Page 123 of Kingdom of Tomorrow
“Give her a break,” Shiloh snapped. “She’s doing the best she can.”
“A break isn’t what her mother needs.” Cyrus kept his gaze glued on me as he crouched beside my chair, becoming my anchor in the storm. “Am I a liar? Do I spew falsehoods, even to spare myself trouble?”
“No, you never lie.” His nearness erased the rest of the world from my awareness. Calm, quiet strength radiated from him, enveloping me. I drank in his decadent scent. A calming fragrance I now knew originated here in Soal. “You tell the truth, dishing as many clues as you can without endangering yourself or others. It isn’t your fault when someone reacts wrongly, which they regret with every fiber of their being.” The confession left me in a rush.
“Correct.” He blinked with surprise but recovered quickly, readapting his stern demeanor as he cupped my cheeks. “Are you brave? Did you face down the emperor’s grandson to do what you perceived was right because of the damning evidence offered to you?”
I almost believed he might possibly be saying he’d already forgiven me. Almost. “Yes. I’m brave,” I boasted, gripping his wrists to hold him close to me. Uh-oh. Shiloh wilted. I tried to release Cyrus out of respect, I did; but I failed in that too. “Is there a secret to success? A hot new tip? A tried-and-true process? Am I doing something wrong?”
“Anytime you open a new book, your readiness is tested. You must be willing to do what it says, even if it seems foolish. Sometimes it’s easy to pass, sometimes it’s difficult.”
I swallowed a whimper. “But I suck at tests.”
“You’ve been acing mine.” Cyrus flashed the world’s fastest grin. “Forget everything else and simply study the seal. Let it unveil itself to you. It wants to.” He released me, forcing me to release him too. He straightened partway and gripped the edge of the table and an arm of my chair, then pivoted to tap the cover of the book. “Whatever you see or hear or feel, do not draw back in fear. Press on, and the book will open.”
Forget. Study. Press on. “Got it.” I nodded for emphasis.
Breathing deep, I homed in on certain details. The leather and its three nicks. The circle. The seven broken lines inside it, each embossed in gold.
Mom is in danger.
I squirmed in my seat.
She might die.
Gah!
“Look deeper,” Cyrus said.
My eyelids narrowed, and my gaze zeroed in on the lines. Wait. There were lines inside the lines. Something about them prodded the back of my mind. What, what?
Was that—I frowned, focusing on the tip of the center line. Yes! Another line was growing, as if a seed had been planted inside it and a sprout had just broken through the surface.
Excitement bloomed, and I snatched the book for a closer look. Suddenly, blocking out the rest of the world wasn’t difficult. The more intently I watched it, the faster the sprout grew, until it split in two and flowed over both sides of the line. Still growing. Curling around the other lines. Drawing them closer. Closer. None stopped until all were side by side, with no gaps between them. The seal spun, and whatever force had earlier prevented me from lifting the cover vanished. Giddy, I cracked open the spine.
“That’s my girl,” Cyrus said, clasping my nape. But the touch didn’t last long. He stiffened and pulled away, asking, “Does it reveal something about your past, present, or future?”
“Let’s find out.” I flipped through the first group of pages. A disclaimer. The title. “Why did you bring me this particular book?”
“When John asked me to turn him in toCured, he also instructed me to pull two specific books the day you joined the Tome Society. This one is for you, and the second is for me.”
Finally I reached the meat of the story. I read the first couple of paragraphs, my brows drawing in. I frowned. “It’s—hmm. A scene from my past. The day I agreed to attend the academy. I returned home to find my mother left work early to celebrate my acceptance into the Center or console me for my rejection.” I paused, frowned. “I’m not sure how this helps me.”
“Most likely the key to save her is in that moment of your life, so you need to read it over and over until clarity comes,” Ember explained, standing. “I have a feeling this will be a long night, so I’m going to gather snacks. Be back soon.”
The door closed behind her. Suddenly I was alone with Cyrus and Shiloh. I shifted, uncomfortable.
Cyrus wasted no time redonning his emotionless mask. He strode around the table and swiped up his book. “I’ll have a better chance of opening mine if I’m alone. I’ll learn what I can and return.” Without glancing my way, he followed Ember’s path, exiting the room.
As the door shut behind him, dejection hit.
Shiloh leaned toward me, and I cast him a small smile. He appeared south of grim. “I get that you’re under pressure and time is limited, but I also don’t want to be a burden for you tonight. So, let me resolve any possible conflict within you and remove this worry from your plate. You like him.”
My shoulders rolled in. “Yes,” I admitted softly. Cyrus was mine. I chose him. If he decided I wasn’t the one for him, so be it. But I refused to fear something so right.
Shiloh released a heavy breath. “I can’t even blame you. He’s pretty dreamy.”
“That’s what I said!”
