Page 65 of Kingdom of Tomorrow
I should leave a mark of my own, but I didn’t even have the mental fortitude to come up with something. Although. Hmm. My gaze caught on the wordThe. Huh. The artist had placed a small bracket under theT, creating a downward-arrow effect.
Out of curiosity, I followed the arrow and found another bracket underneath a different word. That one led to another and another. Each bracketed word was spaced out, seemingly unrelated to the others, but when considered together they formed a circle, the emblem for the Tome Society—and a complete sentence.
The Kingdom of Tomorrow Comes andCuredWill Fall
Excitement dimmed, turning into irritation. Obviously, a Soalian once bunked here.
Needing calm, I freed my vial of dirt from beneath my pillow, where I’d stored it, and popped the lid. Ah. The good stuff. The scent of life itself.
“I’m here, I’m here,” Mykal cried, sailing inside the room.
Relieved to see her, I corked the vial, returned it to its hiding spot, and launched to my feet to hug her tight. “We’ve got to talk.”
“I know! I want to hear all about your travels, Theirland, everything.”
The bell rang. A second later, our door closed and locked. I returned to the bed to strap myself in, saying, “Travel hurt, Theirland sucked, but I’m hangin’ in there.” With barely a pause, I asked, “Did the HP mention me today?”
“No.” Her brow wrinkled. “Why?”
“Don’t know. He asked me if there was anything I wished to confess.” If he’d alluded to my dealings with Ember and the Tome Society, I was in big trouble. But no. He wasn’t the type to hint about that kind of thing.
“He had a busy day. Attended meeting after meeting after meeting and had an explosive argument with his dad. The walls were soundproof, but they opened the door once andoh sweet heavens. The fury! The shouting! I’m surprised they weren’t swinging. Then the HP stormed out, handed me a list of people to contact, and took off on the train, only to return a few hours later.”
Cyrus had just captured the most wanted criminal on two worlds. His father should be praising him. Unless ... the berry. “I wonder why they argued.”
“From what little I overheard, I think the king pushed for the public execution of the new prisoner and the HP fought for time to gather more information.”
There’d been no announcement, so maybe he’d won the argument.
Fast, pounding footsteps sounded from the still-bright hallway, and we both froze. A visitor at this hour?
A large shadow reached our doorway before a man stopped and gripped the bars, peering in at us.
“Shiloh?” I jolted upright, but the chain kept me from standing. He looked terrible. Dirt streaked his wrinkled clothes. His hair stuck out in blood-crusted spikes. A raw gash bisected his brow. “What happened?”
“What’s wrong?” Mykal demanded. “Who did this to you?”
His attention whipped to her, and his eyes narrowed. A cold, cruel grin cracked his lips.
My stomach curdled. No, no, no. Please no.
Never looking anywhere but his friend, he pressed his hand against the ID pad outside our cell. The door slid open. “Listen to Soal. Love Soal.”
Mykal and I cried out in unison, scrambling to make ourselves smaller targets.
Shiloh had broken, just as Amelia had, all those years ago. This was my greatest nightmare on steroids.
“Help us!” Mykal screamed, pressing herself into the corner. “Help!”
Chains rattled beyond our cell, soldiers shouting questions and pleas.
“Love Soal.” Shiloh stomped over and swung. His fist connected with her jaw, and her entire body whipped to the mattress. Though dazed, she attempted to kick him off. Laughing, he swung again. Contact. Blood sprayed from her mouth, painting the walls. “Love Soal, love Soal.”
“No!” I screamed, hot tears spilling down my cheeks. She hadn’t trained, was helpless. “Shiloh! Shiloh! Look at me. I’m right here.” The chain stretched as I extended my leg to prod him. The infection was so new; he must be in there somewhere. “This isn’t you. You’re good and kind. We make lemonade together. Remember?”
He craned his neck, meeting my gaze with a crimson-stained fist raised in midair. The cruel smile reappeared.
“Please don’t do this,” I begged.
