Gray had begun to heal quickly and had started finding ways to regain his strength. He would lift the chair with one arm, get down in the floor and do crunches and push-ups. His abdomen was sculpted with the most stunning ridges and valleys. I tried not to look, but when you’re in a four by six cell with a hot, shirtless guy, who’s doing crunches, you look. It was as simple as that.
Gray was fiddling with the window bars. “Making an exit?”
He snorted and glanced back at me. “I wish.”
Something loud slammed down the hallway and several sets of footsteps began toward us.
“Get behind me,” Gray ordered, his voice left no room for anyone to challenge his authority.
I shuffled behind him and waited. The first person I saw was Ardis. Two stern-looking soldiers, wearing unfamiliar clothing, were leading him to the door of the cell. Their uniforms were more vivid than the color of fresh blood. Kyan stood behind them. “Abby Blue!”
“Ky?” I peeked over Gray’s shoulder.
Gray’s arm darted out, blocking my exit. “Stay back. We don’t know what’s going on.”
“Okay.” I whispered so the freakish soldiers wouldn’t hear me. I could feel Gray’s shoulders flex beneath my hands. He was coiled, ready to strike.
One of the soldiers barked at Ardis, “Unlock it.” With one hand free, he slid his fingertip over the coiled blue lock and it parted like a bad haircut before dropping to the floor.
Kyan slid the door of the cell open and stepped inside. He held his hand out. “Come on, Abby Blue.” A huge smile spread over his face. I looked from him to Gray, who was still tense. Stepping out from behind Gray, I reached for Ky’s hand and let him pull me in for a hug. His hot breath fanned my ear when he whispered, “Told you I’d get you out.”
“Thank you.”
He started to pull me from the cell, but I planted my feet. “Gray?”
Gray stared at me, at my hand in Kyan’s, before looking away. I waited.
“Go on, Abby.”
“No way. I’m not going anywhere without you.” It was obvious to them both that I was serious. They sized each other up, the way that guys do. I’d never understand that.
I dropped Ky’s hand and walked over to Gray. “Let’s go get cleaned up. It’s all I can think about.” I smiled and hoped he would bite.
When he relaxed his shoulders and let out the breath he’d been holding, I threaded my fingers through his and pulled him from the room. The red soldiers led Ardis inside the cell and secured it with some sort of red lock. It wasn’t snake-like as the Olympian one had been. This was a red-glowing chain with a matching padlock. It was also sealed by the guard’s fingerprint. If only their sense of morality matched their love of technology.
The sunshine blinded me when I took the first footstep out of the darkness. The murmuring whispers of the other freed villagers buzzed around me. My eyes were adjusting. As more prisoners were led into the sunshine, Olympian guards were being led inside. What was going on?
Kyan nudged me. “I’ll explain everything when we get home.”
Gray looked from me to Kyan and back. His jaw clenched. We were transported back to Orchard in the back of the village pickup trucks. My body was sore and tired as we bounced down the rugged trails, but I was so thankful not to have to walk those miles back to the village, I could have fallen asleep right there.
I sat between Ky and Gray, my back against the truck’s rusty cab, watching the fringed ends of my new red scarf float on the cold breeze. It only took about fifteen minutes to get back to the village square. From there, we were ordered to return to our homes until further notice. Home confinement.
Kyan had built a wonderful fire in the fireplace. The crackling of the wood was like music to my ears. I all but collapsed in front of it. Gray settled beside me, thankful for the heat, too. Then, the smell hit me. Food.
I looked around and saw bowls filled to the brim with homemade deliciousness. “Where did you get all of this?”
Kyan laughed. “Everyone in the village has been cooking, getting food ready for you. Not just you, but all of the prisoners,” he said.
I didn’t waste any time, I pulled Gray to his feet. Sort of, I guess he was already technically in motion. We filled our plates and settled back in front of the warmth. Kyan brought each of us a glass of cool water. It was delicious. Fresh. The yeasty bread was steaming. Green beans, potatoes, gravy, chicken legs.
Never mind manners, I dug into the food like a woman possessed. I should have listened to Gray when he told me to go slow so I wouldn’t be sick. But starving women never listen to reason. I was no exception. It wasn’t until I was running for the porch that hindsight caught up to me and slapped me in the back of the head.
Kyan was by my side in an instant, but it was Gray’s hands wrapped familiarly into my hair. When the rolling waves of nausea finally settled, I looked through watery eyes into the clear blue ones of my best friend. “I’ll get Evelyn.”
I nodded. I needed to know for sure. I needed to prepare for this.
Evelyn guided me to the back bedroom in Kyan’s cabin. The guys made some excuse and left to gather firewood or whatever they’d said. “How long have you been vomiting?”
“Since the morning they locked me up.”
“Three weeks.”
I shook my head. “No, it was only like eight days.”
She smiled sadly. “No, sweetie. If you were still locked away, tomorrow would have made twenty-one days.”
“No way.”
“It’s easy to lose track of time in a place like that. You’ve been sick. Did you sleep a lot?”
I nodded, sitting on the edge of the bed. “I’ve been so tired.”
“You’ve not had enough to eat or drink either, I’d wager.”
“No. We weren’t given much.”
Evelyn’s kind eyes met my own. “Lie down and let me feel your stomach.”
I lay flat on my back and focused on the ceiling. She gently pressed on my lower stomach and smiled. “You aren’t far along. I would guess one or two months. You’re going to be tired, moody, and you’ll have to go to the bathroom often. We already know that you’ll be nauseated and vomit occasionally. I can give you a bit of ginger for your tea. It should help with that.”
A tear escaped my eye, trickling into my hair.
She looked down at my face lovingly. “I’m sorry, Abby,” Evelyn said, gathering my hands in hers. “I’m sorry they did this to you. You’re so young.”
“Girls my age who are paired get pregnant, right?”
“Yes, they do,” she paused. “But a pregnancy is not forced upon them. They take part in conceiving the child and know what to expect. They’re more prepared, sweetie.”
I nodded. “I just need your help. I don’t know what I’m doing.”
Smiling warmly, Evelyn helped me sit up. “You’re going to be fine. I’ll be with you every step of the way.”
I nodded, and accepted the rag she offered me to wipe away my tears.
“You need to eat small meals, but eat more frequently. Now that I’ve confirmed your pregnancy, you’ll be placed on a light work assignment. Of course, with what’s happening in the village, I don’t know what to expect.”
“What’s happening?”
She squeezed my hand. “Kyan will explain. It’s not necessarily bad though. I think this is a good start for what needs to happen. And thank you for being brave enough to take a stand. If you hadn’t told your story, things would still be the same, or worse.”
I hugged her neck. “Thanks.”
“Thank you, Abigail. Thank you, sweet girl.”
She pulled away. “Let’s get the tub ready for you. I bet you’re mouth’s watering just imagining a warm bath by now!”
Laughing, I let her lead me into the kitchen. Ky had put a huge pot of water over the fire before he left. It was boiling, ready to warm the bath I so desperately needed. My hair was snarled and greasy. My body was oily, smeared with dirt. I
was pretty sure I smelled. Not pleasant. Not pleasant at all.
I got ready to lift the huge pot and Evelyn smacked my hands. “No heavy lifting!”
“Seriously?”
“Yes, seriously,” she admonished, eliciting a deep groan from me.
Evelyn cocked her head to the side as she raised the pot and poured the hot water into the tub. Through a cloud of steam, she said, “You may not have wanted this yet, Abby, but you have to make good decisions. You have to care for the life that’s growing inside you. You’re strong. You can do this.”
“Lulu would have been so mad.”
Evelyn chuckled. “At first she would have. But everyone gets excited at the prospect of hope. Your baby will bring hope for a better tomorrow, a better way.”
Placing another pot of water over the fire, Evelyn turned to me. “I’ll help you into the tub. You’re weak.”
“I can manage. I’m fine.”
“No. I’ll help you and then I’ll go get the ginger you’ll need.”
There wasn’t going to be any arguing with her, so I conceded. “Okay. Thank you, Evelyn.”
She smiled. “You’re welcome, my dear.”
Thirty minutes later, my hair and body had been thoroughly washed twice, I’d dried off, and scampered quickly to my room. I didn’t want to get caught like I had been last time. A clean pair of jeans and a plaid button-up shirt later and I felt like a new woman. I didn’t know how I’d get a hold of maternity clothes, but I guessed I’d cross that bridge when I came to it. My jeans were snug but wearable. It felt like I was just bloated or had eaten a huge meal.
I was sitting by the fire, eating a small roll of bread when Kyan and Grey came back into the cabin. “Hey.”
Both of them removed their jackets and settled nearby. “How’d it go?” Kyan asked.
“Fine.”
“So, are you?”
“Yeah. Not far along, but I knew that. It hasn’t been that long since I was in Olympus.”
Kyan breathed out a harsh breath and threaded his fingers together.
Gray’s intense sunset eyes fixated on me. He spoke up. “How are you feeling?”
“I’m okay.”
He didn’t blink. He knew. How did he always know how I really felt inside? Finally, he looked away.
I cleared my throat. “Ky, can you tell me what the heck is going on?”
He laughed. “Yeah.”
Gray stared at me. I wasn’t going to like this.
“First of all, you’re probably gonna get mad at me. So, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
I furrowed my brow. “Spill it.”
“Before the guards took over your cabin, I was able to get some stuff out. Your clothes, a few of your personal things,” he blushed. “I found something of Lulu’s.”
“What did you find?”
“A way to contact your mother in Vesuvius.”
I was numb. Swallowing back the tears that were coming, I asked, “You found her?”
“Yeah. She’s here. In Orchard. Olympus was broadcasting the feed we hacked into to all of the Greater cities. Vesuvius was already looking into whether or not your story was true when I comm’d her. She holds a lot of authority in Vesuvius. I don’t know what her title is exactly, but she’s in charge here.”
Gray nodded. “She is.”
“I don’t know what to say.” Sipping my water quickly, I tried to blink the tears back. Evelyn said I would be moody but this was ridiculous. Cue the waterworks. Gray knelt in front of me pulling me in for a hug, which shocked me a little. It had always been Kyan who got to me before everyone else, who was there when I needed someone. Looking over Gray’s shoulder, I could see Kyan’s shocked expression fade into anger. The muscle in his jaw clenched repeatedly.
“Your mother is coming to see you tomorrow,” Kyan half-shouted as he grabbed his coat and stormed out of the cabin.
Gray didn’t let me go. He pulled me closer. “He’ll cool off.”
“Why is he so mad?”
“Because he thinks he’s losing you. He doesn’t realize you were never his to lose.”
I sniffed. “I’ve got water boiling for you if you want to wash up. I’ll go in my room.”
Gray eased back. His stubble scraped my jawline as he spoke. “I guess I shouldn’t have hugged you. I’m filthy.”
“You can hug me any time. Dirty or clean.”
His full lips pulled up in a half-smile. “Any time?”
“Yeah.”
He hugged me again, but this time it was different. Possessive. “I guess by default I have permission to do this, then.” He pulled slightly back and before I registered what was happening, he was kissing me. His lips were commanding, yet soft and supple. He felt amazing. He eased me down to the floor and continued his exploration of my mouth and body. Gray had barely touched me while we were imprisoned. I wondered what sparked this.
His hand slipped under my shirt, but instead of reaching higher, he slipped it beneath the waistband of my pants. There was barely enough room for his hand. His hand stopped over my lower stomach and he took his lips from mine. “You’re going to be fine, Abs. So is your baby.”
I nodded. I could feel the swelling of my lips and the delicious abrasions his scruff had left on my face and neck. His burnt orange eyes were a deeper color, almost brown around the outside with the thin golden ring around the center. They searched mine, back and forth. I wondered what he would find.
“How do you know we’ll be okay?” I asked, knowing he held the answer.
“I’ll make sure of it.”
The confidence in his voice told me he would do his best to make everything okay.
I sat up in the bed. It had been four days since they drugged me and performed the implantation procedure. Gretchen had been hovering over me since I was transported back to the castle. Crew was missing. The long, knobby fingers of dread clawed into my belly. Gretchen said she told him that I’d been taken and that he freaked out and was coming after me. He was going to stop them. He hadn’t been seen since he lost the guard who had pursued him to the PerT.
A light knock at my door signaled that Gretchen was back. “Marian. The King is requesting your presence in his study.”
I gulped and nodded. She helped tidy my hair and dress before leading me down the staircases to his study on the ground floor. I could hear him before I even got near it. He was a raging bull, a horrible man and how Crew had come from him, I had no idea.
Gretchen nodded for me to go inside. Her eyes held a silent warning not to speak of the resistance. We would all die if anyone found out about our involvement. I shuttered to think that the very people we were supporting might have taken Crew.
Crew was sincere in his admiration of the resistance, both the causes and results that would come from overthrowing the crown. He believed that he would be crowned Olympus’s King. He believed he would make a difference for her future. I knew better.
The resistance had no desire to appoint a new king, even if the current one were killed. They wanted a democracy, to revert back to the ancient ways where everyone had some sort of say in how the city was run.
Though the Lessers were helping with the effort, the resistance leaders in Olympus would never see them as anything but what they had always been; inferior. I had considered leaving the cause, but Crew would never have agreed. He was determined to find a way to oust the cold-hearted man now standing before me.
“Marian. I trust you are feeling better.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Good. My advisors have posed some questions, questions that I do not have the answers to, but feel that you may.”
“I will be happy to help in any way that I can, sir.”
Motioning to the couch, he ordered me to be seated. The timbre of his voice left no room for argument. “My son is missing.”
“Have you heard anything?”
He shook his head, all the while keeping his eyes sharply pinned on me. “Do you know where he might ha
ve gone?”
“No, sir.”
“Do you think it is at all possible that he traveled to Orchard Village to be with Abigail Kelley?”
“No, sir.” My heart was racing. I knew what Gretchen had said, but was it possible? Did he still want Abigail? Did he run away to be with her?
“You have never entertained the question?” I had not considered that he would leave voluntarily. Perhaps he was unhappy here. Perhaps he faked his abduction as a diversion, so he could slip away.
No. He would not leave Olympus. Not now. “I believe his affections for Abigail Kelley have waned recently.”
He snorted. “Or he wanted you to think so.”
My body stiffened. He continued, “We’ve lost all communication with Orchard. Certainly that is not a coincidence, Marian.”
King Cole pressed a button on his desk and two men entered the room wearing starched suits, a hard look on their brows.
“Find my son. Bring him back to me. Use any and all resources you require. I authorize the use of any force that you deem appropriate. Should you find resistance members, execute them on site.”
“Sir, the citizens are already frightened by the uses of force and the amount of executions performed lately,” one of the two said.
“Did I ask your opinion on the matter?”
“No, sir.” The gentleman stepped back in line immediately.
“Then do not offer it to me. Understood?”
“Yes, sir.”
The two behemoths walked out the door and Cole turned to me, “You are dismissed. But remember that you must stay inside the palace unless a guard is with you. You are not to say anything to anyone about Crew’s disappearance. Do you understand?”
“Yes. I understand.”
His smile did not reach his eyes, as he replied, “Good.”
Chills ran up my spine and goose bumps spread over my skin like a wave washing up on the shore. Could he have had a hand in Crew’s disappearance? It would not surprise me in the least. Cole was capable of nearly any cruelty. I needed help. And I hated the person I needed to align myself with in order to get it. But Crew was worth it. I just hoped I would still feel that way in the end.
Resist (The Harvest Saga Book 2) Page 9