Tainted Crown

by Jenn Vakey

  I didn’t like the tension that was starting to build. Wanting to break it, I said the first thing that came to mind. “What’s a baston?”

  Rhydian looked up and chuckled when he saw the smile I was giving him. Like he knew I was trying to be funny. Or at least trying to lighten the mood some. Not that I thought he was aware at all that Maizie was bothered by what he said. He certainly didn’t appear to be. “I’ll show you tomorrow when Noella clears you.”

  When lunch was over, Rhydian walked with me toward the garden. I was glad to be back in the fold as far as the jobs were concerned. I didn’t like feeling useless. After going through the process with me and finally relenting when I told him he didn’t need to help, he picked a spot in the sun and sat down.

  “So,” I said, plucking some red tomatoes off of the vines and tossing them into my basket. “You looked very uncomfortable during lunch.”

  I expected him to deny it, but he was actually smirking when I looked over for his reaction. “Picked up on that, did you?” He sighed, that smile falling away as he ran his fingers through his hair. “Yeah, that wasn’t very pleasant. It’s also something I need to talk to you about.”

  This was more serious than I thought it was going to be.

  “Okay,” I said warily. Maybe I shouldn’t have brought it up. If the knot in my stomach was any indication, I wasn’t going to like what he had to say.

  “I know you don’t remember anything we’ve talked about before, which obviously made that confusing,” he said. He blew out a breath, almost like he was bracing himself. “The brief version is that I had a girlfriend when I first came here. We broke up, which means ending things, then I thought she was killed shortly after. Imagine my surprise three years later when my fiancé rescued her from the facility she was actually being held in.”

  My chest tightened. I dropped back on my heels, hoping I was misunderstanding all of this.

  “Girlfriend as in similar to courting?”

  Rhydian was watching me as he slowly nodded. Aarys had told me that they thought Maizie had been killed. Then there was what she had told me yesterday when we met. That the man she was going to marry was here. She hadn’t said it like it was in the past. She made it sound like they were still planning on getting married, and she hadn’t been lying.

  “The difference is that courting has the expectation of marriage at the end,” he said, oblivious to the wave of thoughts crashing through my mind. The panic threatening to topple me. “You court someone when you’re already considering marrying them. That stage lasts long enough for the pair to get to know each other better to determine if they really want to marry. Then they get engaged. Dating, or the boyfriend and girlfriend thing, is just a way of spending time with someone you like while you see where things go.”

  I think I nodded, but my head felt a little heavy. It was a lot to take in.

  “Aarys said you told them Maizie had been killed in Eden,” I said.

  He tensed. I thought for a moment, or maybe hoped, that it meant I was off base. That is until he spoke again.

  “Aarys talked to you about Maizie?”

  “Nothing more than that,” I said, not really understanding why that would be an issue. “She asked me if you knew she was back.” He relaxed some. “I just thought you were guilty or something, which was what the tension was about. But it’s because you two were together?”

  Or was it past tense at all? Maizie hadn’t made it sound that way. I wanted to ask, to understand everything. The problem was, I wasn’t sure how I would feel if he told me that things weren’t quite in the past with them. Or worse. If he lied about it.

  I decided instead just to wait. He said we had talked about the situation before. I just needed to get my memories back. Then, not only would I remember the details of it, but I would remember what things had been like between us. So for now, I would just see how this whole thing played out.

  “So how long do people usually wait before they start courting?” I asked, needing a distraction. It was a good one now that I knew how short of a time I had actually been in Alkwin.

  The tightness in Rhydian’s expression morphed into playfulness. Like he knew where I was really going with this line of questioning. “Some people haven’t met before. It could be a situation with a desirable family, or a guy could have simply seen a girl around and wants his chance to see if they would work before anyone else moves in. Others know each other for years before the guy gets up the nerve to ask. I had known you for just shy of six weeks when I asked.”

  But I had only been here six weeks. That didn’t make sense. He had said we were engaged, not courting.

  “But people usually wait some time before getting engaged?”

  Rhydian sat back, propping his forearms on his knees while he watched me. He almost looked amused by my confusion. I wanted to be annoyed, but I was still trying to wrap my head around this. To understand. “And I waited about thirty seconds. Even before you had given me your answer about courting at all.”

  That was so fast. And I had agreed to that? Oh, what I wouldn’t give to remember what had happened between us that made me willing to agree to something so permanent with this man.

  “And no one knows we’re together?” I asked. “Not just engaged, but at all?”

  “Some people do,” he answered. “But not many. Our families obviously know. Noella, which likely means her husband, Jaron, has been told. Aarys and Auggie don’t know we’re engaged, but they do know we’re together. So does Lamont. You wanted to wait to tell the rest until after we got back from Eden. Then…”

  Wait, I had been the one who wanted to wait to tell people?

  “Then I couldn’t remember,” I finished for him when he trailed off. “Why did I want to wait?”

  Rhydian turned his head and looked around like he was checking to see if anyone was around before facing me again. “Joury,” he said, quieter now.

  The scene from yesterday came to me again. The way she had been touching him as they talked. The feeling of discomfort that I hadn’t really been able to understand at the time. Then there was also Joury’s reaction to seeing Maizie at dinner. She hadn’t been happy at all.

  “You were with her too?”

  “No,” he said quickly, shaking his head. “Maizie was the only girl before you, and that was a long time ago. You pointed out to me last week that Joury has a thing for me. Something I hadn’t realized before then. You asked to wait to tell the camp until after the rescue so there wouldn’t be a chance of her being distracted. Distractions can get people killed.”

  That made sense. He wasn’t lying, so even if I couldn’t completely understand it all, I had to believe I could trust him. This lie detecting thing was turning out to be pretty handy.

  CHAPTER TEN

  LEEYA

  Despite being disappointed that the trip to the archway had been put off until tomorrow morning, I was in a good mood as I walked to breakfast. Noella had given me the all clear to start training today. I was filled with a mix of excitement and nerves at the prospect. Even if getting back into it didn’t have the desired effect of helping to trigger some of my memories, it would at least help me to not feel so helpless. I didn’t like feeling like I needed to rely on other people.

  Rhydian looked up quickly to meet my eye when I walked into the dining hall. He had wanted to go with me to the clinic, but he’d been busy dealing with Alkwin business. I hadn’t wanted to wait. When I met his questioning look with a smile, he returned it. It wasn’t large like some of the others would give, but I was beginning to recognize that that was just how he was. At least when around the others.

  It was interesting. He was almost like two different people. There was the serious side of him that walked around camp and interacted with everyone else. Then there was the lighter side that I had seen when we were alone. The Rhydian who would give me real smiles. Would talk about more than just what was required.

  Was that how everyone was? Well, at least to a p
oint? Or was it just a Rhydian thing?

  “Good morning, princess,” a deep voice said from just behind me when I got in line to get my food.

  I looked back to see who was being called that, knowing no one would dare use the term with Linley, and was surprised to find a pair of green eyes watching me.

  Gryffin.

  “Did you just call me a princess?” I asked.

  He shrugged.

  “I’m not a princess,” I bristled. Something about it just felt wrong. Like it didn’t fit. Maybe even like it was a hindrance of some kind. A way of marking me as weak. I might not be in any condition to fight someone or anything, but I didn’t think I was weak. Not really.

  “Not yet,” he said lightly. “But I have faith you’ll get there soon. Oh, the fun the palace tailor will have dressing you. She’s only had my sister to make dresses for for some time now.”

  My jaw actually dropped. “Dresses?” I sputtered. I looked down at the black pants and thin sweater I was wearing. They were comfortable. Something about the idea of wearing a dress just wasn’t. It made my chest tighten, unease building.

  Gryffin barked a laugh, pulling my attention back to him. His eyes were twinkling with mirth, causing me to narrow mine. “You’re teasing me.”

  “Of course,” he shrugged again. “I would actually love to see someone try to get you to wear dresses. Don’t forget that I actually had the pleasure of seeing you in the city. You’d probably take their head right off for even suggesting it. I think even the palace Sentry would be heedful not to cross you.”

  Relaxing some, I turned to fill my plate. “I’m not so sure about that, but I do get to start training again today.” I looked back, unsure if I should ask the next part. He was the future king, after all. Not that he treated me like he was above me. In fact, he was strangely approachable. “Will you be there to watch?”

  The smile he gave to that was warm and friendly. “I wouldn’t miss it. I still have a hard time believing the same brother I grew up with has turned into such a proficient fighter. Even with me watching some of his training sessions. I’m actually hoping to see him knocked on his ass by his ninja ballerina.”

  Gryffin walked over to join Orson instead of following me to the table where Rhydian was sitting. Lillith and Paxton were already seated. I looked through the room to see where Dallin was and found him in the middle of a conversation with a group of men. He appeared to be settling in well.

  “Noella approved?” Rhydian asked before I was even fully seated.

  I nodded, smiling. “She said I still needed to go a little easy, but that I am free to start training with you.” That had actually been specified as part of her conditions. Not that I thought for even a second that he would let me train with anyone else.

  “I have a meeting this morning, then I have to check the progress of our builds,” he said. “We can after lunch. I kept my training schedule open today.”

  I didn’t want to have to wait, but a few more hours wouldn’t kill me. I was still hanging on to those feelings I’d had when I watched him before. It had been recognition. Maybe if I followed that feeling it would lead to something. I might actually start to remember things. I could get my life back.

  Either that, or the day would end in disappointment. I just hoped that wasn’t the case.

  I didn’t have anything scheduled for the day, since this was the time I would have normally spent in the clinic. I wasn’t in any position to do that. Thankfully there were a couple new Healers in camp, so I didn’t feel too bad for not being able to pull my weight there.

  Unlike when I was with Lillith, Dallin actually let me help out when I was with him. We walked out of the dining hall and crossed the yard toward the clinic.

  “What are we doing?” I asked.

  “Noella’s going to be doing assessments on the people she has in the clinic,” he stated. “They’re the ones that were in the worst shape at the facility. We’re just going to be there to step in if they get aggressive. It shouldn’t be a problem, though. Seeing you might help to ease them, also, since you were the one who led the team who got them out.”

  I vaguely remembered hearing Noella and Rhydian talking about people being kept in there. I hadn’t really thought much of it. There had been too much on my mind at the time. After I left, I had admittedly just forgotten.

  “What’s wrong with them?”

  Dallin sighed. “They were there for a lot longer than your sister was. Noella thinks one could have been in that place for close to a decade, but she hasn’t been able to get her to give specific information. They’re going to take some time accepting that what they went through is really over.”

  Noella was waiting for us when we walked in. She looked to me and smiled, then motioned toward the hallway. There were four doors, each closed. Taking out her keys, she opened the first door.

  Dallin and I stood back in the doorway while Noella stepped in. There was a woman with long black hair sitting on the bed. She watched Noella closely, like she was expecting her to attack at any moment. It broke my heart. I wanted to assure her that she was safe, but I had a feeling there wasn’t anything I could say to ease her fear.

  “Good morning, Minna,” Noella said soothingly. “You remember Dallin. This is Leeya, she’s one of our Healers.”

  Minna looked to me and narrowed her eyes. I didn’t think it was possible, but she seemed to tense even more. Dallin had mentioned my presence might be of some comfort. Instead, it appeared to have the opposite effect.

  “No she’s not,” the woman said, disdain flowing out with her words. “Healers don’t fight. Sentry fight. Not your best game.”

  “Maybe not in Eden, but everyone fights here,” I said before I could stop myself. I glanced over to Noella, expecting to be scolded for overstepping, but she simply nodded. “In Alkwin, even our children fight. It’s how we protect ourselves against the Sentry.”

  Minna just shifted her focus back to Noella, showing no sign at all that my words meant anything to her. Her mind was broken in a completely different way than mine was. They had broken her will.

  The others weren’t any better. Only one of the four was violent, but I couldn’t see any of them being ready to reenter society any time soon. It made me feel helpless. Angry that the city had done this to them.

  The weight of it was still sitting with me when we walked back out an hour later. Dallin gave me a sad smile, but he didn’t try to say anything to make it better. I don’t think there was anything that could have been said. I knew it could have been worse. From what I had been told, we had rescued nearly thirty people from that place. My sister had been there. So had Gryffin. We got them out of there before the rest could reach that point. It didn’t make any of this better.

  “I’m going to be working on one of the new houses,” he said, walking in the direction I knew they were being built. “You want to come with me?”

  Really, I just wanted to be alone. I felt off. I was trying to figure out how to get myself away from anyone when I saw Rhydian across the yard. It might not be alone, but for some reason I felt like I could actually talk to him and process what I was feeling. Like he would understand.

  “I see Rhydian,” I said, pointing in his vague direction. “I want to talk to him about what to expect tomorrow when we go to the archway.”

  I looked back, expecting to see some disappointment there. This was the man that raised me. I didn’t want to make him feel bad that I was choosing to be with someone else instead of him. That wasn’t there, though. He was actually smiling as he nodded. Like Lillith, he liked Rhydian. He supported us being together.

  “I’ll see you at lunch,” he said, then let me go.

  Rhydian was talking to an older woman and didn’t see me approaching. I think her name was Faida. He said something to her and she nodded, then turned and walked off toward the dining hall. Before he could go anywhere himself, someone else walked up to talk to him. Maizie.

  My steps faltered and I st
illed, watching as she reached out and touched his arm. I was met with the same feeling I’d had when I watched Joury do the same. It was stronger this time, though. Probably because I knew now that they used to be together. From everything she had said to me, it was something she still wanted.

  Rhydian watched her as she talked. His shoulders raised like he was sighing, then he ran his fingers through his hair and nodded. Before I could even start walking again, he turned and they walked together into the building behind him. She hadn’t let go of his arm the entire time.

  My insides twisted. I should just turn and go back to my room. I was already in a strange mood after helping Dallin and Noella. I had no doubt that even watching them interact would only make that worse. My feet didn’t listen. They started moving again, taking me in the same direction they had gone.