Page 11 of Kingdom of Today
“That statement is inaccurate. You’ve met and spoken with me. You do not know me.” He offered the rebuke without any inflection of emotion.
Well, here’s what I did know. He wasn’t just a member of the Tome Society. He was a librarian. The elite of the elite. And he now stoodonly a few feet away, here but also not here in some kind of holographic form. Which was a major problem. Cameras were everywhere, and they recorded projections the same as bodies.
He’d just blown my cover.
“Help me get out of here,” I demanded in a rush. Expecting an army to arrive any moment, I pocketed the Rock and palmed a dagger I hadn’t yet stored. A special weapon with a hole in the upper part of the blade and a small canister of CO2 hidden in the hilt. With the press of a button, I could turn a stab wound into a fatal explosion. And I would do it, too, if I had to fight my way out of Fort Bala.
“No need to worry.” Domino spoke at full volume, unconcerned by the consequences. “I created a distraction to buy us a few minutes alone. You are the only one able to see and hear me. Not even the cameras detect my presence.” He partially turned and perused the room. From the carvings on the walls, left by past trainees, to the stained concrete floor and flat ceiling. His features pinched. “I know mice with better living accommodations.”
I sheathed my weapon, relaxed my stance, and arched a brow at the librarian, a silent command for more information. His voice might not reach others, but mine certainly could, scrambled or not.
He motioned to the fragment stashed in my pocket. “With that little piece of the Rock, I have access to you, and you have access to me. In this skin, at least.”
And what was “this skin,” exactly? There was no way a hologram could gobble up so much oxygen. “I don’t understand how this is possible,” I muttered.
“You don’t understand many things,” he remarked.
I attempted to stare him down and wring a better answer out of him. He stared back. The longer we peered at each other, each too stubborn to look away, the more I felt as if I stood too close to a live wire.
Okay, so, forget winning this contest of wills. I required a reprieve. Wrenching my gaze free, I said, “I have comments and questions.” So many questions. I launched into a back-and-forth pace, just in caseanyone passed by my cell. Maybe they’d think I was mumbling to myself. “How did I ... you know?”
“Summon me?” Domino queried, and I nodded. Yep. That. “You clutched the Rock and yearned for me. I came.”
I stopped abruptly, a million butterflies taking flight in my belly. Now hold on just a sec. “I didn’t ... I would never ...”
“Yearned for Soal’s help,” he clarified. “He dispatched me to ...” Domino drew in a deep breath, as if seeking a nice way to present a hated curse. “Oversee your needs.”
Like, he had to do whatever I commanded? Well, well. What a brilliant development. I mean, what even was my life right now? I’d gone from being ready to die for CURED to being a traitor to the crown to dating Ourland’s future king, with my own personal, invisible butler-type who answered only to the god of gods.
“But why you?” I whispered, pressing for more. My specialty, thank you.
“Punishment, perhaps?” A faint, bemused glaze spread over his eyes. “To be candid, I’m not sure what I did to deserve this.”
Ouch. “That isn’t what I—never mind.” For some reason, Soal had decided I was worthy of utilizing such a rare, special resource. Gift accepted. Even though said gift wasn’t exactly thrilled.
Domino sighed as if he were the last sane man in the universe. “Tell me what it is you want, Arden.” He didn’t bother with a title. An insignificant fact I didn’t find so insignificant, but I didn’t know why.
I glanced at the cell doors, on the lookout for my guards, and whispered, “I’m desperate to read.” I really hoped he filled in the words I didn’t dare speak, even at low volume. My tale.The Book of Arden, written by Soal himself. Icraveda glimpse of my future. Instructions for the upcoming trip to Theirland. A tidbit to assist Cyrus in his dealings with Mr. Vyle. Coordinates for where an imprisoned Soalian named John Victors was being held. Something!
Victors had helped guide me to Soal’s road, and I owed him.
“I’m allowed to do many things to aid you,” Domino said, voice flat, “but that isn’t one of them. Reading sacred, coded tomes can only be done inside the library.” He anchored his arms behind his back, a teacher with an unruly student. “You must visit the Rock.”
“That’s not possible at the moment.” I couldn’t get to the Rock until my day off. Not without Cyrus at my side. While he had a legitimate reason to leave the base outside of free time, I did not.
“Another inaccurate statement. Anything is possible,” Domino corrected. “You mean it’s difficult.”
I gave himthe look. The universal expression forwhy are you like this. “You’re going to annoy me every time we’re together, butler man,” I muttered. “I can already tell.”
“The feeling is mutual, soldier girl, I assure you.” He pursed his lips. “For the record, I correct you not to scold but to serve you. Words are like your cherished seeds. Living containers able to grow and produce after themselves. Once spoken, they take root in the soil of your heart and get watered by your thoughts. What develops is a tree of life or death. The semantics you lament decide the fruit that grows—fruit youwilleat.”
He made a good point. One I’d delivered to others upon occasion. One I cultivated in my memory garden, for goodness’ sake. Today, the reminder only annoyed me further.
“In the meantime,” he continued. “There’s another glower on your team. A soldier who’s been one of us since birth, hidden within the ranks of CURED, able to help you if such a choice is made.”
I nearly tripped over my own feet mid-pace. A glower on my team, yet I hadn’t even suspected. “Who is it?”Please be Roman, please be Roman.He would be a tremendous asset. He was also someone I admired.
“That,” Domino said, “I can’t tell you without permission, which I do not have and will not request. But such interference isn’t necessary. Look inward. You are connected to the Rock, just as I am, and you now possess an inward sense. If you quiet your mind and follow theleadings of your heart, you’ll sense those who are with Soal and those who are with Astan. I’d be willing to bet you’ve already sensed the glower’s presence.”
