Page 50 of Kingdom of Tomorrow
When curfew arrived, Mykal secured her shackle as usual and gasped. “Okay, this is new.”
“What?” I asked, fastening my cuff. Oooh. “Mine’s padded.”
“Yeah. Mine too.”
Other soldiers cheered from their rooms. They must have received pads too.
I recalled the HP’s reaction to my bruises and knew. A warm sensation spread through my chest, loaded with admiration and even affection. He was responsible for this. Underneath the gruff, he was a good guy.
Things quieted down quickly throughout the ward, and Mykal drifted to sleep. I dug out my reader and dove into a study guide featuring Theirland, enlarging photos to better examine the finer details. I did my best to memorize street layouts and monuments. Not that I’d be going on patrol. Not really. But. Knowing whether or not my assigned knight took a proper route would elevate my evaluation. Plus, I’d be in a new, strange world, and I should be prepared for anything. Something could go wrong during transport. And what if the building collapsed? We’d lose our shelter. What if I got locked out inadvertently or a thousand other horrific, life-altering things?
Irrational imaginings. Yes, I comprehended that. But my understanding didn’t stop those scenarios from playing inside my mind. Trying to focus, I flipped to the next page. Whoa! The text blurred as a red circle with seven broken lines overtook the screen. I went still.
The Tome Society.
Foreboding prickled the base of my spine. Words appeared on the screen, as though someone was typing a message directly to me. Do you hunger and thirst for truth, Arden?
Ember. I had no doubts.
My grip on the device tightened. I cast a quick glance at Mykal. She slept on, undisturbed. Deep breath in. Out. I didn’t know how the Soalian had hacked into my reader, but ifCuredlearned of this, I could be blamed. Labeled a traitor.
My tremors intensified as I read the remainder of her message. Rather than trust the custodian who steals your money, imprisons you and your loved ones, and profits from your sickness, consider the supposed enemy he discredits. If your decisions don’t start lining up with your destiny, your books will be shelved with other tragedies.
Anger surged. The fact that my first reaction wasn’t a desire to toss the reader across the room but intrigue at the possibility of reading books written about my life disturbed me greatly.
I typed a response, wanting a record of my refusal in case the powers that be discovered the interaction before I confessed. You’re good at this. But sowing dissent won’t reap your desired harvest with me.Curedprotects us.
A response appeared. Denial doesn’t disprove my words.
I worked my jaw and jabbed my fingers at the keyboard. My lack of knowledge doesn’t prove you’re right either.
Another response arrived within seconds. Don’t believe me. Start digging. The enormity ofCured’s gains will shock you. Find out the true purpose of Theirland. Figure out why the Rock blooms with such sweet-smelling flowers. Learn the origin of pritis stones. Or are you too afraid to ponder simple questions because they are conveniently considered the obsession of an enemy?
I didn’t have a ready answer for her. In this, she wasn’t wrong. All my life, I’d shut down any thoughts involving the Rock or Soal as quickly as possible for the very reason she’d stated. ButCureddidn’t encourage us to fear the Rock for profit, as she’d implied. We feared the Rock because we should.
Shiloh’s voice wafted through my mind.The king pulled me aside to ask about a correlation I found between eating pieces of the Rock and drinking the liquid inside it, with recovery from the Madness. I can’t be the first to notice. The pattern is so obvious, there’s no getting around it.
The moisture in my mouth dried. Maybe ... maybe Ember planted those studies. Yes, yes. That made sense.
On the reader, new sentences replaced the old. You need the Tome Society, and we want you. Think about what I’ve said. We’ll speak again soon.
The screen blanked without any prompting from me. Heart thumping, I slid the device under my pillow and rolled to my side. For an eternity, I lay there, trying to cobble together a plan for my next steps, feeling as if I was stumbling around in the dark, trying to snatch answers from a field of questions. I should demand to speak with Cyrus now and confess what happened. Or do it later. Or not at all.
If I kept quiet, at least for a little while, I could snoop around Theirland.
Ugh. Had I really just contemplated sneaking around a military base and spying on my government, simply to answer queries posed by my enemy? Surely I wasn’t so foolish.
But maybe?
Armed with information, I could conquer every doubt Ember had fueled.
If I got caught, I’d lose everything.Momcould lose everything.
But shouldn’t a search for the truth be rewarded?
Acid seared my throat. This was a no-win situation. I should leave Fort Bala. Just grab my stuff and go home. I’d find another way to pay Mom’s back taxes. Maybe work two jobs. Three even. There’d be no more messages from the Tome Society. No more confusion.
Only the regret of not knowing.
