by Lisa Lee
“That’s seven years away,” his father said.
“I can count,” Gideon said sarcastically before taking a deep breath. “Sorry, Father, Mother, but this is all a little sudden. You’ve seen me date other girls without saying anything.”
“We knew you weren’t serious,” his mother said, looking at him sympathetically. “The only one who gave us pause was Angel.”
“And she turned out to be a demon from hell,” his father said. “The girl we have chosen will be a much better fit for you.”
“How do you know?” Gideon asked, genuinely puzzled.
“She has been trained to be a good wife to a high-ranking man,” his mother replied.
“Wait, she doesn’t go to the school we were discussing when I first got back, does she? The one mentioned by the minister of internal security?” Gideon didn’t say more because he wasn’t sure how much he could say in front of his mother.
“She attends the school you’re thinking of,” his father said before taking another sip of whiskey.
“Isn’t that a bit hypocritical? Do those girls have any say? Or is she like a robot?” Gideon asked, nauseated. He mimicked a robot, straightening his back and moving his arms straight up and down while saying in an electronic voice, “Would you like dinner, sir?”
“Enough,” his father commanded. “Act your age.”
“That was immature,” Gideon agreed. “But couldn’t you have someone put together a dossier on a bunch of genetically compatible potentials?”
“Mother is the one who directed us to her,” the king said.
“Mother?” Gideon asked, looking at his mother before realizing she was not who his father meant. “Oh, you mean Ya Ya? Don’t tell me. She had a dream?”
Gideon had meant the question sarcastically, but his father answered in the affirmative. “She dreamed of a school full of brides, and she said the school was in America in the dream.”
“That was the basis for your selection?” Gideon asked.
“We looked at a number of bios from the school, and she was the best genetic match. The girl seems nice enough. She’s been raised well, but she really doesn’t have any other good options.”
Seeing the incredulous look on her son’s face, Gideon’s mother hurriedly interrupted. “She should be here soon, next day or so.”
“What do you mean by ‘here’?” Gideon asked. “At the palace?”
“Yes,” Queen Jasmine said with a satisfied smile. “She will be our ward.”
“Wait, don’t tell me she’s going to live here,” Gideon said, aghast.
“Only for two years,” Gideon’s mother said. “Well, only for the two years that she will be educated at the palace. Then she will go to college for four years and study political science before becoming engaged to you. The wedding would be in May of the following year.”
“See, your mother has everything all planned out,” his father said. “Don’t worry.”
Gideon worried. “This plan is too convoluted. The worst that can happen if I marry someone from the island is that people will know I carry this gene. That’s it; that’s the worst. But if I marry an American, the sectors will practically revolt.”
“Then you will have seven years to build up goodwill,” the king said.
“It bothers you that much that people know that we carry the ‘white pupil’ gene?” Gideon asked.
“It happens more among poor individuals,” his father explained.
“If they had money, they wouldn’t have continued the gene.” His mother shrugged one shoulder.
Gideon shook his head, refusing to believe his parents were that vain. “What happens if I refuse? I won’t marry an islander, since you are so concerned about the defective gene, but I want to choose my own bride.”
“I can’t force you to marry her,” his father said. “But as you well know, you can’t marry without my consent.”
“I will go along with things for now,” Gideon replied. “But if we find we don’t suit each other toward the end of seven years, you have to find someone else to marry her.” Gideon held his breath as he waited for his father’s response.
“Fair enough,” his father said. Gideon felt as though he had won a huge victory.
“Just out of curiosity,” Gideon said, “what is the line of succession? It’s Gabe, then me, and then—not Amara or Aditya. But then the next male heirs would be Simon and his sons?”
“Your cousin Simon has more illegitimate than legitimate sons,” his father said. “The fighting over the crown would throw the island into chaos.”
Before his mother could respond, one of his father’s staffers appeared at the door and waited to be acknowledged. His father waved her over.
“Sir, the contact to pick up the ward says she never showed.”
His father stood up, his face a mask of displeasure. “What do you mean?”
The staffer replied, “She never met Mr. Holmes at the Heathrow Airport, sir. We have all available personnel tracking cameras and video feed.”
Queen Jasmine gasped as she grasped the implications.
The king stood and looked at Gideon and the queen. “Excuse me. We’ll need to continue this conversation later.”
Gideon thought about the earlier conversation he had overheard. “If I may have a minute, Father.”
“Yes,” the king responded, clearly impatient.
Gideon looked at the staffer, whose lips tightened as she understood that Gideon wanted her to leave. She quickly bowed at her waist and exited.
“Gideon, what is it? I have to go handle this situation,” his father said, walking toward the door and indicating that Gideon should walk with him.
“Could she be at The Glass House?” Gideon asked.
At his father’s surprised look, Gideon hurried to say, “I overhead your chief of staff talking with someone, saying the package had been redirected to The Glass House.”
The two men looked at each other as they stood at the door. “He wouldn’t,” Gideon’s father said.
“I’m not sure,” Gideon responded. “With all the changes for Sector 16, maybe he feels she gives him some sort of leverage?”
The king’s face hardened. “Let’s see what is being delivered to The Glass House. If it’s the girl, I need her extracted and brought here.”
“I can handle it,” Gideon said.
His father stared at him before saying, “Yes, I think you can. Do you need assistance from the U.K.?”
“I planned to use the captain and his special operations team, but it would be helpful to have U.K.’s assistance,” Gideon replied. “The Glass House is in their country.”
“I’ll arrange it quietly,” his father said.
“I’ll need a picture and details on her arrangements,” Gideon said. “Can you have that information sent electronically?”
“Consider it done,” his father replied.
Gideon nodded to both his parents, gathered up James and Luke and three other royal guard members, and was in the air in half an hour. The supersonic jet was kept ready for emergencies. The captain and his team would meet up with them in the U.K.
A few minutes later, he opened his notepad and stared at the image that appeared. It was the knitting girl, the girl from his dreams. This time she looked directly at him.
THIRTEEN
Eden, Rescue Me
Less than seven hours after I left Mr. Holt, I was being driven on a narrow road hemmed in on both sides by tall, overarching trees illuminated by white headlights that made them look almost sinister against the palpable darkness. The blackened trunks of the trees were thick with age, but every once and a while, the headlights showed the slender bending rail of a new tree that had taken root.
There were two cars in front and two cars behind me, so we were a small caravan. Mr. Holmes indicated that we would stay overnight at something called The Glass House and then fly out to Seahorse Island in a day or two.
The wind blew around us with light gusts so th
at crinkly autumn leaves rustled past the sleek cars, sounding abnormally loud on the quiet road. Still, no matter the gentle rustling, I imagined the wind as just temporarily restrained, like a child taking a breather before the next tantrum. The wind even smelled different, carrying scents still strange to me.
I was in a foreign country before I traveled to another foreign country to meet my fiancé, a man with whom I had never met or spoken. I was in no great rush to meet him. I was marrying him because I had no other options. Why he wanted to marry me, I had no idea.
A mere two days ago, I thought I had time to figure it all out, but now I found myself traveling on a road far from any home I had ever known. I missed my friends: Kaitlyn, Bethany, Annalise, and Jaelle. I prayed for their safety and hoped Mr. Holt would get word to me about them soon. I wondered if the girls who set the fire that night were in prison.
I shook my head and tried to calm myself. Relief, however, remained elusive. The thick darkness of night pressed heavily against the sleek, dark car, and the adrenaline that had accompanied me thus far rapidly dissipated.
My hands trembled slightly, and I clasped them together. I hadn’t had a restful sleep in a while, so my right eye was furiously ticking as it was wont to do when I was tired. My stomach muscles clenched almost painfully, feeding more off nerves than food. More disturbing was the mushrooming headache that threatened my resolve to avoid crying.
I was on the verge of asking the driver to stop so I could step out of the car and attempt to take a breath that wasn’t too shallow or panicky, but then the heavy press of trees began to noticeably thin. The driver started a tuneless whistle. A short time later, we finally left the trees altogether, and I gasped in surprise.
It was as if in an instant I left Hades’s dark forest and floated into a more beautiful world. A full moon hung swollen and round, dressed in gauzy clouds drifting dreamily against an immense sheet of night sky adorned with sparkling stars. If only I could crawl out of the car and lie down to rest under such a beautiful sky!
I had expected the moon to keep watch over an old English mansion, the kind described in the books I was allowed to read at school. While the house was certainly massive in size, it was entirely modern in design, about three levels with the side facing the car made entirely of clear glass, except for a pair of side-by-side doors which were opaque. The roof was jagged and uneven by design. Despite its size, the house gave the impression of having grown out of the ground.
Forgetting I was supposed to wait for the driver, I opened the car door, intending to step out of Hades and into a brand-new life. Hopefully, a better life and not just a new level of hell.
As soon as I fully stepped out, I heard a rustling, and then a shadow moved straight at me.
What now? I panicked as it grabbed me by the waist and literally threw me. A weight pressed on my back, and a hand covered my mouth.
I remembered ice-blue eyes from my first kidnapping and resolved to fight. I struggled, but it was the same as the first time. I couldn’t get any leverage.
Tears ran down my face, and I jerked as I heard loud booms, one right after the other. Were they gunshots? The fear that spiked through my already-compromised body had me on the verge of fainting, but I couldn’t give up struggling, even though I knew I was weakening.
The weight on me suddenly lifted, and I greedily sucked in air.
As I braced my hands on the ground in preparation for getting up, I noticed shifting beneath the dirt. An adder snake, thick with ebony scales, raised its head and hissed at me.
As I lay there, frozen, a muscular bronzed arm reached out and grabbed the snake by its tail. After the snake disappeared from my view, I came to my senses, remembering the danger I was in.
I turned to see who was behind me and looked up at a tall man. Blood had spattered on his black combat boots and fatigues. There was no question he was the victor of whatever fight had just happened. He gripped a long rifle in his left hand, with no sign of injury. Every inch of him screamed fighter. His eyes, however, were filled with compassion and warmth. He looked at me as though he knew me.
He reached out his hand and said, “My bride, I presume?”
AUTHOR’S NOTE
Thank you for reading BECOMING PRINCESS EDEN—Book One: How They Met! I hope you enjoyed the beginning of Eden and Gideon’s story.
If you want to get updates about new releases visit my website: https://www.LisaLeeWrites.com. I love to hear from readers, so please feel free to leave a comment!
If you enjoyed this story, please leave a review and tell your friends.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thank you to the Almighty and everyone who made this book possible:
My husband, David, for encouraging me to keep writing.
My kids, Faith and Solomon, for being patient with me when I am in writing mode. I love you both—equally!
To the University of Chicago Graham School Writer’s Studio, for helping improve my writing.
To Christina Schrunk, for being the world’s most amazing editor!
To Jennifer Zemanek, for an amazing cover design!
To Maria Castro, Dr. Elizabeth Drame, Lydia Hall, Shawna Paterson, Christine Powell, Jendayi Ricardo, and Deborah Williams, for encouragement, prayer, and feedback. A special thank you to Kim Gibson who encouraged me from the very beginning.
To Clean Indie Reads (C.I.R) writers, for sharing so much knowledge!
