One more question. I pick up my glass, swish the juice around.
“Miss Carter,” I ask. “How are things between you and Congressman Turner? You guys are a thing, still, yes?”
“Of course.” She smiles politely. “We’re still very much in love. We’re engaged in fact.”
My heart stops. My blood runs cold then hot. Then my heart starts pounding again, and I realize I’m not in control anymore and all I can say is, “You’re en-engaged?”
“Yes,” she says, her lips holding up well in that fake smile, because she has the upper hand now, and she knows it. “How have you not heard? We announced it at the New Years Ball just last week. Were you not there, Miss Waters?”
It takes me a moment to find my tongue. Because Forest has known Fake Ember for—what—two weeks? And he’s already engaged to her, and he spoke not a word of this to me when we talked for hours last night.
“Um,” I mutter. “I’ve…been out of Frankfort…for a while.” I clear my throat. “So if you two are engaged, why aren’t you sitting with him now?”
“Oh, just politicians at Whitcomb’s table for this picnic. Mr. Smith here was kind enough to escort me while the congressmen have their little meeting, so I wouldn’t have to be alone.”
My palms squeeze into tight fists under the table. No one refutes what she says, so it must all be true. So is this…engagement the reason Forest is so eager for me to leave? I’m so confused. So completely confused. He can’t—I won’t believe—
No.
It’s a show. Like Rain said, he’s probably just following Titus’s orders to cover up the mess Titus made when I left. But why didn’t he tell me he was engaged to this…fake Ember last night? And how far was he willing to go to please Titus? Would he have married her if I never returned? Even if it was commanded by Titus to make people believe she’s me, even if it is to trick the rest of Frankfort, will he go through with it? Is there more going on than I think?
I stare at my food, my appetite nonexistent. Rain sighs heavily beside me, then takes my hand and practically forces me to my feet.
“Shall we stroll around, my lady?” he asks too politely.
I stand, begin to follow him away from the pavilion, but when I glance back, Fake Ember is staring at me with such an intensity, it sends a chill down my spine. I quickly turn back around and follow Rain down trail hidden by trees and bushes and flowers with too many colors.
“Would you like to tell me what you are doing?” he asks when we’re out of earshot of everyone else.
“Did you see her? She looks just like me, Rain. It’s…weird.”
“Yes. She’s your reflection, minus the brown eyes. Although, with your green contacts, you look entirely too similar. You should probably dispose of them right now.”
I quickly reach up and begin taking them out.
“You didn’t answer my question, though.” He turns to face me. “What. Are. You. Doing?”
I blink, relieved to finally have the alien objects out of my eyes. “I just…I wanted to know if she was brainwashed or just a really good actress.” I shrug and look back at the pavilion. “And now she tells me she and Forest are engaged, and Forest didn’t say a word of that to me when I spoke to him last night, so…that kinda pissed me off.”
“Yeah, well, looks like Forest is full of secrets. When did you forget that you can never trust a politician, hm?” He grins at me.
“Forest has his reasons for not telling me.” I squeeze the words through gritted teeth, trying to make myself believe them. “I just need to speak to him and figure out what, exactly is going on.”
“Well, you’ve gotta pull yourself together,” Rain says. “You’ve got exactly one more day to figure out your feelings for Forest. Then it’s time to wrap it up and leave.” He stuffs his hands into his pockets. “I don’t even know why we brought you on this trip. You’re already causing trouble.”
His words sting worse than finding out Forest is engaged. And I wonder why.
Never mind. I don’t want to know why.
“Sorry you got stuck with babysitting me.” I shove past Rain and continue down the trail. It’s always easier to think when I’m moving. I wrap my hands around my arms, suddenly feeling cold despite the warmish weather. Rain trots up beside me.
“I didn’t—I’m not—” He sighs heavily, and his lips disappear in thought. “I’m not sorry I came with you.”
I stop. “You’re not?”
He stares at me a moment, something conflicting shining in his eyes, but then he shrugs and continues walking. “I mean. The food really hits the spot.”
I grind my teeth and step up beside him. It’s like I caught a glimpse of the deeper part of Rain in Louisville, but now that we’re in Frankfort, he won’t open up. He’s a shell, hiding any vulnerable emotion that exists beneath the Turner façade. But I drop it. Because I have a feeling that the more I push him, the more he’ll shut me out.
“Why does Fake Ember Carter look just like me?” I say, strategically changing the subject. “I mean, I knew we had a resemblance, but she’s—I mean—I almost can’t tell us apart.”
“No? Not with your pixie cut flame hair?”
I shove him. “You know what I mean. She looks exactly like I did before this ridiculous makeover.”
“Yeah. It’s weird. I’ve never seen her before.”
“I need to talk to her.”
He stops me, looks at me as if I just made a public announcement that I’m with the Resurgence. “No,” he says. “Absolutely not. You’re not going to say another word to her.”
“I have to know! Who is she? Where did she come from? Did Titus create her somehow? What are the odds of a complete stranger looking exactly like me? I just need some answers.”
“Ember!” Rain laughs in disbelief. “Are you hearing yourself right now? You can’t speak to her. It’s out of the question. She’s not just taking your place. She’s working for Titus. She’s his pawn right now. Anything you do, anything you say that might be just a little suspicious will be repeated to Titus, and he will know. And he will find you. And he will carve out your liver.”
“But-but—”
“No buts! If you say ONE MORE WORD to Fake Ember, then I will take my team and we will leave you behind to clean up your own shoddy mess. Or worse, die.”
His words are so harsh, it leaves me breathless. We might have our moments of disagreement, but we’re still friends. Aren’t we? And what sort of person leaves their friend behind to be killed?
Rain. Rain does. Rain, who completely betrayed me nearly a month ago to make a point. And, honestly, we’re not friends. Not really. He rescued me to take me to the Resurgence. So what? Jonah Walker probably told him to do it. It was Rain’s job to rescue me.
So maybe I should use Walker to my advantage.
“Walker would never let you leave me,” I say.
“Jonah’s not my dad,” Rain says. “I’m not kidding, Ember. I will you leave you behind if you say one more word to your little clone. Because just the right question could make her suspicious, and she will no doubt report back to Titus.”
I think she already knows who I am, is what I don’t say to Rain. Because he might really actually leave me behind.
I blow out a frustrated breath. And I suddenly can’t wait to get back to the Turner mansion so I can finally get some serious answers from Forest. Not only about Fake Ember, but about his relationship with her.
“Flame.”
Both Rain and I turn at the sound of Forest’s voice. He’s walking down the trail, the sunlight slanting through the trees, making his hair almost glow.
“Forest,” Rain says in a mocking voice. “Thought you were in an important meeting.”
“Is this gentleman bothering you?” Forest asks, keeping his eyes on mine.
I grin. “Yes.” I hear Rain gasp beside me, but pretend I don’t notice. “Please, take me away from this…weasel.”
“With pleasure.” Forest extends his
elbow, and I accept it, nodding at Rain.
“Later.”
He narrows his eyes at me, and I think I see a flicker of emotion shift in and out of his eyes, but he shrugs and spins on his heel. “Enjoy the ferry.”
“Ferry?” I ask.
Forest begins leading me down the trail toward the street. “They’re having a festival at the river after the picnic. Have you ever ridden on a ferry, Miss Waters?”
I bristle at my new name. I preferred when Forest called me Miss Carter or Ember, but apparently that title is reserved for Fake Ember now.
“No,” I say. “I’ve never ridden on a ferry.”
“Well. Boarding a ferry is something every Patrician must do. It’s a cultural experience.” He looks down at me, smiles a little. “And if you’re planning on making your home here, you had better get caught up on being a Patrician.”
Making my home here. Maybe he does still love me. Maybe this thing with Fake Ember is all an act. But if I stick around, he’s going to have to make a scene by breaking off his engagement to Fake Ember. And how does he really feel about doing that?
“Are you okay?” I ask. “With me being here?”
“Of course.” He looks down at me, the concern in his eyes imprinting on my heart. “I’m just worried about you. If Titus notices you, if he looks too closely and realizes it’s you…I’m afraid I might lose you again.”
“How did you get back on his good side? I mean, you’re back in his inner circle. I thought…I thought he would have killed you after what happened.”
“No. How many times do I have to tell you? Titus isn’t as bad as you think. He’s just…misunderstood. He’s not all evil like you might think.”
Then why did he burn down my orchard? I want to ask. Why did he execute Leaf’s family and then make Leaf kill himself? Why did he try to burn me on the Rebels Circle? But I don’t really want to strike up an argument about Forest’s best friend right now. I’m not going to force him to choose between me and Titus, because a part of me is sort of afraid he’ll pick Titus.
“So, what, he just let you back in?” I ask. “He just forgave you?”
We turn down the street, follow the crowd toward the river, and I suddenly remember why I hate Frankfort: I’m always surrounded by so many people.
“We met together,” he says. “I tried to explain to him you weren’t a threat, but like I said earlier, he didn’t want to talk about you. He didn’t even act concerned about finding you. He’s moved on to other issues.”
“Issues like Fake Ember.”
“About that.” He stops and looks at me, his expression suddenly guarded and afraid all at once. “I’m sure you’ve heard by now that I and this…fake Ember are kind of together.”
“Yep. I’ve heard. In fact, she told me herself. It would have been nice to hear it from you, though.”
He winces, nods, and resumes walking. “Look, it’s a simple assignment. It’s the only way I could get Titus to forgive me.”
So it’s true—what Rain said. Forest is only dating Fake Ember because Titus told him to. “Why?” I ask. “Why couldn’t you just pretend for, like, a week and then break up with her?”
“To keep word of your true existence a secret, Titus wanted me to stay with her, at least until the rumors of your true existence blew over. Your scene at the parade caused quite the stir here in Frankfort, and you know how Titus hates losing control of his subjects. So he wanted me to stay with Fake Ember, and help her role as, well, you. Since I know you better than anyone here, I guess Titus thought I should sort of act as Fake Ember’s mentor.”
“And so you went and got engaged.”
His eyes snap to mine.
“Is it true?” I ask. “That you’re actually engaged?”
“Um…” He presses his lips together and stares at the ground. “Yes.” He looks at me. “We’re…engaged. It was part of Whitcomb’s assignment.”
“He just has your entire life planned out, doesn’t he?”
“Look, Ember. You’re not going to like this, but I think she kind of…needs me.”
Wait, what? She needs him? “You’re defending my clone? What does that even mean, ‘she needs me’? She seemed fine with Azar Smith.”
Forest’s lips quirk up in a smile and he offers a small laugh. “Are you jealous?”
His amusement ignites rage. “Of course I’m jealous! I’m your girlfriend. Your real girlfriend!”
“Shh.” He looks around at the those around us. “Quiet. Or you’ll get both of us in trouble.”
“You stayed with me in the orchard for two whole weeks,” I whisper this time. “So, yes, I’m just a little bit jealous that you’re publicly engaged to another girl.”
“I’m not really engaged, though. It’s a show. It’s all for Titus and his efforts to keep Frankfort normal.”
“To keep my disappearance under wraps.”
“Yes. That.” He sighs heavily and drags his hand through his hair. “Fake Ember and I have an…understanding. She knows we’re not really engaged. That it’s all for show.”
“And she’s okay with it?”
“Yes.”
“So, what will happen down the road? Is this show with her an indefinite thing? Will you actually get married?”
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?” Unbelievable.
“I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.”
Speaking of bridges, we arrive at the river. The bridge that used to cross over has been destroyed years ago as to keep the plagued from crossing into our territory. The concrete post looks shredded, wires sticking out where the road used to be, and vines crawl up the post, choking it until it cracks. Frankfort used to be on the other side of the river, but our founders built a moat around it, so it would be safe from the outside world and a part of Ky. At least, that’s what they taught us in history class.
A wind whisks in, still frigid from the world outside the cupola. I guess we’re at the edge of the weather-controlled dome here. It must end exactly on the other shore, because on the other side of the river, the trees are bare. Dead. And I can almost feel the chill of winter hanging in the air.
“Why does she look like me?” I ask.
Forest’s arm tenses beneath my grip. “I don’t know.”
“You don’t know? Or you won’t tell me?” How much information will he keep from me in Titus’s name?
He laughs softly and runs a hand down the length of his face. “I really, honestly don’t know. You think I wouldn’t tell you if I did know?”
“I don’t know. If Titus swore you to secrecy, you probably wouldn’t tell me. You’ve already kept the fact that you’re engaged from me, so…” I swallow hard. I really don’t want this to turn into an argument. Not after I’ve missed him all this time. But I need answers before I leave tomorrow.
“Look,” Forest says, resting his forearms on the banister and looking toward the river. “I don’t want to fight about…Fake Ember. Things have been…different without you around. And it’s been nice to have someone to talk to. Someone who’s not caught up in the crazy drama of Patrician life, like Rain, and who’s not obsessed with politics all the time, like my parents and Titus. It was hard when you left, and she’s been sort of an…escape for me.”
I almost laugh out loud. An escape? Like some sort of vacation?
“Do you like her?” I ask.
“Like her? Of course I like her.”
“No, I mean. Are you…attracted to her?”
“No, no. Of course not.”
His quick answer makes me wonder.
But then he turns toward me, cups my face, and searches my eyes, and I’m lost in the ocean of his blue eyes. I’m a ship looking for shore and finding none. And I want him to kiss me. I want so desperately for him to kiss me. Because I’ve dreamed of his kisses since I left him, and he’s hardly shown any affection since I returned. Now Fake Ember is taking up our conversation space, and I just need something to tell me we
’re okay. That everything’s going to be fine.
But…no kiss. Instead, his smile falters. And he lowers his hands, turns back toward the ferry weaving through the water and returning with its first group of passengers.
“I have to keep up an image, Ember,” he whispers, looking toward the river. “I have to do it for Titus. I have to do it for our safety. Your safety”
And his words are a like slap to the face. I would almost rather risk our lives by being together, living in the ghost town at the edge of Ky, than watch him date Fake Ember. If it’s just for a few more weeks until all this drama blows over, fine. But what if Forest really does like her? What if, after this revolution blows over, Forest still chooses Fake Ember in the end?
Because when I leave with the Resurgence tomorrow, he will know, really know, that I’m a rebel. And he HATES the Resurgence. And he loves Titus. So, yeah, when he figures out my true motives in the grand scheme of things, he might not be all that attracted to me anymore. He’ll be hurt. Betrayed. And who will be waiting to comfort him with open arms?
Fake Ember Carter.
So really, I’m the one who needs to make a decision right now. Do I want to keep Forest and live in Frankfort the rest of my life as Flame Waters? Or do I risk losing Forest in the name of the Resurgence? In the name of Ky?
An achingly familiar laugh cuts through my thoughts, snapping my attention back to the present. I lift my head up to find Azar Smith walking toward us, and none other than Fake Ember Carter beside him, her arm linked through his and an annoying Patrician smile plastered on her arrogant little face that looks entirely too much like my own.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Long brown hair, olive skin, frail form. It’s like I’m looking in a mirror, but my reflection has a mind of her own. Because she’s smiling too confidently, and she looks at me like she has an upper hand of sorts. Then her eyes find Forest’s, and her smile is reinforced. She releases Azar’s arm and reaches for Forest’s. I forgot how Patrician girls can’t walk on their own around here.
“You missed it!” she says to Forest, her voice annoyingly exuberant. “The ride on the ferry was perfectly marvelous!”
ashen city (Black Tiger Series Book 2) Page 18
