Page 121 of Kingdom of Tomorrow
Cyrus stood in the open doorway, a tower of strength despite a dozen cuts and gashes littering his face and hands. His expression remained blank, his eyes as cold and hard as steel.
He didn’t glance my way as he strode inside. “I broke from the unit searching for Arden, so my time is short. Let’s get this done.”
Chapter Thirty
You must see your victory inside before you can see your victory outside.
—The Book of Soal2.19.11.1
I remained in place, heart thumping, a thousand words tap-dancing across my mind. Only two mattered.Cyrus. Here.
Ember swept past me to claim the head of the conference table. “Sit. Please.”
As I made my way over, my weight nearly proved too much for my legs. Everyone took a seat, with Cyrus situated at Ember’s right. From my spot in the middle, I watched, agonized, as he placed two books in front of him. Shiloh sank into the chair next to me while Jericho plopped beside Cyrus.
He must hate me. After showing me only kindness and consideration, he’d asked me only for the slightest bit of trust I’d told him I’d given him. Clearly, I’d lied. Something he despised. I’d also incapacitated him, leaving him helpless against his enemy.
“Are you all right?” I rasped.
“I’m fine.” An all-too-brief statement that gave nothing away. Still he didn’t glance in my direction.
I wetted my lips with a nervous swipe of my tongue. “Cyrus, I can’t apologize enough. I—”
“There’s time for that later,” Ember interjected. “Besides, he isn’t injured because of you but himself. I told him not to venture out with a search party. But nooo, he just had to go and disobey. Be advised now. Nothing good ever comes from that. Unlike you, he had to battle numerous feeders to get here.”
Guilt seared me. Despite her reassurance, I laid the blame at my door.
“Hey, Arden,” Jericho said with a toothy grin. “How does it feel to know you’ve dated every guy in this room?”
Unfazed, I merely arched a brow. “Two of the three were gold star and I highly recommend. Care to guess my opinion of the third?”
“Sure. You can’t get over your secret crush on him, so you continue to lash out and pretend you hate him,” he quipped, far from chastised.
Cyrus slammed his hand upon the table. Everyone but Ember jumped. “Begin the meeting,” he demanded. “Please.”
“I did begin. You all interrupted.” She leaned back and crossed her arms over her chest. “Obviously, Arden and Cyrus will return to the Lux and continue with business as usual.”
Yes, but would I continue to live with Cyrus, the girlfriend monitoring his welfare for that “special” project, or go back to being a regular lady?
“You’ll keep your upcoming meeting with the king,” she continued. “But first, check your book. Judging by snippets read in the books of others, you’ll be met with great opposition. The more you know, the safer you’ll be. Also, you’ll probably learn how we rescue your mother.”
Blink. “My mother requires rescuing?”
“Oh. Right. I forgot to mention that part. Yes,” Ember said with a nod. “She’s in danger. But you have nothing to fear. I’ve been assured—”
I leaped to my feet, demanding, “Take me to her.”
Shiloh clasped my hand, drawing my attention. “Let my sister finish,” he offered gently. “AsI’velearned, you can’t win without her.”
I didn’t sit, but I did return my focus to the frowning Ember and nodded, a silent command to proceed.
“We’ll save her,” she said. “I haven’t discovered how yet, but I did read a passage about a victory party.”
Not good enough. “You actually saw her name with your own two eyes and came upon a sentence that mentioned her status?”
“Not precisely. But I spottedyourname. The brief reference revealed you were laughing, so. Tada! Proof that all ends well.”
No. No, that wasn’t proof.
