Page 126 of Kingdom of Tomorrow
Oh, we were going to get separated all right. “The last time you said something like this, we were separated minutes later,” I reminded him. My way of preparing him for what was to come.
“Trust me.” He kissed my lips and smiled. “You’re ready.” A statement, not a question.
“I’m not. Not yet,” I told him, preparing my ring. Wasting no time, I struck.
He caught my wrist, his smile widening. “I read the future, remember?”
“Yeah, but only some of it,” I grumbled. I’d had to take a chance.
“I’m doing this, whatever the consequences. You are a priority to me, and I will never again give you a reason to doubt it.” With that, he reached for the door.
“Wait!” I tugged, stopping him. “It’s pitch black out there. We need a source of light.”
He craned his neck to wink at me over his shoulder. “We are the light.”
Opening the door, he rendered any objection from me obsolete. Determined, I followed him into the unknown. Goose bumps spread over my limbs as screams and howls sounded in the distance. Still we continued forward.
The second the thick cloak of darkness fully encompassed us, a shocking heat sparked deep in my chest. Fronds of warmth radiated from me, seemingly pulled out by my companion. He produced a soft golden light as peaceful and calming as the library itself.
“I want to glow like that,” I said, awed.
“You already are,” he said, and I gasped.
A bright light flickered over my skin. “We’re like pritis,” I breathed out.
“That’s because we produce pritis. But that’s a story for another day. Incoming.”
What did he mean,we produce pritis? Movement snagged my attention. I stiffened as a group of maddened approached, snarling and swiping at us but always stopping just short of contact.
Fear attempted a surprise attack, swooping in, but I resisted. Cyrus wasn’t afraid, and he knew more about the situation than I did, so why should I let panic rule my thoughts? “This is awesome. Did you not light up to reach the Rock after I netted you?”
“I couldn’t. I was with the king’s men. They wouldn’t have seen the light, but they would have noticed how the feeders avoided touching me. My father doesn’t know I’m Soalian. Just assumes I’ve lost my mind for you. A truth I can’t deny.”
I smiled inside.
We made it to the Fork without incident, entering the lobby. A much ritzier place than Mom had ever lived. A knight patrolled the area.
“High Prince Dolion,” the guy said, saluting.
Ring time. Except, Cyrus unsheathed a gun and shot him. The guy collapsed, unmoving.
“Pegged him with a sedative,” Cyrus told me. “He’ll wake up in a few hours.”
As we rode the elevator to the proper floor, I told him, “I’m assuming we’re shooting my mother’s guard, too, then collecting her and racing to the Rock. Unless you’ve got a better idea.”
“Just follow my lead, and we’ll get to where we need to be, when we need to be there.”
The cart stopped, and the doors opened. I halfway expected Tagin to have soldiers waiting for us, but no. The hall was empty. We keyed into the designated apartment, and Cyrus entered first. We checkedevery inch, but Mom and her “protector” were nowhere to be found. Fear tried again to invade.
“Let’s try the commons,” he said, and I agreed. Many people chose to gather together inside their buildings, even at times of great risk. Something I’d never understood. “From what I read, at least one other person was with her.”
“All right.” It wasn’t a place my mother usually visited, but maybe she’d taken my advice and made friends during my absence.
We took the elevator to a higher floor. I exited first, with Cyrus directly behind me. Around fifty adults congregated in the area. Some were eating, others shopping, while most occupied the bar section, playing an array of games. I scanned ... there! Mom sat in the food court with two other women.
At the sight of her, my chest clenched. Tension etched her face, and she’d lost weight she couldn’t afford to lose, no doubt due to worry for my safety.
Oh, how I’d missed her. The guard was ... hmmm. Frowning, I expanded my search. Finally I spotted him in the shadows behind her. A big burly man with enough muscles to bench-press an entire city and a scowl that proclaimedI kill for fun.
