Page 39 of Kingdom of Tomorrow
Oh, thank goodness. “Start relaxing, baby, because my assignment is completed.”
“Life is worth living again!” Cheering, she threw her arms around me. As we hustled down the hall, she told me, “I have hada day. All I want to do is go to our room and teach you hand signals.” She lowered her volume and leaned into me. “There’s so much I wanna tell you but can’t. Not out loud. Just know you won’t believe half the things I’ve overheard and seen.”
Oooh, I must find out! We made the journey to our room without incident. The only teammate we encountered was Jericho, who lounged inside the cell beside ours, tossing a ball at the ceiling. He was too absorbed in his task to notice us. The other soldiers must be in the commons, socializing. How they found the energy I might never know.
As Mykal regaled me with stories she wasn’t afraid to voice, tales of fetching and carrying, and the snobbiness of the boss’s maybe, maybe-not girlfriend, Nova Soti, she taught me signs for each letter in the alphabet, as well as two key signals I “must know.”Help meandkiss me.
I snorted. “I’m not asking Shiloh to kiss me while he’s on duty.” But I was excited to tell him about the lemonade.
“Are you sure? Because I heard about your upcoming date. And I couldn’t be happier for you.” She hooked a lock of hair behind her ear. “He’s an amazing guy.”
Agreed. “So, tell me aboutyourguy,” I said, shining the spotlight on her. “Mr. Mystery.”
Her expression turned dreamy. “He’s absolutely, utterly perfect.” She threw herself flat upon the mattress, giggling like a schoolgirl. “He’s in the military too. A knight. Like you and Shiloh, we have Thursday off. I’ll get to see him.”
“How did you meet?”
“He lives in my building. But don’t tell Shiloh. Or Roman. Or anyone!”
“Your secrets are safe with me.” I meant that. I was a vault.
The automated voice sounded over the PA system, announcing the approach of curfew. Our conversation ended as teammates returned, filing into their rooms. Mykal yawned, spurring me to yawn as I trudged to my bed. We secured our shackles as the cell door closed, and she was snoring softly only seconds later.
The trials of the day caught up with me. From the magnitude of what I’d learned about the Madness to the enormity of the expectations assigned to me. Plus, my knuckles throbbed, thanks to my incredible bravery with the high prince. Hey, a girl had to take her victories where she could. But I couldn’t sleep. I merely tossed and turned.
Again and again, my thoughts veered to the HP, three descriptions coming to mind:enigmatic,unwavering, andsmart. Okay, so, a fourth word attempted to assert itself.Sexy.I disregarded it, considering it had no bearing on the situation.
How would he react to my “list” of fears? Predicting his responses wasn’t in my wheelhouse. What if he regretted his leniency with me?
By the time the morning alarm went off, I’d worked myself into a lather. I lumbered to my feet with a series of groans. My eyes burned, and my muscles screamed in protest. But with Mykal as my cheerleader, I made it to the locker room, where I showered and dressed in clean fatigues.
In the gym, Shiloh waited at the side with another medic. He glared at the floor, angry. Oh, no. Had he gotten in trouble for aiding me yesterday?
Determined to find out, I moved toward him, only to halt when High Prince Dolion marched in. My nervous system kicked into hyperdrive at the sight of him. He hadn’t shaved, and his clothes were torn and wrinkled.
“Line up,” he snapped. Uh-oh. He was in a mood too.
Everyone rushed to obey. He stopped in front of the clear office, uncapped a marker, and wrote on the wall in big black letters,Today we are working on:
I swiped my tongue over my lips. Beneath those words, he hung my note.Everything.
Chapter Eleven
There is only one battle, and it is between good and evil.
—The Book of Soal2.10.6.12
“Apparentlyeverythingincludes death by exhaustion,” Roman muttered as the entire team hobbled to our rooms. Others groaned in agreement, me among them.
Warm-up involved being stalked by hordes of feeder holograms. In self-defense class, we were pitted against machines that projected holograms of ourselves and left battered. Drills included practicing what we’d learned yesterday in bouts of hand-to-hand combat. Afterward, the HP appropriated everyone’s free time, not just mine, and forced us to run obstacle courses outside while knights acted as feeders, working to stop us. His version of immersion therapy, I guess.
I slogged into my cell and fell onto my mattress. Mykal was already asleep and chained.
Man, I missed my plants and the scent of earth. But I missed Mom and her encouragement more. She gave the world’s best hugs and had the most infectious laughter. No doubt she was locked inside her apartment, in desperate need of rest but too busy worrying for me to get it. How I hated that. I wanted only to make life better for her, never worse.
The barred door shut, and I clasped my shackle shut around my wrist. All night, I drifted in and out of sleep, but I never managed to doze for more than an hour. When the morning alarm sounded, I wasn’t ready.
“Guess what?” Mykal exclaimed, bounding over. She looked as bright as the sun. “It’s Shiden Day! Or do you preferAriloh?”
