Tainted Crown Read online

  “What mental connection?”

  Lillith smiled again. This time there was something akin to excitement in it. “Let me try it. It’s going to be a little weird, so don’t freak out.”

  Weird was the right word for it. Just moments after she said it, the scene in front of me changed. I was still in the same place, but I was looking at a different girl now. One that looked like Lillith, although with different hair. Not to mention some bruising and what appeared to be dried blood in her hairline. I lifted my arm to move it and watched the girl on the bed make the same motion. “Is that me?”

  “Yeah,” Lillith answered. I felt a snap in my head and the world righted itself again. I was me again, looking back at her. “That’s how we talked when they had me in that awful place. I can see through your eyes, you can see through mine. We can even think our thoughts to each other when we try. It’s the only thing that kept me from going crazy in there. It gave me hope that you were really coming to get me out. And you did.”

  I dropped my head back into the pillow and sighed. Rhydian had said abilities, but I hadn’t pictured anything like that. I was thinking it was something more like advanced math skills or fighting abilities. This was like magic. Powers. Again, I was struck with the realization that I was somehow living in a fairytale.

  Even accepting that things like that were real left me exhausted.

  “I’m going to let you get some sleep,” Lillith said. “I’ll be back later. If you need anything, tell someone to come get me. Or just think about me and see if you can make the connection. I’ll come right over.”

  I nodded and she left.

  Nothing made sense. It was all so much. I wanted to just get up and leave. Run away from it all. To go somewhere where I wouldn’t have all of these people who knew me when I had no idea who they were in return. That would require moving, though, and I still hurt too bad to want to do that.

  So I did the next best thing. Sinking into my pillow, I closed my eyes. Hopefully I would get lucky and a little sleep would fix everything.

  CHAPTER THREE

  RHYDIAN

  Lillith left a few minutes ago, but I still couldn't make myself go anywhere. Not past these steps that I’d planted myself on.

  The sun was starting to come up now, and all of the hovercrafts had returned after their final trip. There were so many new people. Things were never going to be the same around here.

  “I’ve strengthened the wards,” Orson’s voice said. I looked up to see him standing just a few feet away. I hadn’t even heard him walk up. I really must be out of it. “Stassa and her people will be leaving within the hour. She offered to take any of the new arrivals that wanted to go to Hafan. Close to two dozen will be leaving with them. People who already have family there or those who really want to be far from Eden.”

  I nodded. That would actually help things greatly. We had no idea how many more people would be coming in over the next few days. Even with the amount we currently had staying here, people were likely going to end up having to share housing until new ones could be built.

  “I’ve gone over the basics with the new people,” he went on. “The rules. Punishments for those who violate. We’ll have a meeting after breakfast to handle the rest. I also want to make sure that our people know to be more on guard until we can be certain no one who came in did so with the desire to harm us.”

  “That will be easier when Leeya gets to the point where she’s up and moving around,” I said. “None of the new people should know about her abilities. It will prevent people from actually feeling interrogated.”

  Orson looked back at the clinic, but he didn’t ask. Noella had filled him in on the basics. I had a feeling he was still moving with caution around me. Afraid I was going to actually go after him because of this. I hadn’t entirely shelved the idea.

  He turned and left without another word. People were moving in and out of the dining hall now. The new arrivals mixed with our Alkwin members. Talking and getting to know each other before breakfast was served. I looked down at my watch. That was actually supposed to start around now. How was it already breakfast time? I wanted to say that it didn’t feel like I had been awake for twenty-eight hours, but it actually did. My body was worn out. That was nothing compared to my head. I wanted nothing more than to curl up in bed with Leeya and sleep the rest of the day away. Something I knew wasn’t going to happen.

  I let my eyes move over camp as the sunlight stretched over it. There was a small group of people gathered around something. Alkwin people. I actually wondered for a moment if it was my brother grabbing their attention until I saw a flash of red hair.

  Something about it left me unable to look away. Maybe the color, or the way that it curled. I couldn't stop staring, wondering who it belonged to. Then the crowd parted enough that I saw the face that went along with it. The girl that made my heart stop.

  It wasn’t possible.

  As if everything I was already dealing with wasn’t enough, I felt a new wave of emotions slam into me. Old ones, ones that I had thought long gone. But they came flooding back like no time had passed at all.

  And not just emotions. Memories. Her red hair wrapped around my finger. The way she would smile at me when she caught me looking at her. Then that night in Eden. The last time I had seen her.

  It took a moment, then her gaze moved and met mine. That smile. The same one she always had for me.

  I stood when she said something to the crowd before starting toward me. I couldn't move. Didn’t get any closer. Just waited for her to reach me.

  She looked so happy to see me. Her pale brown eyes shined, that smile not leaving her face for a moment. It was smaller, more like a secretive one, but it was still there. Seeing it, seeing how happy she was, made me feel guilty. Guilty for everything that had happened. Guilty because I was actually happy to see her too. It was confusing.

  “Rhydian,” she gasped, not slowing before she reached me and threw her arms around my neck. Hugging me tightly.

  “How are you here?” I asked. I hugged her back, but not to the same degree. I couldn't. I couldn’t even believe she was standing here in front of me. “I saw the Sentry grab you. I heard the shot.”

  She let go, but her hands stayed on my arms. Like she was holding me in place. Ready to hug me again at the first chance. Or maybe just needing to feel that I was real. I knew that feeling. It honestly felt like I was looking back at a ghost. Someone I had been certain had been dead for years.

  “It was just a warning shot,” she answered. “To get me to stop fighting. Then they took me to that place.” She let out a breath and smiled even wider. “I never thought I’d see you again.”

  I took a step back, bumping into the steps I’d just risen from, and tucked my hands into my pockets.

  “I went over what I would say to you thousands of times in my head,” Maizie said sweetly. “Now I can’t seem to remember any of it.”

  I nodded, but I couldn't think of anything to say to her. I didn’t know how I was supposed to feel about this. How to even deal with the fact that she was here after all these years. Alive. This girl from my past. This girl who acted like she wanted to reconnect with me while my fiancé was just feet away and couldn't remember me at all.

  Maizie’s smile began to fall away as she studied me. Hurt started to touch her eyes. This clearly hadn’t been the welcome she had been expecting.

  “I’m sorry for what I said to you back then,” she said cautiously. Like she believed my reaction was from anger I was still feeling. “I was mad, and it was stupid. I never should have ended things with you just because you didn’t agree with me. I think I even knew it then. I was just too stubborn to tell you.”

  “It was a long time ago,” I said, my throat dry as it came out. “We were kids. Don’t worry about it.”

  She nodded, relieved by my response. She bit down on her lower lip, smiling shyly. “So, how have you been?” As she said it, her eyes moved to my hand. My left hand. She c
ouldn't see it with it tucked into my pocket, but I knew what she was looking for. A ring.

  My chest tightened, and my eyes moved instinctively back to the clinic door. To the woman that she was wondering if I had replaced her with. I didn’t think I should tell her. Three years she had spent in that place. While I what? Gave myself to someone else in the way that I’d only done with her before? No, even more than that. How was I supposed to tell her about Leeya?

  “You look worried,” she said, seeing through my walls as easily now as she had ever been able to. Or maybe I just wasn’t doing a very good job of hiding it. “I heard some of the people talking about one of the Healers getting hurt. Is that what’s going on in there?”

  “Yeah,” I answered. “Dex threw a bomb at us. She got caught in the blast.”

  “And you two are close?” she asked, tighter now. Giving me the perfect opening to tell her the truth.

  “These are my people, Maizie,” I countered without thinking. The answer made my insides twist, guilt hitting me again. Why had I made Leeya sound like just another person?

  “Sorry, I need to give an update to Orson,” I said, motioning to the dining hall. “And breakfast is starting.”

  She nodded and started to say something, but I didn’t wait. There wasn’t anything I actually needed to tell Orson. I just needed space to figure this all out. To sort through all of this and decide what it was I was actually supposed to do with this situation.

  Gryffin was sitting at a table not far from the door when I walked in. I was actually surprised to see him by himself, although not disappointed. I moved through the line quickly and grabbed my plate, then walked over to join him.

  “How’s Leeya?” he asked, watching as I sat down. “She really doesn’t remember anything?”

  Groaning, I stabbed my fork into the eggs and shoved them into my mouth. I still couldn't wrap my head around that. I had been so concerned about her body being too injured. Never had I considered the problem could be with her mind. That she would wake up and everything we had been through would just be gone. Leaving me to feel like my entire world was falling apart.

  “I was so worried about losing her,” I admitted, not really caring if it made me look weak. This was my brother. The one person aside from Leeya I actually felt like I could admit such things to. “I guess I did.”

  Gryffin shook his head like he wasn’t convinced. “From what I saw before the blast, she’s one hell of a girl. Strong. Did you really teach her to fight like that?”

  I laughed. It felt good. “Yeah. It’s all she really did before we left for Eden. I’ve never seen anyone pick it up the way she has. Hopefully getting her back out on the training field will help her remember things.”

  Movement in the corner of my eye made me turn. When I looked over, I was actually glad to see Lamont standing there. Not just because he was, in fact, standing. Things in Eden had changed the way I saw him. I liked him. I trusted him. I was also glad to see the girl standing at his side. There was no need to ask who she was.

  “Good morning,” he said, bowing his head like he always did with me. “How’s Leeya?”

  I nodded. “Physically, she’s okay.”

  He looked concerned, knowing there was more I wasn’t saying. If Gryffin already knew, I was sure word was getting around. People being told what state she was in. Thankfully, he didn’t push me on it.

  “I want to thank both of you,” he stated. “And Leeya when she’s up to seeing people. She got Stazie out of there, and your speech was the only reason we made it out of the city.”

  Gryffin nodded.

  “I should be thanking you,” I told him. “You didn’t have to cover me from the blast like that. You didn’t have to come back for me in the first place.”

  Lamont shrugged like he had done nothing more than offer a helping hand. “I made Leeya a promise. And like I said, I’m loyal to the royal family. That’s the three of you, not Dex. Others will feel the same.”

  He smiled with confidence, bowed again, then took his leave.

  “He looks familiar,” Gryffin said, watching him go before facing me again. “What’s his story?”

  “He used to be a Sentry stationed in the palace,” I said, explaining why Gryffin would have recognized him. “Then he snuck into camp and tried to kill me. Leeya knocked him out. Our sweet sister actually won him over, along with Leeya being able to give him information about Stazie from Lillith. He’s proven to be a good ally.”

  My brother looked at me like he thought I was joking for a moment, then shook his head and collected the last of his food on his fork. “How long before we get reports from the city?”

  “Mid-day. I don’t like the way we left it. A lot of people are going to end up getting hurt.”

  “Maybe we’ll get lucky and they’ll overthrow Dex.”

  I thought about it, but I didn’t really see it as a possibility. Dex had the power to punish anyone who tried. He had the backing of the council behind him, and a group of Sentry that apparently didn’t have any problem with the steps he took. Even if the majority of the citizens were actually backing us, I had a feeling they wouldn’t attempt anything big. Not before we went in to start it.

  The next person to walk over wasn’t a surprise. Orson.

  I decided after watching several people eyeing my brother with a mix of intrigue and hero worship that they were too afraid to approach him. Like the great prince of Eden would be above wanting to converse with the citizens. That was laughable to me. While Gryffin obviously wasn’t as removed as I was from the royal life, our father had never raised us to see ourselves as separated or better than the citizens.

  “Prince Gryffin,” he said, bowing his head to my brother. That was amusing too. I think he had done it to me once, right after I arrived in Alkwin. Then it was decided that we wouldn’t tell people who didn’t need to know who I was. After that I was just Rhydian. Not a prince. Just another member of the camp. “We haven’t actually been introduced. I’m Orson Blaker.”

  “Leader of Alkwin,” Gryffin finished, then offered Orson his hand. “Thank you for coming to the rescue.”

  Orson nodded and looked around at the crowded dining hall. With Stassa’s people still here, the room felt overcrowded. I didn’t see that getting any better with the numbers we were anticipating to come.

  “Faida is working on putting together a registration sheet for all of our new members,” he said. “We’ll be taking a record of everyone, along with Tainted status and their vocations in the city.”

  “We’re going to need to get started on a new garden,” I added. “We’ll also need to increase our number of chickens, and we should get a hunting party out in the woods before the temperature drops even more. The meat we have in storage won’t last us the winter.”

  “I have a request out to our people in the city to have supplies smuggled out. I don’t think we’ll be facing the normal difficulties there,” Orson stated. “Especially if people are banding together the way you said they were.”

  I looked back out at the crowded room, hoping he was right on that point. Most of these people didn’t arrive with anything more than the clothes on their backs. While we did have some clothes in various sizes that were passed around the community when they were available, it wasn’t nearly enough for what we needed. Our typical small deliveries from Eden wouldn’t cut it. Not with winter coming.

  “I told Harun we would have people out every morning at the archway,” I told him. “I informed the Sentry at the wall not to let anyone out who didn’t display their abilities or was with someone who did. That’s not going to stop Dex’s people from getting out other ways. We also can’t count on them to hold the wall for long. If Tainted are going to come out of Eden, I expect it to be today. Tomorrow at the latest. After that, we should have a better idea of what we’ll need to get us through the winter.”

  Hopefully the people who did come out would also have supplies for us. Citizens who wanted to support us would likel
y be looking for ways to do it. Ones that wouldn’t put them at risk of being punished. That would be the best option.

  Gryffin pushed his empty plate away and straightened his shoulders. I smirked, remembering how he would do that exact thing every time he wanted to announce some great idea of his to the family. I hadn’t actually thought I’d miss seeing it.

  “I can get a group together to start on the garden,” he declared. “I’ll get that Paxton guy to help. He looks like a Grower.”

  “Find a man named Nevin,” I told him. “He knows where we were planning on building a second one. He’ll also be able to get you the plans.”

  “Paxton as in Meltzer’s kid?” Orson cut in, looking at me questioningly.

  That actually got my brother’s attention too. He knew who Othman Meltzer was. The Sentry Councilman. Someone that none of us would question when it came to his loyalty sitting with Dex.