Page 58 of Kingdom of Today
Shimmering golden sunlight filtered through stained glass windows that bore the same symbols carved into the Rock, spotlighting certain areas with brilliant multicolored lights. Hand-carved tables made from various types of wood displayed the most sublime treasures. Musical instruments I yearned to hear played. Vases overflowing with flowers I longed to sniff. Jewelry glittering with gemstones brighter than any I’d ever seen. Cushioned couches and chairs offered spots of relaxation under flourishing trees that grew from the floor.
Flower-heavy branches extended in every direction. People moved about in harmony with a soft melody that seeped from speakers I’d never seen. Many called greetings to Domino. The scent of clean, worn leather, sweet peaches, and creamy coconut teased my nose. My second-favorite fragrance after Cyrus’s, and yes, okay, the librarian’s.
“Where is the soil that nourishes the trees?” I’d always wondered.
“Here, everything is a type of soil.” Domino started forward, and I quickened my steps to remain at his side. “It is born of Tsuri, andheis soil. In him, we are what he is.”
A perfect explanation too vast to fully absorb in a mere moment.
Anyone we neared moved out of his way and into mine, but I ghosted right through them. And it was weird. Though I felt only a flash of warmth, I inhaled sharply each time. “May we visit Ember? I’d like to thank her in person and ask about my mom and Mykal.”
“Her quarters are restricted, but I’m currently receiving the information you seek.”
My brows drew together. “Like a download ... in your mind?”
“Yes. And no. Revelation flows through our bond to Soal. One day, you’ll be able to do the same.” He paused, slanted his head in thatway of his. “As a precaution, your mother has been assigned undercover Soalian guards who see to her protection. Mykal still roams the streets. She’s staying with a group of rebels who reject both CURED and Soal.”
Hey, it was progress. “Anything new from Victors?”
“Not at this time.” Domino led me into a small, private room with two chairs tucked into a single table, where a lamp in the shape of a swan in flight spotlighted an open tome.
Tremors of reverence slipped over me. “Mine?” I asked, hopeful.
“Mine,” he corrected, his tone deeper, almost guttural. He closed and lifted the precious book with a careful grip, then offered me a closer glimpse of the leather binding. After opening to a yellowed page, he asked, “What do you see?”
I eagerly scrutinized ... “The code.” I pursed my lips. “Am I able to decipher it?” Since we were bonded, I supposed it wasn’t outside the realm of possibility.
“Arden.” Cyrus’s voice penetrated my awareness. I heard him, but it sounded as if he called to me from a long, echoing tunnel. A soft snapping wrecked my concentration.
The library vanished. Cyrus was standing before me, and I sat upon the couch once again. He cupped my face, his thumbs grazing over my cheekbones. “Arden?”
My body had stayed behind while my spirit ventured through the library with Domino. “I’m here,” I assured him.
Our gazes met, and he searched mine, radiating concern. “What happened? You completely checked out.”
Ugh. Best to tell him now, rather than drag out the big reveal. “I’m connected to him. Rooted. To Domino. He pulled my spirit into the library while my body stayed here.”
Cyrus blinked twice. A hard, blank mask spread over his expression, reminding me of paint spilling over paper. “Not just linked but rooted,” he said with a hollow tone. He straightened, his spine like steel.
I chewed on my bottom lip. “There was no other way to survive the battle,” I rushed to explain. “Maybe it was wrong. I would hate it if youbonded with Lolli, especially if you did it without talking it over with me first. There was no other way,” I repeated. “No time.”
He ran his tongue over his teeth. “I did tell you to do whatever proved necessary to survive, and I meant it.”
The note of misery in his tone nearly became my undoing. “I don’t deserve to hear your problem with Domino, but I’m asking you to tell me anyway. Help me understand what I’m up against.”
A thousand emotions passed over his expression in an instant, but nothing stuck, the blank mask secured. “His parents worked for mine. We grew up together, were as close as brothers. Closer, really, since I have brothers, and we barely speak. After Domino joined Soal, he tried to recruit me. I turned him in. CURED took him to a rehabilitation facility, where doctors carved open his body and used him as a pritis factory until his escape. He produced a higher-wattage pritis than other glowers, so CURED wanted him back.” Guilt and shame crept into his expression and pitch. “They vowed to execute every member of his family unless he returned of his own volition. He didn’t return, and CURED kept its word.”
My chest tightened. I cupped Cyrus’s shoulder, offering comfort. “I understand. You know my worst secret. How I turned in my own mother. Rest assured, I’m not judging you,” I promised gently.
He ducked his head. “When I became Soalian, Domino ensured I comprehended the pain I had caused him in a multitude of ways.”
That ... hmm. “Revenge doesn’t sound like him.” Not what I knew of him, anyway.
“People can surprise you.” He let his head fall back and stared up at the crystal ceiling, apprehension whipping from him in increasingly agitated waves. “Rooted,” he repeated.
“We would’ve died without his aid,” I reminded him.
“I realize that. But this complicates things. You can feel him, and he can feel you, I take it.”
