Queen of Empire: A fantasy romance (The Relic Trilogy Book 1)

by HR Moore

  Anita paused, considering her answer, because she wasn't really sure. 'What's the purpose of planting something in a person's mind?' she said eventually.

  'Well, it depends. It can be an effective way to kill a person and make it look like natural causes, although there are less risky ways to kill someone. Or it can be a way of gathering information…to do that is tricky though, because you need someone with expert Mind skills to plant the idea and a skilful Spirit to extract it through meditation. Or it can be a way to store or pass information secretly between people without there being any physical evidence or conversation.'

  'What?' said Anita, her mind reeling.

  Helena laughed. 'If I wanted to pass a secret message to you, I would find a way into your mind and plant a brass cylinder. The next time you mediated, you would discover the brass cylinder, open it, and recover the message. The only problem, of course, is that it's hard to tell if the cylinder is friendly or a form of attack. Some are powerful enough to kill upon opening.'

  Anita's stomach plummeted at the mention of brass cylinders. 'This is crazy,' said Anita. 'How is this kept under wraps?'

  'Only a handful of people practice planting and extracting any longer; the world is a much safer place now than it used to be. Only academics, or people like Amber bother to keep those arts alive.'

  Anita contemplated Helena's words. After the first mention of death, she'd been on the verge of telling Helena about her experience in the temple, but now she wasn't so sure. 'Can you work out when something was planted? That way, you could agree a time to plant a cylinder, so you would know it was safe?'

  'No. Not unless you caught the person in the act. That's difficult to do, as they'd typically choose a time to plant when you're concentrating hard on something else. The only thing you can do is learn to protect your mind from attack, so there are barriers to get through before planting.

  'The Descendants are trained to protect themselves in every way possible, as they're obvious targets for attack. Austin takes it a step further, taking Amber with him everywhere he goes, just in case he wants to launch an attack himself.'

  'But why do I need to be careful of Austin? Why would he be hostile towards me?'

  'You're powerful, and Austin doesn't like having powerful people around; it makes him feel threatened, vulnerable. He does all he can to identify and either use or get rid of those he sees as a threat.'

  'And when you say use?'

  'He employs people for their skills. In the same way he uses Amber's planting skills, he might want a powerful Spirit as an extractor, or a powerful Body to seduce somebody, or to beat someone up.'

  'Seduce somebody? I would have thought that would be a Mind trick too…'

  'There's a lot of cross over. Yes, Minds tend to be proficient in seduction and manipulation, but a Body can be good at seduction too. Instead of using their mind to seduce, they use their body. Everyone has a mixture of the three Gods in them, making it impossible to split skills into only one area.

  'You might be a strong Body but have very little Mind at all, meaning you may find seduction hard. You may be a strong Spirit but have a lot of Mind, meaning you may be able to master both planting and extraction. You may have a little of all three and be passable at everything but excel at nothing. There's no set formula.

  'There are a handful of academics who research skills inheritance, but they haven't found much to go on. The same way we don't understand energy jolts, or know how to control the energy.'

  Anita thought about telling Helena what she'd felt when she'd kissed Marcus and touched Alexander. She was dying to understand more about it, but there was only so much she was comfortable sharing.

  'Anyway, the point is that you would be wise to steer clear of Austin and Amber, which also means giving Marcus a wide berth, especially after your display the other night, spectacular as it was.'

  'Thanks,' Anita half laughed, 'I think. But what if I don't want to give Marcus a wide berth?'

  'Then you're taking a tremendous risk. Marcus is Austin's son,' said Helena, turning serious, 'remember that. He's becoming more and more like Austin, and I wouldn't want you to get caught in the middle of that transformation.'

  'It's not a foregone conclusion that he'll turn into his father,' said Anita, prickling. 'And anyway, Alexander, your fellow protect Anita club member, seems to think the safest place for me is with Marcus. You two should have a protect Anita convention and align your advice.'

  Helena ignored Anita's tone, saying cautiously, 'Just how close are you and Marcus?'

  'Not that close,' she said, growing uncomfortable, 'not that it's any of your business.' Anita had never had to explain any of her previous relationships, and she wasn't going to start now.

  'Anita, if Alexander thinks you're safest with Marcus, then it's probably gone too far already. Marcus has always been possessive, just like Austin, which will work both in your favor and against you. It means Austin is unlikely to harm you and less likely to try and recruit you, but it also means if you ever want to walk away, you could be in serious danger. Marcus might not want to let you go.'

  'This gets more and more crazy,' said Anita, exasperated. 'Marcus and I hardly know each other. If what we have develops into a relationship, it's not like I'll suddenly belong to him.'

  'That's what Marcus' mother thought, and look at her now.'

  'Marcus is not Austin.'

  'And you are not Melia.'

  Anita didn't know what she meant by that, but it couldn't be anything good, so she didn't ask. Unfortunately, Helena seemed to think it was something Anita needed to know.

  'Melia was, and indeed still is, an extremely adept Mind academic. When she fell in love with and married Austin, she brought a lot of influential supporters with her. When they separated, which had a lot to do with Austin turning into a carbon copy of his father, Tobias, by the way, Austin lost a lot of those supporters.

  'He couldn't harm Melia, or he would have risked a faction forming within the Temple of the Mind. Obviously, given how fragile the balance is at the moment, Austin should leave you alone whilst Marcus wants you. If Marcus changes his mind, or you want to leave him, you won't have any protection.'

  'The fragility of the system seems to be the topic of the moment,' said Anita, angrily.

  'The possibility of a revolution is not something to be flippant about. It could happen. The Institution is growing, and given the current bloodline situation and energy crisis, now seems like a likely time, don't you think?'

  Anita looked blankly at Helena. 'The Institution?'

  Helena rolled her eyes. 'It amazes me how little your generation knows, lacking in political zeal; so unlike your parents.'

  Anita wasn't sure whether Helena meant her parents specifically, or just her generation's parents in general. It took all of her determination not to ask.

  'The Institution is a group of powerful individuals,' said Helena. 'Mostly academics, councilors, and a few traders, whose purpose is to ensure the energy stays steady.'

  'I thought that was the job of the Descendants?'

  'Theoretically yes, but the Descendants have never been interested in ruling for the good of all. Historically, they've been more preoccupied with personal gain and adoration. They have no interest in sending the Relic back to the Gods, given that to do so runs counter to their personal interests, regardless of what they swear at their Crownings.'

  'I guess that makes sense.'

  'The Institution was formed centuries ago to ensure the energy remained stable. They have dedicated themselves to freeing the world ever since.'

  'But only the Descendants can free the world.'

  'If the only freedom you consider is from the Gods. What if freedom was from the rule of the Descendants?'

  'But why wait until now? Why hasn't the Institution acted already?'

  'The Descendants have a bargaining chip. They possess information they'd use to discredit the Institution if we tried to act. We've been at a stalemate sinc
e they stole it. If we overthrow them, they'll discredit us, the world will descend into chaos, and the energy will most likely plummet. It would mean destruction of the world as we know it and the Institution would have failed in its mission.'

  'When you say we…you're part of the Institution?' said Anita. 'Why are you telling me all this?'

  'Because we need powerful people like you to join us,' Helena replied.

  'But what's the point of growing if you can't act?'

  'Because, as you know better than most, the energy is failing. If we don't act now, then it may be too late.'

  'How are you going to deal with the stalemate?'

  'We're going to get the information back.'

  'How? Information isn't something you can just steal…'

  'I can't say any more, unless you agree to join us.'

  Anita almost laughed, but saw the look on Helena's face.

  'Join you? A minute ago you were warning me about Marcus and Austin, and now you want me to join an underground political movement?'

  'I'm not saying it wouldn't be dangerous, but having you with us may be the key to retrieving the information.'

  Anita was shocked. 'How did you work that out?'

  'Think about it. If your relationship with Marcus develops, you'll be in a position to probe for information about the whereabouts of the information. You could find out how heavily it's guarded…you may even be able to recover it for us.'

  'You want me to spy for you, right under Austin and Amber's noses?'

  'It's dangerous, but you'd be helping to protect us all.'

  Anita looked away; it all seemed so absurd. 'Helena…until a few minutes ago, I had no idea the Institution even existed. Now you're asking me to make sure my relationship with Marcus develops so I can spy for you and steal from him? It's a bit full-on, don't you think?'

  'I know it is, but that's the world we live in. The energy's plummeting and the Descendants are doing nothing. You have some of the strongest energy I've ever known, and I wouldn't have told you about the Institution if I didn't trust you, or think you could do it. You don't know it, but you've been wrapped up in this for a very long time.'

  Anita rounded on her. 'What's that supposed to mean?'

  'I can't tell you that until you join us and prove you're committed. If you get the information, I'll tell you everything.' She paused for a moment then added, 'Including all about your parents, who I knew very well.'

  'You were friends with my parents and you never told me? Through all the time we spent together, you never thought to mention it?'

  Anita was partly furious, partly hurt, and partly captivated. Helena could answer all the questions she'd never been able to ask Cordelia, or anyone else for that matter. She desperately wanted to know about her parents. If they had been wrapped up in the Institution, maybe it wasn't so bad? But what if her parents had been bad people? She'd never known them…maybe she should stay as far away from the Institution as possible. Maybe this was the reason they'd ended up dead…

  She was so confused. Half of her wanted to agree to anything Helena asked of her, but the other half knew she should be cautious. Helena admitting something was dangerous meant it was really dangerous and that wasn't something to be taken lightly.

  'I couldn't. If I'd told you about your parents when you were younger, it would've put both of us, and many others, in serious danger.'

  Anita was ravenous for more, but had no idea what to say.

  'By all means, take some time to think about it, but please don't tell anyone about this conversation. No one at all. It would be dangerous for you and could get me killed.'

  Anita felt suddenly cold, and sick. She'd never had to consider that someone might want to harm or even kill her for something as simple as a conversation. Sure, she knew how to use a bow and arrow, and had trained to fight with knives, and her bare hands, but that had all been a game, or for practice. She'd never considered she may actually have to use the training someday, or that someone else might try to use their training on her.

  'I won't tell anyone,' she promised. There was no one she could tell something like this anyway.

  'Thank you. I'll find you in a few days to hear your decision. You have unparalleled Body skills, and you learn quickly; if anyone can help us, it's you.' Helena squeezed Anita's arm, got up, and jogged away. 'See you in a couple of days,' she called back over her shoulder.

  Anita couldn't believe it. She'd had lessons with Helena every day for years and she'd never hinted at any of this. Helena hadn't even tried that hard to recruit her to be an academic, and now this?

  Helena hadn't really been warning her off Marcus, nor had she accidently bumped into her at the river. Helena had been watching, had seen an opportunity, and wanted to use it to her advantage. But none of that would help Anita decide what she should do.

  And then there was the brass cylinder in her head…could it be something hostile that was waiting to kill her? Alexander had wanted to destroy it… She didn't think Amber had had an opportunity to plant something, but then, Anita didn't know what to look for and she had no idea how long the cylinder had been there. It could've been anybody, for any reason, over the course of her life. It could have been Helena for all she knew.

  * * * * *

  The following day, Anita was still processing her conversation with Helena as she ran to the castle for her first Mind lesson. She arrived and almost ran headlong into Austin and Amber descending the steps. She was instantly on guard.

  'What are you doing here?' Austin snapped, shooting a questioning sideways glance at Amber. Amber ignored him and stared intently at Anita.

  Anita stood her ground, wondering again if the cylinder in her head was hostile and had been put there by this woman.

  'I'm here to see Marcus,' Anita replied cheerily, pretending she hadn't noticed their hostility.

  'What for?' he asked in crisp rounds, not happy about the prospect of Anita spending more time with his precious son.

  Luckily, as Anita was contemplating her answer, Marcus came striding out of the entrance towards them. 'Anita, hi!' he called.

  'Hi,' she said, the tension draining out of her.

  As Marcus reached her, he put an arm around her shoulders in a plutonic, brotherly way and shepherded her into the castle. 'See you later, Dad,' he called calmly over his shoulder.

  Marcus didn't say a thing until they were safely up the stairs and in his suite. He closed the door firmly behind them and took a deep breath. 'That was almost very interesting,' he said, frivolously.

  He took a cavalier step towards her, and she casually moved away. The energy changed, charged at the realization they were now alone in Marcus' suite, no prying eyes. Marcus changed too, his movements becoming calculated, reminding Anita of a big cat stalking its prey. 'Nothing like a dangerous encounter to liven up a morning,' he purred, his predator's eyes fixed on her.

  'Is that so,' she said, moving to one of the enormous light grey sofas. She sat, tucking her legs underneath her. She pulled a large, patterned cushion protectively in front of her, trying to ignore the delicious reaction she was having to Marcus' honed form stalking her every move.

  'What am I learning today?' she said, meeting his gaze. She wanted to keep him focused on the matter in hand, but was finding it difficult to make herself obey, let alone him.

  Marcus smiled as he sat next to her, a knowing, victorious smile, casting aside her weak attempts to divert him. His energy soared as he leaned in towards her, and despite herself, her own energy responded, her skin prickling as the heady smell of vanilla invaded her lungs, eroding her resolve.

  Impulsively, she moved towards him, meeting his lips with hers. They kissed with urgency, tingles shooting all over her body as Marcus put his hands on her waist and pulled her astride him. She grabbed handfuls of his hair, kissing him more deeply while his fingers explored. He found the chink between the back of her running tights and her vest, pushing his way under, caressing her back.

 
But Anita stiffened as he did it, pulled her lips away, placed her hands either side of his face and rested her forehead on his, closing her eyes. Marcus removed his hands, alarmed, pushing her backwards so he could see her face. She dropped her hands from him and in one supple movement, removed herself from his lap, curling herself against the arm of the sofa.

  'What's wrong?' he asked, reaching for her hand, a look of concern on his face. She didn't let him take it.

  She briefly met his worried eyes. 'Marcus,' she said, then paused, trying to work out what to say next. 'Why did you invite me to the ball?'

  He looked confused, his eyes wide as he considered the question. 'I was intrigued by you. You're different; I find you exciting.'

  'And so far this has all been a game,' she said, cryptically.

  'I don't understand,' he said.

  Anita could see in his eyes he knew what she meant.

  'Yes you do. I didn't react to you like most girls would, so your instincts were aroused and you chased me. And because I knew that, I pushed you away, which made you chase me more. But now we're here, in your bedroom, and we're in too dangerous a position to play games.'

  'I suppose that's one way of looking at it,' he said.

  'It's the only way to look at it,' she snapped. 'You know Austin doesn't approve of me and we live in a dangerous time. I need to know you're not playing a game now.'

  'Anita, I'm not. I like you. I genuinely like you. You're confident and clever, and ballsy, and you don't cower at the sight of my father, and you're reckless and sexy, and most importantly, I can talk to you. I've never spoken about my mother to anyone, but with you…it felt natural.' His voice had taken on a pleading edge.

  Anita softened, her defenses falling away. She wasn't totally sure he was telling the truth, but she found herself wanting to believe him. She took his hand and kissed it gently, then said again, 'What am I learning today?'

  He smiled, leaned forward, and placed a gentle kiss on her lips, then led her by the hand to his bedroom. 'Today you're going to learn the arts of suggestion and persuasion,' he said brightly.