Page 127 of Kingdom of Tomorrow
People noticed Cyrus, and conversations tapered to silence. Eyes zoomed in his direction. Murmurs arose, many containing his title.
My mom spotted me and shrieked. “Arden!” On her feet, she hurried over and threw her arms around my shoulders.
“You shouldn’t be here.” The knight closed the distance, his concentration centered on Cyrus. “The system automatically alerted your father when you entered the building.”
Cyrus shot him without hesitation. The knight banged into a table as he fell.
Other people reacted, scrambling out of the way.
“Everything is fine,” I announced. “We’re leaving. Please, for your own good, don’t try to stop us.”
My mother’s excitement vanished, and the color in her cheeks drained. “What’s going on?”
“Come with us.” I hurried her to the elevator, Cyrus a watchman behind us, daring anyone to make a move. “Should we leave through the front or back?” I asked him as the doors closed around us.
“Arden,” my mom repeated, her voice frayed and almost as shaky as her grip. She eyed Cyrus.
“You were right. Mr. Garfield was right,” I told her. “There’s an invisible library and so much more. I’ll explain when we’re safe. Okay?”
A tear tracked down her cheek, but she nodded.
“Let’s go through the front,” Cyrus said. “Ember should have a car waiting for us. But that’s the last detail I gleaned. The remaining details were sparse.”
The elevator came to a stop. I tensed, and Cyrus readied his gun. The doors slid open and we headed for the exit.
“We can’t go out in the dark,” my mother screeched, digging in her heels.
“Mom. Mom, Mom.” I faced her and cupped her jaw. “As long as you stay near us, you’re safer outside than inside. Trust me, please.”
“You’re wrong.” She shook her head from my clasp, locks of hair slapping my wrists. “We can’t go out there. We can’t. We can’t!” Hysteria layered her voice.
I cast my gaze to Cyrus while readying my ring. “Do me a huge favor and catch.”
“What are you—” she began, attempting to back away.
I blew the powder in her face. Her eyelids slid shut and her knees buckled. Cyrus caught her as requested, then hefted her into his arms. Ignoring a tide of guilt, I sailed forward, opening the door and entering the night. Battle sounds grabbed my attention. Grunts, groans, and the clink of metal against metal. The darkness hid a raging war.
Before the heat sparked in my chest, igniting the glow and allowing me to see, pritis lights were uncovered all around, spotlighting us. I drew up short, Cyrus stopping behind me.
“Hello Arden.” Tagin Dolion’s calm baritone hit my ears, and I stiffened. “Cyrus, thank you for doing as promised and delivering the infected ladies to me. Let’s get them to treatment.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
Tell the others.
—The Book of Soal2.2.16.15
We were frisked, our weapons taken—though not Cyrus’s necklace, I noticed. A guard gave me a little push toward a fancy limousine, earning him a much stronger push from Cyrus. I climbed inside the vehicle. Cyrus entered after me and eased my sleeping mother into the spot on his other side. His father claimed the seat across from us and poured himself a glass of iced amber liquid as the guard closed the door.
Despite the man’s words, or maybe because of them, I clutched Cyrus’s hand and signed,I trust you.And I did. As if I would ever again believe a known liar over the one who’d constantly guarded my back.
He kept his attention on our adversary, but much of his tension drained.
A dark partition divided us from the driver and guard up front. We sat quietly until the sun rose on the horizon, casting muted rays of light over the landscape. The maddened who’d wandered the streets, on the prowl for helpless victims, rushed to shadowy hideaways.
Our little trio didn’t speak until we bumped along the roads, making our way ... somewhere.
“You have questions, I’m sure,” Tagin said.
