The Prevalence: Sequel and Final Book of The Premortals (The Premortals Series 2)

by Jacqueline Wrenley

  Karina hands were shaking holding the ball on her palms.

  “Mm… What to ask you.” Roland said drumming his fingers on his knees. “I got it!” He smiled then continued, “Lady Beatrice said to me before that she found out she lost a rare blue diamond necklace after our small dinner party at her manor… and since I remembered you were the only one who excused herself that night to go to the bathroom, I was wondering, did you take the necklace?”

  Karina’s mouth dropped open looking at Roland, shocked by the accusation. I was sure she was going to object but she closed her mouth instead and turned to stare at the ball intently, her chest heaving fast.

  “No,” Karina answered. Amelia biting the side of her lips glanced at Karina.

  The ball turned red.

  Karina let out a sigh of relief.

  “Good girl,” Roland approved, nodding.

  Karina was relaxed now that her turn was over. She spun the table and the ball fell on Amelia this time. She gasps softly and then picked up the ball with her shoulders slumped.

  “I will make this easy for you. You and Karina had been friends for quite a long time. So tell me do you despise her, the longer you have been together?” Roland asked without any signs of regret.

  Roland was terrible and inconsiderate to ask such things from her. The question alone was unfair and inappropriate considering this might ruin their friendship for the sake of his own amusement.

  Selene’s eyes sparkled behind her mask. Karina stared at Amelia in anticipation.

  Amelia looking defeated and without a choice answered, “Yes.”

  The ball turned red.

  Karina was fuming. “How dare you…”

  “It is not like you do not feel the same way about me,” Amelia defended almost crying.

  “How can you be so sure?!” Karina angrily said.

  “I do not hate you all the time,” Amelia desperately explained.

  “Is it because you are jealous of me?” Karina snapped.

  “I… no… what?...” Amelia said, now frowning.

  Roland laughed with a menacing tone and said, “Enough Ladies, you can argue tomorrow.”

  Selene giggled. “If they are still speaking to each other.”

  Karina crossed her arms.

  Roland chuckled. “But seriously,” he said calmly and added, “It is time for the last question of the night.”

  All eyes were on me now, examining, gauging how I’d handle this.

  “Please spin the table Amelia,” Roland requested.

  She obliged. The table spun and to no surprise it stopped on my side of the table, and the ball rolled to where I was standing. I placed it on the palm of my hands and thought how a little thing could do such great damage.

  “Lady Elaine, there is only one question that has been on my mind for someone like you who is clearly not like us.” Roland paused and was grinning ear to ear.

  I was certain I had nothing to hide from him so there was no reason to be terrified. I stared steadily at the Prince… waiting, ready for whatever he had in store. He was not going to break me, I made it this far, enduring all kinds of Elites and their degradation since I became one, and I wasn’t about to be beaten in their own game.

  “My question is, did you ever desire another man who was not your mate?”

  Roland’s gaze was full of scrutiny, head slightly tilted down wearing a crooked smile. This wasn’t a game after all but a test, to mock me, to see if there was any part of me in a way that was similar to them, this was utterly cruel.

  These were not the kind of people who I wanted to tell what my personal life was like or my desires. My desires were my own if ever I had one before Curtis, but there was no one. Was there? Then Devon crept into my mind. No… There was no desire between us. He was just someone who worked from across the street…

  I stared at the ball intensely, commanding it in my mind to turn red. Trying to relax hoping it wouldn’t sense my heart beating so fast. This was it, I had to answer, no use in delaying the inevitable. I sighed heavily and said in a low voice… “No.”

  Then panic came over. Maybe if I concentrate hard enough, the ball might turn red. I understood then why Amelia and Karina had to lie, they needed to hide the truth and hoped the ball would make a mistake, I had to try.

  In my mind, I was desperately explaining to the ball there was nobody else but Curtis. Devon was a friend or even just an acquaintance for a short time and whatever I felt towards him was gone, and it wasn’t even desire. I tried to remember what I thought of him, what I felt, I convinced myself that desire was a vague word and could mean many things but nevertheless I needed the ball to turn red.

  “Please,” I mumbled under my breath.

  In a few seconds but felt like an eternity… the ball turned black.

  My heart sank. I was shaking my head. There must be a mistake, this couldn’t be right. Karina and Amelia gasp loudly with eyes wide open then turned to each other, shrieked with excitement and giggled. It was like the agony from their punishment before this was long forgotten. Roland roared with laughter and almost fell off his seat. Selene smirked staring at me with sinister intent.

  “Finally, there you are,” Selene said in her sultry and triumphant voice as if she uncovered something hidden for a very long time and it gave me the chills.

  Roland eventually composed himself. “You are not different from us after all.”

  “Do not worry Lady Elaine, you are one of us now, you can act on all your desires without anyone stopping you,” Selene said with great assurance as she gazed at me with a new level of interest. Then she leaned forward and whispered, “…And we promise not to tell your mate.”

  Karina and Amelia heard and giggled persistently.

  I felt betrayed, I’ve told myself countless of times how I wasn’t like them but were they right? Was I not any different from them? Except they act on their impulses but what if I was given the power and the chance to take the opportunity before, would I have acted differently?

  I frowned. I told myself with a sudden feeling of invigoration that I wasn’t remotely similar to them and the ball was wrong, it could never tell what I truly think or desired. It was just a prop to indulge the Prince’s fascination and his childish games.

  “Well then Lady Elaine, it is time for your punishment,” Roland reminded.

  I was ready, I wanted this to be over with and besides, there were far worse than drinking something awful. If Amelia and Karina did it, it wasn’t going to be hard for me. I placed the ball back on the table and awaited my fate.

  “What am I going to drink?” I asked with certainty.

  “Oh, you are not going to drink anything,” Roland replied with a mischievous grin.

  “What? That is so unfair!” Karina angrily objected.

  “I have something better in mind,” Roland explained. “Lady Elaine could drink anything I give her, and it would have been easy so I am going to let her do something she has not done before, sort of like an initiation to becoming an Elite.”

  “That sounds very interesting,” Selene declared eagerly, still maintaining her refine composure.

  “What is it?” Amelia asked excitedly.

  Roland suddenly snapped his fingers and immediately the gentleman who I was dancing with earlier approached us and stood behind me. Roland was up to no good and I could sense he was trying to make fun of me whatever he was planning to do.

  “Remember what I told you yesterday that I am going to teach you how to be an Elite Lady Elaine. Well, this is your first lesson. If you are going to be one of us, you need to act like one of us. You need to practice what we Elites like to do,” he paused and grinned. “Kiss him.”

  “What?” I forcibly let the words out from my mouth.

  “Huh? We get to drink that awful stuff and you just let her kiss?” Karina complained.

  “I think it is great!” Amelia said elated.

  “I do not want a kiss that is just a smack on the lips, I mean a tr
ue kiss for about… ten seconds will do,” Roland instructed chuckling.

  I was thinking of excuses trying to find a way out of this. “I already have a mate so I don’t think this is appropriate,” I explained.

  Roland laughed loudly. “Oh dear Lady Elaine, nothing is appropriate when you are an Elite.”

  He was taunting me and was having fun with it.

  “I don’t want to hurt Curtis,” I sadly confessed hoping he’d take pity.

  But he only continued to look amused. “Then do not tell him.”

  “I don’t want to lie,” I explained.

  “Not telling him is not lying,” he simply insisted and added, “And besides, you made a promise to play the game and do not worry, we would not tell anyone.” Roland glanced at Selene then they grinned at each other.

  “Oh come now Lady Elaine, it is just a kiss, it is not going to mean anything if you do not let it be,” Selene urged.

  “Yeah and it is far easier than what I had to go through,” Karina said, her brows furrowed.

  A harmless kiss but the thing bothering me the most was that they wanted me to do this to spite and ridicule me for their enjoyment. I was exhausted and the night was getting very late. Overall, I was tired of Roland telling me what to do. This was the last time I’d do anything for him, tomorrow his games would be over if Thomas was successful and I took comfort in that. But tonight I had to do his bidding as the Crowned Prince.

  A flash of guilt swept through me. What would Curtis think about this? I cared for him and hurting him would only destroy me, I wouldn’t have the strength to tell him about this after. I’m only doing this for the game and because I was ordered to, against my better judgment and without any other choice. There was no harm in this if that’s the case, no harm when there’s no affections involved.

  I sighed and unwillingly turned facing the gentleman behind me. Maybe if I imagined him to be Curtis then this might be a lot easier. Looking closely at him, he was a marvel to behold but his eyes behind the mask had neither spirit nor emotions, as if he was dead inside.

  “Stop the music,” Roland ordered the orchestra and they immediately obeyed. “When they start kissing, play again and stop after ten seconds,” he added commanding the orchestra, and then his eyes were on the gentleman. “You may begin,” he said.

  The gentleman moved closer without any second thoughts and gently placing his hands on my waist, and slowly bending his head towards mine. When our face came into close proximity, I instinctively closed my eyes and held on to his muscular biceps and smelling his pleasant scent of mild cologne.

  His soft lips met mine and the orchestra played a slow and heavenly tune, a soothing song for lovers. I tried imagining him to be Curtis but his kiss was different and his mouth tasted sweet. He seemed to have more experience and knew what he was doing, how to move his lips and his tongue that Curtis did differently. He was a good kisser but it had no passion and he was only doing this because he was ordered to do so, the same as me. His kiss was like his eyes… empty.

  The orchestra finally stopped and we broke apart. I opened my eyes and the gentleman returned to where he came from like nothing happened. Amelia was grinning widely and clapping her hands, rooting for me. Karina was still sour I got an easier punishment, and Selene smiled with pride and contentment.

  Roland stood up from his chair, beaming with satisfaction. “Lady Elaine, you are officially an Elite.”

  He bowed.

  CHAPTER 6: THE RIOT

  CURTIS

  For the past couple of days, I felt incomplete but when I was reunited with Ellie, it all snapped back right into place, a missing piece of a puzzle found. My reunion with her was sweet. When she came home to our apartment in Sunglow, she ran and gave me a tight hug like she desperately needed it. The way she held me had me thinking she really did miss me. She smiled, her smile, the one she has only for me and no other when it was just us. I couldn’t resist planting her lips with a kiss that I could only dream of since her departure.

  I asked about her stay at the Prince’s manor and she told me she met Lady Selene, Lady Karina, and Lady Amelia whom I only recognized all by name, and they had a dinner party, and mostly did what Ladies do during their spare time. And on their last night, they had a ball and danced the night away.

  She didn’t expound more on the details and claimed they were gracious to her but I sensed the insincerity when she spoke about them, giving me the impression they weren’t. I thought she was only trying to be tolerable. I didn’t mind her deflection, she was with Elites especially the Prince’s circle of friends who were known to be quite eccentric.

  It was generous of the Prince when he gave Ellie a gift before she left. It was a painting of a man going into a lighthouse, I found it to be odd but when Ellie explained to me what she thought the painting was about, it made sense. She said it reminded her of me and how I could do whatever I wanted with my life but I chose to be a Defier. The way her eyes sparkled when she said it, made me believed I was doing something truly right in my life for once.

  I haven’t heard from Olfren since our last meeting, and it was too soon for the news to break out if ever the Prince was successfully abducted. I assumed the plan worked since there was nothing about an attempted abduction making me optimistic enough but the suspense was consuming me.

  There was one thing left to do then, tell Andrew that Duke Rectner refused to send help. His temper was going to blow when he hears this. His mood was always unpredictable and he was often overbearing, that was why I couldn’t wait to tell him the bad news and watch him with satisfaction crumbling down, and he did exactly that when I returned to Pinewood.

  I sat on the chair while he stood near his office desk with his back towards me probably hiding his defeat after I told him everything. He then slowly turned and suddenly slammed his fist on the desk hard but his outburst wasn’t affecting me anymore as I sat there indifferent.

  “That fool! After what father did for him… This is how he repays us?” he angrily shouted.

  Of course I had no clue what he was talking about and I didn’t care, anything involving Andrew and father wasn’t my concern and whatever secrets they had, they could keep it. Speaking of secrets, I was reminded when Duke Rectner told me about my brother forcing the villagers to work in the Steel Plants so I decided to make matters worse for him, playing the role I was pretending to be.

  I cleared my throat. “Duke Rectner mentioned something to me I actually didn’t believe at first but then I thought about it and everything adds up, why the Defiers were here, the explosions, the riots in the village. The rumors were actually true, the one you denied so faithfully before,” I said coolly and with renewed confidence.

  The way Andrew’s face turned from furious to pale told me I had hit a mark. I stood up and moved closer to him, and this time I had no fear.

  “Did you think you could get away with this? Enslaving the villagers? What were you thinking?” It was my turn to be angry, staring at him with disgust.

  I never spoke to him like this and it caught him off guard speechless. I expected him to give another tantrum after what I said but to my surprise he didn’t. He returned to his chair behind the desk and sat, leaning towards the table with his elbows on the desk and his fingers entwined together on his chin.

  He sighed heavily. “I was only doing it for the future of the dukedom,” he defended in a voice almost in a whisper.

  “You were only doing it for yourself,” I accused him, crossing my arms.

  He gave a menacing stare. “I am the Duke, I can do anything what I want with my people as I see fit.”

  “Even if it meant breaking the law? Look at what you’ve gotten us into, this is all your fault.”

  He was silent, staring at the wall ahead with only a worried expression on him.

  “Why can’t you just stick to the farms?” I said.

  He glanced angrily. “There is no future in farming.”

  We remained silent for a while
until it dawned on me, the question I wasn’t willing to know what the answer was. “Was father ever a part of this?” I asked uneasy.

  He shook his head. “No.”

  For some reason I was relieved, the idea that this was not father’s doing was comforting, probably because the thought of mother, with all her kindness and grace, was matched to a tyrant was something I couldn’t bear.

  The next day, still none of us were allowed to leave the manor grounds for our safety since the uprising continued in the towns and villages. Being stuck indoors, I had nothing better to do than spend most of my time with Ellie. I was with her in the library and the gardens, and when we had enough sun, we moved to the parlour where we had privacy. We sat on the couch facing each other, laughing, talking, and I whispered compliments of her beauty in her ear, making her blush which made her even lovelier.

  Whenever we ran out of things to say, I gazed lovingly at her, no need for words when I could show her the depths of my emotions through my eyes. I kissed her and this time, no one was there interrupting us and the longer I tasted her lips, the more I yearned than just kissing. Then I’d stop myself, fearing she might not be ready for more.

  That night in my private chambers, I was hoping to get an early rest. I took off my tailcoat, my vest and started unbuttoning my shirt when I heard a knock. I headed to the door and opened it and saw a footman standing before me.

  He bowed and said, “My Lord, his grace wants to see you immediately in his office.”

  Andrew rarely calls at this hour except maybe if it was urgent so this could only mean one thing, he must have heard the news about the Prince. This was it, the first stage for everything that was to come, the change we all needed. What was next then? Olfren never divulge to me what they were intending to do next and if I still had a role with the Defiers after this.

  Mr. Logan was in the office when I entered. He was seated in a far off couch and Andrew was standing, leaning on his desk wearing a grave expression. He began to speak after the door was closed, and no doubt Mr. Logan probably knew everything what this was all about before I did.