The Argent Star

by Emerson Fray

  Chapter 17

  Ren stood beside Elian and watched as Maks was set into the ground. The people of Novae were going to construct a royal tomb for him later, since they couldn’t wait any longer to put him to rest. Ren didn’t think Maks would rest knowing he was being buried on a planet, and not in space.

  No matter how much she or Elian begged, the Monarchy refused to let them give him an Admiral’s goodbye. Maks should have been sent into the nearest black hole, discovering the unknown in his afterlife, rather than being put into the ground. She stared down at his wooden casket, refusing to cry. Maks wouldn’t have wanted that.

  And he certainly wouldn’t have ordered Ross’s execution, or wanted Garret to be here. After she’d explained to Elian most of what had happened in the forest, and that she believed Abetha was innocent, he’d calmed down. He had put Ross in prison, or at least the closest one he could get on Novae, until they had more evidence he was involved in the assassination. Abetha was allowed to see him and had yet to look at Elian with that puppy-dog gaze since they’d gotten back.

  Ren looked over at the Advisor, saw his feigned sadness over the loss of a King, and couldn’t help but ask questions. All her life she’d thought the Monarchy was doing their best to help her and her family…but they weren’t. Maybe it had started like that, but even she knew that Maks wasn’t doing what they wanted.

  It wasn’t the rebels that had killed Maks and even though she didn’t have any proof, she knew that was the truth. Ren sucked in a breath, drawing Elian’s attention. He misunderstood, and wrapped an arm around his sister’s shoulders to comfort her. She shrugged him off and turned, heading towards the tree line. Nobody tried to stop her.

  “This isn’t right,” she murmured to herself.

  She leaned against a tree, far too calm for her liking, and stared at Garret. This wasn’t like her, she didn’t question the present very often, and when she did it never had to do with the Monarchy. But the longer she thought about it, the more she stared at the Advisor, the more she knew it to be true.

  Garret stepped closer to Elian and placed a hand on his shoulder. Elian shrugged it off, and even though she couldn’t hear what they were saying, she knew what Garret was asking. Novae needed a leader, and Elian was the eldest son. Of course he had never even considered asking Ren to step up.

  “A planet like Novae requires a King,” Garret had said, “not a Queen. The people would not follow a woman so easily, and right now they need peace of mind with the rebels attacking so boldly. So Elian was appointed King in your stead.”

  Abetha’s hands had been shaking in the dim light of sunset. Ren knew she was resisting the urge to wrap her hands around Garret’s neck; Ren had been doing the same. The veranda was so cold, she tried to rub some warmth into her arms but it was no use.

  “I don’t want to be King,” Elian had said. “I want to find everyone involved in killing my father.”

  Even now, Ren didn’t know if telling Elian the truth about the rebels would be the best thing. If he knew then he would surely fight against the Monarchy as Maks had; and then he would end up in the same place. Ren hugged herself tighter.

  “It’s dangerous to stay on the edges of society,” Sheridan said. She’d been keeping her distance as well, guarding Ren from afar rather than close. Garret was still suspicious of how Sheridan managed to save Ren when an army couldn’t even find her. That was the lie they’d told him.

  “You’re the one that needs to be careful,” Ren said. “If you keep leaving like that Garret will kill you next.”

  Sheridan’s eyes drifted to the advisor. “You don’t believe the rebels are behind it?”

  Ren whirled. “You know the truth. They killed Maks because they couldn’t control him. What if they do the same to Elian?”

  Sheridan looked to the ground. “Maybe you should talk to Abetha about her offer.”

  Still holding in her tears, Ren’s throat felt like it had swelled four sizes. But she still managed to croak, “Offer?”

  “There are stories of monsters in the Undercurrent,” Sheridan continued, “but I don’t think that’s all it houses. If one was to discover the truth about Novae—it would be there.”

  “I thought you didn’t believe in that.”

  “Most of the time I don’t know what to believe,” Sheridan replied.

  “I don’t think they’ll want me anymore,” Ren said, her hopes sinking. “Not after what we did.”

  “You are not the Monarchy,” Sheridan argued. “They can see that; they saw that as soon as you arrived.”

  Ren let out a desperate laugh. “And how do you know that?”

  “Because I saw it, too.”

  She blinked, looking up at Sheridan. She didn’t comment on how small her chances were at finding a solution, or even that she thought Abetha wouldn’t talk to her. She only said, “I need to find her.”

  Sheridan began to lead the way.

  Hidden within her family’s inn, Ren found Abetha cooking. It was calm and practiced, much like when Ren had promised her that Ross would be okay. It had felt like years had passed, when in reality it had been days.

  “Princess,” Abetha said, her tone tipped with ice.

  “I’m not going to play around,” Ren declared. “I want in.”

  Abetha stirred something sweet smelling on a wood burning stove a moment before glancing over her shoulder. Her eyes were a little red, and she almost looked bored. Ren thought that must be how she dealt with stress, with apathy and private tears.

  “Let’s talk elsewhere,” Abetha said. She tapped a wooden spoon against the pot before setting it on the counter. Wiping her hands on her apron, Ren noticed that she was wearing pants rather than her usual cotton dress, the rebel in her leaking out. She still had a slight limp from her injury.

  Abetha led them upstairs to a veranda. It wasn’t nearly as big as the one Ren had attached to her room but it was still warm and homey. And on the edge Ren caught the glimmer of a field.

  “Should you activate that here?” Ren asked, not very surprised by its presence. She was beginning to become desensitized by this planet, and all of its twists and turns were predictably unpredictable.

  “It’s small,” Abetha sighed, “and doesn’t draw much power. Now, let’s talk.”

  “I want in,” Ren said. She paused and added, “To the society.”

  “You don’t even know what the society is called,” Abetha argued, suddenly disinterested in helping Ren. “Why do you want in?”

  “To help,” she explained. “To help Ross and the rest of Novae. To make sure that Garret is brought down.” She couldn’t say “to bring down the Monarchy”, even under the illusion of safety in the field.

  “You think they can help?”

  With a deep breath Ren agreed. “In all of history there have been legends of secret societies, and they always have a part in something. I know that things haven’t been proven, and it’s impossible to prove anything now, but I know what I believe.” When Abetha tried to look out over the trees behind the inn Ren grabbed her arm and spun her back around. “And I believe that this is right.”

  Abetha blinked, her mouth forming a small “o”. Behind Ren Sheridan was smiling, she caught a flicker of Sheridan’s reflection as the EM field began to fall down. She ignored it, and made sure to keep contact with Abetha.

  “You need to be invited,” Abetha stated, pulling out of Ren’s grip. “And just because you’re invited doesn’t mean that you can join. You need to Rush it.”

  “Rush it?” Sheridan asked.

  “Those only take place once a year,” Ren said, remembering how often she was invited to Rush sororities back on Earth. She’d never actually gone to one, but she got the same invitations year after year. They would let anyone in with such a small population.

  “There’s one coming up,” Abetha admitted. “That was why I told you about it. Although I didn’t expect�
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  “For me to say yes?”

  “For the King to be killed, and for Ross to be blamed.” She swallowed and looked out over the trees again. “It’s tonight.”

  Ren flinched. “Tonight? But I haven’t even been invited or—did you invite me?”

  Abetha shook her head. “I’m not allowed to invite others yet, but I can suggest you. An elder would still need to send you the letter…have you gotten one?” She didn’t sound even the slightest bit hopeful.

  Ren shook her head.

  Abetha sighed. “Then you’ll have to go to dinner tonight, and hope a letter arrives by the end.”

  “What dinner?”

  “There’s a dinner held before the Rush,” Abetha explained. “You could use it to show them you want to help; you’ll be my guest. Members are allowed to bring a guest of their choice.”

  “I’ll do it,” Ren said. “I won’t let them get away with it.”

  Abetha searched Ren’s eyes, as if wondering if that was the truth. For all the times Ren questioned if she could trust Abetha, she hadn’t imagined it could be the other way around. But now that was obviously the case. Despite her worries Abetha said, “Come back in an hour; wear something…formal. And I’m sorry but Sheridan cannot join us this time.”

  “Why?” Sheridan asked. “If anything happens then—”

  “I’ll be fine,” Ren interrupted. She felt energized to be there, and there was no doubt in her mind that she wouldn’t get the chance to Rush the society. How could they say no to the Princess, their one “in” against the Monarchy?

  “Ren,” Sheridan growled, a single low syllable giving her chills. “They’re rebels, like Kian.”

  Abetha took one step towards Sheridan and lifted her hand, slapping Sheridan hard across the cheek. Sheridan hadn’t even attempted to block to attack, and seemed too surprised to retaliate. Although even if she’d seen it coming Ren knew she wouldn’t strike Abetha back.

  “They are not rebels,” Abetha said, her own voice sounding like a growl now.

  Sheridan and Ren stood in shock.

  “The Sisterhood of the Jade Dagger has been working within Novae for centuries, planning and ensuring the planet is taken care of outside of the reach of men.” Abetha held her nose in the air. Sheridan arched her brows and pressed a hand to her cheek, mouth falling open slightly.

  Neither Ren nor Sheridan had any idea Abetha could be so spiteful, and Ren told herself that it was only because of the situation.

  “It’s going to be okay,” came a voice. The three turned to find Annoya opening the glass doors, one hand holding her belly. “She didn’t mean it like that.”

  Sheridan didn’t correct her. Annoya smiled kindly at Ren and Sheridan. “You should hurry to the manor to change—they don’t encourage tardiness.”

  Taking another look between the sisters Ren left with Sheridan. Neither of them could say anything, and Ren saw a small red mark forming on Sheridan’s cheek. She felt compelled to defend Abetha, to blame it all on her emotions and the insane situation but couldn’t.

  “I’ll be safe,” Ren said as they walked. “I’ll be careful.”

  Sheridan didn’t seem to believe her, but didn’t bother to fight her on the issue. It made her wonder if Sheridan was planning something herself, and Ren prayed she wasn’t.

  If the society had that much spite towards men and probably the Monarchy as well, Ren knew that they wouldn’t tolerate an extra guest at dinner. Princess or not.