’s one thing you have to learn about the enemy, Ember. The first thing you ever do is find out what their weaknesses are. As it turns out, Princess Aurora can’t handle pain.”
Good to know. Too bad she can overpower me at any time.
“What did she tell the Defenders?” I ask.
“Just to follow my command, no matter what. She told them the Resurgence isn’t their target anymore, Titus Whitcomb is. And any Defender who’s on Titus’s side, who stands in our way, is to be killed.”
“That’s a bit harsh. You’re going to put the Defenders at war against each other.”
“Hopefully it won’t come to that. Hopefully we’ll have a solution beforehand where all the Defenders will be on our side.”
I wonder how that will happen, though, since there are thousands of Defenders and we can’t just drag Aurora around the country compelling them all before we’re caught. I look at Rain as we walk. He’s so serious all of the sudden. He’s trying to put on this emotionless façade I’m used to, but something deeper is raging beneath his gray eyes that I don’t quite comprehend. Something that wasn't there last time I saw him. He looks older, somehow. Worn. More stern and less humorous. The spark in his eyes that I’ve grown so accustomed to is just…gone.
“What happened to you?” I ask before thinking better of it.
“What do you mean?”
“You’re…different. It’s kind of scaring me.”
He forces a smile. “And how am I different?”
“You’re too serious.”
“Oh.” His smile vanishes, but he keeps walking, his back erect like a general’s. “Leading an army will do that to a person. Leading a completely brainless army, and telling them exactly what to do, even if it goes against all your virtues, is even harder.” His lips tip down in a frown, and his Adam’s apple bobs with a hard swallow, and then he speaks softer, in a less musical voice. “And when that army has no idea what they’re doing, so really, everything they’re doing is entirely on your conscience, it’s enough to drive a man to madness.”
I place my hand on his arm. “What…things?”
He stops walking, looks down at me again, his eyes guarded, his lips firmly sealed, and I almost think he’s not going to respond when he says in a very quiet, husky voice, “Unspeakable things, Ember.”
My heart cracks. Because this might be one of the few times Rain has ever uttered my name, and it’s in such seriousness, it makes my blood run cold.
“Titus is scared,” Rain says. “He’s losing control. And the only way he knows how to get that control back is by scaring the living hell out of his people…by using his Defenders. He had us—” His voice cuts off and he looks away, swallows hard. “He had us do things to strike fear into any potential rebels’ hearts. He made sure all the armies in all of Ky put a stop to all the questioning. He took even the Patricians who were questioning his leadership, and he had them burned on the Rebels Circle.”
I gasp and cover my mouth. Proletariats and rebels being burned is completely normal. But Patricians? Never. I never thought how painting the park wall would harm the rest of Ky. How opening people’s eyes to reality would actually put their lives on the line. And I suddenly regret doing it. How stupid. How incredibly careless we were. We should have waited until I was a leader to bother opening the Patricians’ eyes.
“Then more Patricians,” Rain continues, “were beginning to ask questions. Proletariats who weren’t successfully brainwashed were beginning to have uprisings. And Titus wanted to put a cap on things before they got out of control. He wanted to stop the madness. And I was the one in charge of carrying out his direct order throughout all of Anderson County.” His eyes are glassy with a thin sheen of tears as he looks past me. Then he looks at me, really looks at me, and says, “I did things, Ember, that I would move heaven and hell to take back.”
ashen city (Black Tiger Series Book 2) Page 27