Elected (The Elected Series Book 1)

by Rori Shay

  Vienne looks up into my eyes and nods, surprised I’ve deduced this. I realize she never meant to reveal that fact. Never wanted me to know she was responsible for saving my life. Always trying to bolster my self-confidence instead of having me think I needed support from others.

  Griffin doesn’t understand this exchange. He watches as Vienne and I look at each other. I try to say with my eyes what we can’t say now that our time is so rushed. How much I’ll miss her. How good of a wife she’s been.

  We hear horses’ hoof beats in the distance, coming closer, and Griffin breaks in. “We’ve got to hurry.”

  “I’ll take care of them,” Vienne assures us, gesturing toward the group of guards rushing to the White House front doors.

  We nod. Then Vienne says the only thing that seems appropriate—the prisoners’ burial words that by ritual are her task to say over the deceased. It’s what she would have said if Griffin had gone through with his suicide tonight. Her voice is rushed, but it still sounds like velvet. “May the heavens watch over your souls. May you find peace and happiness in this world and all others. I bless you.” She presses a hand to her mouth and kisses it.

  I reach out to hug her hard. Griffin does the same, the three of us locked in a tight embrace.

  “Now go!” Vienne commands. “May the new day be good to you!”

  I grab the satchels I’ve packed for the trip and toss one to Griffin. He’s already put his shoes back on. I look once more at Vienne as we start running out of the stable. The moonlight illuminates her golden hair, making her look ethereal.

  “Go!” she mouths quietly to me.

  I lock eyes with her one last time, blink hard to capture this fleeting picture, and then lean forward into a run. Even though I’ve promised to meet Vienne in two weeks, I don’t truly know when we’ll see each other again. Leaving her now feels too final.

  In the darkness, Griffin and I stay side-by-side. Years of play fighting come in use now as I push my lungs to exhaustion. Griffin keeps pace with me. We don’t talk because we can’t afford to waste breath and energy. But he’s watching me like a hawk as I’m obviously straining my body with this run.

  Griffin looks over to me. “Are you all right? You look pale.”

  “I’m fine,” I say, taking a deep breath. It’s still not the right time to tell him I’m pregnant.

  After three hours, we see the hills looming in front of us. I spy the figures of two townspeople walking back and forth along the border. Since it is dark now, the group moving the rocks at the mouth of the cave has stopped its work and gone home. Without light, people dislodging the boulders can’t be safe.

  I walk up to one of the guards. “Elected!” he says in surprise. He’s so astonished to see me he doesn’t look closely at Griffin’s cloaked figure.

  “Hello,” I say. “Have you found more survivors?”

  “Yes! Twelve men crawled out of the mine with just minor injuries. We’ll still be looking for more people as soon as dawn breaks tomorrow.”

  “Good,” I say. “And the guards who ran in after Dorine?”

  The guard looks down. “They’re gone, Elected.”

  I swallow, feeling nausea creep up my throat again, but I keep a stoic face. “And Dorine?”

  “She’s gone as well. Not much remains of her or her son’s body. We excavated them earlier this evening.”

  “All right.” Vienne will ensure everyone receives a proper burial, even Dorine. I’d like to offer more consoling words right now, but the urgency of our timing forces me to stay mission-focused.

  “Madame Elected and I’ve brought you a meal. It must be tiresome out here at this late hour, especially after the explosion earlier today,” I say. “Will you bring this food to your comrade? You can eat together. We’ll watch the border for a moment.”

  “Thank you very much, Electeds,” he says, bowing multiple times as he backs up. After a moment he’s met up with his friend, and they sit together, already tucking into the bread and apples Vienne prepared.

  Griffin and I walk farther down the border and then glance back to see if they’re watching us. Convinced the two men are focused on their dinner, we start to climb the border. We’re supposed to meet Margareath at the hill’s peak, a place I and none of my people have ever been before. Part of me is excited to see past the borders of East, but another part feels the danger of so callously disregarding another whole Accord.

  The climb itself takes about twenty minutes. When we arrive at the crest, my eyes focus on something in the distance on Mid Country’s side of the border. We’re up high enough to see for miles now.

  “What is that, Griffin?” The views from here are so staggering, my voice quivers.

  “They’re not just tinkering with electricity like I was.” Hundreds, if not thousands, of lights dance on the horizon inside Mid’s territory.

  “Doesn’t look like it. I wonder how else Mid’s breaking the Technology Accord.”

  Griffin just shakes his head, but his eyes are wide, like mine.

  I think I know the answer. If they have lights, I was probably right about airrides too. And who knows what other machines they’ve resurrected.

  We wait in the darkness, glancing around to see if Margareath is near.

  After we’ve stared at the lights for a few minutes in silence, Griffin looks over at me. “Aloy, I have to ask.”

  “Yes?” I’m alone with him again for the first time in a long while. I know what I’d like him to ask. I blush just thinking about the things bold enough to pass through my head now. How could I ever have thought I didn’t want someone to touch me? Now it’s all I can think about.

  But he’s not on the same wavelength at the exact moment. Instead he asks, “You and Vienne broke the law to let the prisoners go? You wouldn’t put them to death?”

  I look over at Griffin slowly. “Yes, we broke the Technology Accord. We didn’t think it was moral to continue killing our people for creating technology.”

  “That’s exactly why you make the best leader of East Country. You say you’re going to bring back your parents to rule. But why can’t you keep the position? You’re the leader I always hoped for. And as for getting information on Mid, I can do that for you. As much as I want us to be together, it’s safer for you to stay here.”

  I look down at the ground, my cheeks growing red. This is the moment I need to tell him about my pregnancy. How the search for my parents and for information on Mid aren’t the only reasons pressing me to leave East Country. We’re alone. This is the right time.

  I start to shake my head and explain, “Griffin... I...”

  “I love you, Aloy. But you can’t leave East because of me. I’ll find a way back to you eventually, no matter what.” He takes a final step toward me and holds my cheek in his palm. Unlike the last time we were this close, I am the one to start kissing him first. I feel the muscles in his arms as I hold him close.

  For the first time, I realize it’s easy for me to return Griffin’s words. “I love you too.”

  We pull back from each other and look once more toward the blinking lights on the horizon. Then I take a deep breath, about to explain our predicament in detailed terms—give him the explanation of why I must leave East, at least for the time being. That I want to go with him, but there are other reasons I’m leaving too. Again, though, he’s too fast.

  I can’t utter anything before he says, “My father... will we see him on the other side?”

  My shoulders slump, realizing what Griffin is asking. “You want to know if we saved him too?”

  “Yes,” Griffin’s voice is low. “Will he meet us in Mid Country?”

  I look at Griffin whose face is now cast down. Finally, the truth is out. He wants his father to be alive. I answer him quietly. “No, we didn’t save him.”

  Griffin continues to look down and nods.

  “His crime was violence,” I say, hating to mouth the explanation. “He was too dangerous to save.”

  “I u
nderstand.” Griffin is resolute, picking his head back up and looking at me.

  My biggest fear is that Maran’s prophesy will come true—that Griffin will turn against me and Vienne, ultimately agreeing with his father’s rash beliefs. But for now, at least, I know we’re united. I reach out to squeeze his hand, about to proceed with my big revelation.

  And that’s when I see a figure walking toward us, crouched low.

  “Margareath?” I whisper into the darkness.

  “Madame Elected?”

  I breathe a sigh of relief. It’s her.

  “Margareath, it’s me, the Elected. And Griffin. Madame Elected isn’t here.”

  She looks toward us, her eyes fearful.

  “Don’t worry,” Griffin says. “We aren’t here to hurt you.”

  Margareath doesn’t ask us if we’re here to take her back into East Country, as I’d suspected she might. Instead she asks, “What do you want?”

  “We need you to take me across the border,” says Griffin. “I need to stay with you for a while. See for myself what’s going on in Mid Country.”

  “Take both of us,” I say, ignoring Griffin’s look. Then I stare out in front of me at the pervasive technology alight on Mid’s horizon. More quietly I say, “Yes, I need to come too.”

  “Ohhh,” says Margareath. Her eyes are suddenly bright with excitement. “You won’t believe what they have over there. It’s amazing. I can’t wait to show you!”

  I look at her, cocking my head to one side. “Amazing?”

  “Yes, it’s simply unbelievable!” She’s excited now, happy to be able to take us with her. She starts walking forward, and Griffin and I begin following her.

  Maybe she just yearns for company. So I give in a little, thinking of Vienne’s warning about Margareath’s desperation to see her family.

  “Margareath,” I say from behind her. “Your family is doing well. They’re coping. They’ll see you soon. After we finish this mission, I’ll let you go back to them. I promise.”

  Margareath stops and turns. She looks at me, an odd expression dancing across her brow. She lifts a hand to her forehead, one word escaping her mouth. “Who?”

  I stop midstride and stare at her. “Margareath, your family? Your kids? Your three kids?”

  Again Margareath looks at us, her eyes darting back and forth between me and Griffin. Then she shrugs and raises her hand. “Come on!” she says. “I have so much to show you!”

  Griffin and I lock eyes behind Margareath’s back, exchanging a sharp glance. I lift my eyebrows in alarm and he does the same, shaking his head. She doesn’t remember her family?

  Griffin grabs my hand, and then we both walk forward. Whatever Margareath has to show us, now we have to see. With Griffin’s hand firm in mine, I look behind me as the crest of the hill begins to disappear behind us. I stand on my tiptoes, looking back one last time at my country.

  “Don’t worry,” I say silently toward my home. “I’ll come back for you. I won’t leave you neglected for long.”

  Then we begin our descent into Mid Country.

  THE END

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  Acknowledgements

  There were so many people who made it possible for me to write and publish The Elected Series. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all of your support, expertise, and enthusiasm. Thank you to:

  Mom and Dad for reading every word as I wrote them and for your unfailing interest that kept me going. You instilled a love of storytelling by reading to me every night as a child and writing down the stories I “dictated” before I could scribble them myself. Jason for having one hundred percent confidence that I would write books and publish them. Your belief in me makes unbelievable things seem possible. I appreciate the many car rides spent discussing plot and character development. My oldest daughter who tells me “Mama’s writing” anytime I sit at my laptop and for allowing me to write ELECTED on maternity leave with her. My youngest daughter who enabled me to write the next book while on maternity leave the second time around. Both of the main female characters in this book get pieces of their personalities (spunk, bravery, adventurousness, and compassion) from the two of you precious girls.

  My agent, Sara D’Emic and the team at Talcott Notch, for believing in the story of ELECTED and taking a chance on me. Sara, I knew the second you talked to me on the phone about ELECTED and discussed Aloy, Griffin, and Vienne like they were real people, you understood and could nurture the book. May there be many writing years ahead where we gush about our mutual love of Halloween!

  Silence in the Library Publishing, who saw ELECTED’s potential and brought me onto the team. Janine Spendlove, Ron Garner, Tanya Spackman, Kelli Neier, Bryan Young, Maggie Allen, and Amberley Young, thank you for your dedication to making ELECTED happen. My editors: Diana Bocco, Kara Leigh Miller, Julie Wingfield, Tricia Kristufek, Eden Plantz, Kelly Coffey, and Emily Ward for guiding ELECTED through multiple iterations to ensure it flowed and sounded like life-on-pages. My cover artist Suzannah Safi. You worked with such grace and efficiency as we determined what feelings ELECTED’s cover should evoke. Misty Williams and Suzanne van Rooyen, my publicists, for tirelessly working to promote ELECTED and answering coordination messages so fast. I barely press send on a note before you respond with the much-appreciated information.

  Ron Romanski from Preactive Marketing for making my website and giving me advice on social media.

  My current writing critique group members: Clifton Tibbetts, Jon Sourbeer, and Vivian Bloomberg for your unfailing enthusiasm and the detailed analysis you’ve given the book. Every time I’m on the phone with you, your dedication to write inspires me. To my earliest writing critique group members: Kellye, Stephanie, Mo, and Linda, for picking ELECTED when I asked you which of my novel ideas you’d want to read and for encouraging me to join the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI).

  My friendly legal team (literally made up of my friends) Leif and Heather. The time you took reviewing my various contracts was invaluable.

  Beta readers who peeked at ELECTED when it was a very... very rough draft: Erin, Kat, Kim, Luke, Amy, Jon, Pina, Matt, Colleen, and Sara. You told me ELECTED seemed like a real book you couldn’t get out of your head, and that made me feel like a real writer.

  My writer friends: Diana Peterfreund, Nancy Grossman, and Debra Shigley for giving me advice on the industry early-on. The entire DC Mafia Writers group, made up of a welcoming bunch of literary gurus. The MD/DW/WVA SCBWI chapter that offers a breadth of writing information through their conferences and events.

  To all of my long-time friends as well as the new ones from social media, for Tweeting, blogging, Facebooking, emailing, talking and, in general, sharing info about ELECTED. There is an army of “East Countrymen” that got this book into the hands of readers.

  THANK YOU!

  Kickstarter Backers

  This printed book would not be possible without the generous support of each and every one of the Kickstarter backers who contributed to this project.

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