ARC: The Almost Girl

by Amalie Howard

  “Aurela,” I breathe. “She’s done it. She’s deactivated them.”

  Only then do I notice the row of red-clad masked fighters surrounding Cale’s throne. Where did they come from? Who are they? As if in response, the doors to the great hall open, and a woman walks in, followed by more of the same ominously garbed warriors. I recognize her immediately, and this time, my jaw drops to the floor.

  Era Taylor.

  LONG LIVE THE KING

  Why is my physics teacher from the Otherworld in Neospes? What is she doing here? Caden’s eyes are as wide as I’m sure mine must be, so I know I’m not seeing ghosts. Era Taylor – a Guardian – is here in Neospes.

  “Era?” I say warily. “What are you doing here?”

  Her dark eyes are as piercing as I remembered. “We are the Faction”

  “What?” I repeat dumbly. The Faction is here? And Mrs Taylor is a part of it? Which means that the scarlet-clad warriors are the Faction’s infamous Red Guard. “But you’re a Guardian.”

  Era smiles a humorless smile. “A Guardian and also the leader of the Faction, an order far older than your young king standing over there.”

  “How dare you?” Cale shouts back. “I am the King of Neospes! What have you done with my guards?”

  “He’s not my king.” I glance at him dispassionately and turn my attention back to Era, who is still assessing a murderous Cale with her eyes.

  “You will be tried and judged for your crimes,” Era says calmly to him. “Your guards must obey the Faction first and the Neospes monarchy second. At least they, if not you, still understand the chain of rule.” Cale falls silent.

  “Era, how did you get here?” Caden asks quietly. “We thought you were dead. Did Phillip refine the serum you were working on?”

  “Yes, he did,” Era answers. “And I’m not dead, as you can clearly see. We tried to find you after we got separated but only discovered dead-end tracks. We found the cave later, but there was no trace of you.”

  “We everted,” Caden gulps. “Shae died.”

  “I gather that, and I’m sorry for her loss. She was a great asset.”

  Of their own volition, my eyes fall on the nearly-decapitated body of my dead sister. It wasn’t her before, but it’s her now. It’s her body. My rage resurfaces. My father has gone too far this time, defiling her for his and Cale’s own nefarious ends. How he must have loved punishing her and pretending it was me.

  I walk over to where Cale is still sitting. The red ninja-clad warriors restraining him are silent, only their glittering eyes visible through their masked hoods. “You are despicable,” I say. “I trusted you. How could you let him do that to Shae? You made her a monster just so that you could hurt me?”

  Cale’s eyes are as dead as the metal lungs in his chest. “You betrayed me.”

  “I did what you asked. You’re the one who lied.”

  Cale’s eyes flick to Caden. “You were mine. You betrayed me with him.”

  “I was never yours,” I say. “As flawed as you are, I believed in you, and there was a time that I did love you. I would have done anything for you, and I did. I went to another universe for you… just so that you could find someone you wanted to kill. You betrayed me. You want to know the truth?” I lean in so that my lips are nearly touching his ear and only Cale can hear my words. “Caden is everything you are, and more. He’s more of a king than you will ever be.”

  Rage reddens Cale’s face. “Shae got what–”

  “Don’t!” My open palm collides with his face. “That’s for my sister. I hope you get everything you deserve for what you’ve done. Either way, you are dead to me.”

  I walk back without a backward glance to Era, who nods to her guards to take Cale away. He’ll be held until Era decides what his punishment will be. Caden’s arm drops across my trembling shoulders, and he gathers me close. We both ignore Era’s raised eyebrows.

  “What happens now?” he asks her.

  This time her smile is real. “Now the rightful Lord King of Neospes takes his place.”

  “What? No, I couldn’t–”

  “Yes, Cade,” I say, pulling out of his hug. “She’s right. You have to. This is what you were meant to be, why your mother risked everything for you. Why… ” my voice breaks, and I glance over to where my sister’s corpse is lying, “…Shae protected you with her life. You were always the rightful heir.”

  “Why didn’t my mother ever tell me who I was?” Caden’s voice is small.

  Era flicks her hand to two of her guards, signaling them to take Shae’s body to the mortuary, and folds her arms across her chest. “I’m sure she meant to someday, but she didn’t get the chance; her immune system was too weak. You survived because you were young and strong.” Her gaze flits to Murek’s dead body still lying near the throne with my ninjata buried in his chest. “She was right to take you away.” Era’s eyes have a faraway look in them. “I was young then, newly part of the Faction. When she came to me, desperate for help, I agreed to let her evert. You would both be safe there, and when the time was right, you would return. But things changed. Murek grew more cunning – he knew what Cale was, and he was the one who told the King that your mother had taken his real son, not the clone, and that you were both dead. Your father was consumed by grief and refused to recognize Cale as anything but an imposter. It began to eat away at Cale, and he turned to the only person who seemed sympathetic: Murek.”

  “So Murek was playing both sides?” I say, and Era nods.

  “But he was still his son,” Caden whispers. “I mean, he was me, wasn’t he? He couldn’t help what he was.”

  “The King didn’t see it that way,” Era says gently. “Royal clones are meant as a failsafe to the line, not meant to be recognized as part of it.”

  “But I saw him. He was still real. He’s still a person.”

  “One who ordered the murder of your father after I left,” I remind him quietly. “He was my friend, remember? But Cale is twisted. He’s not the same person I once knew. His bitterness killed him from the inside out. Clone or not, he’s still broken inside.”

  “And Murek couldn’t have planned it more perfectly – he had what he wanted nearly in his grasp. His own kingdom,” Era says, walking out of the hall and indicating that we should follow her.

  Caden looks to me, and I nod. It’s her show now. A few of the Red Guard fall in line with us, the majority remaining behind to sequester the Vectors. Before we leave, I retrieve Shae’s sword and my ninjatas, wiping them clean and re-sheathing them.

  In the hallway, Era continues speaking, her voice low. “Even Cale didn’t understand the complexity of Murek’s cunning. He told Cale about the chip that would disprove his place as heir, and that Caden was indeed still alive. Cale’s plan was to kill Caden and destroy the chip, but Murek had other plans. He wanted the chip to dethrone Cale, and he knew that Cale would send Riven.” Her black eyes meet mine. “You were the only one who could hinder his plans.”

  “And me? Why did you leave me for the Vectors?”

  Era’s glance turns into a thoughtful frown. “I didn’t know then that you’d turned. But Aurela vouched for you… her life for yours. I found it curious. I found it even more curious to learn that your father almost killed Murek for using you to find Caden.”

  “What do you mean?” I am careful to hold Era’s stare. I don’t know if she knows the truth about me, but it wouldn’t surprise me. The Faction seems to have eyes and ears everywhere, based on what she’s telling us about the whole Murek mastermind show.

  “Murek and Cale needed your father to build an army of Vectors, so they gave him free rein to experiment and play around with unsanctioned robotics.”

  “So the Faction knew?” I toss back. “Why didn’t you stop him?”

  “It’s not our duty to interfere in the politics of each universe. We protect the Guardians and maintain the separation of the two worlds,” Era returns calmly. “But once we learned about their plot to bridge the worlds,
then we were oath-bound to act.”

  “So my father basically got carte blanche to do whatever he wanted?” My voice is bitter. “Hurt whomever he wanted, take whatever he wanted, destroy whole lives.”

  “Your father was driven by his creations… by his ego.” The voice comes from behind us, and I jerk around to see Aurela entering through a door.

  I can’t help myself; my feet are already racing toward her. She’s dirty and weary and limping slightly, but her face is victorious. We embrace, her fingers grazing the oozing cut on my temple, and I search her eyes.

  “Did you see him?” She nods silently. “Is he dead?” She shakes her head. For a second, I wonder why she’s avoiding my questions, and then I realize that all eyes are on us, including Era’s and the Red Guard. Sighing, I say, “I’m glad you found the kill switch for the Vectors. It got a little hairy in there.”

  Aurela squeezes my hand as we walk back toward the others, and gives Era a brief recap of what happened at the lab. Era nods in satisfaction and walks to a pair of heavy wooden doors. It’s Cale’s old bedchamber. We enter the room, where servants are already waiting to attend Caden.

  “Time to look the part,” Era says to him.

  “I’ll be waiting right outside, OK?” I smile reassuringly, wishing we’d gotten the chance to speak privately. His green eyes meet and hold mine. This time, he’s the one reassuring me. I smile and walk outside.

  Two guards station themselves inside the door, and two outside of it. Era stops to give them instructions, and I use the opportunity to speak to Aurela.

  “So he’s not dead?” I ask urgently.

  “No,” she says. “He everted at the last minute.”

  “Everted?” I gasp. “To the Otherworld?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Did you talk to him?” I ask.

  She stops to squeeze my shoulder, her eyes pained. “He’s not going to let you go, Riven. He’s never going to let you go.” Her voice fades to a barely audible whisper. “He’s lost it, he’s so consumed by what you are. In his eyes, you belong to him, and he’ll kill you if he can’t have you.” Tears are falling down her face. “I tried to reach him, to see if there was some part of the man I knew still in there, but he’s gone. There’s nothing in there now. He’s as dead inside as the Vectors he creates.”

  “Then there’s only one thing I can do; I have to find him first, before he finds me.”

  “Riven, there’s something else. We need to let the Faction know about you,” Aurela says. “About what you are and why he wants you so badly. They can protect you. If he gets his hands on you, who knows what he’s capable of? We can’t risk it.”

  I know that she’s right, even though a part of me wants to hunt him down in silence on my own terms, but I also know that that’s my ego talking. I still want to be the one to punish him, but I also know now more than ever that I cannot underestimate him. He is devious and brilliant… and utterly insane.

  Era joins us, and I excuse myself, nodding to my mother to do what she has to do. Outside, the revelry is loud. I can’t imagine that they have any clue as to what has happened inside the castle – that a false king has been replaced by the true heir, that people have died, that Neospes is finally about to enter a new phase… one not undermined by a king with his own selfish interests.

  I hope that Caden will be a good king and that he’ll be a true leader to our people. I have no doubt that he will be. After all, he is forgiving to a fault. He is smart and will take the time to listen and learn. Although he has been shaped in the Otherworld, his heart is here. He is everything that is the best of both worlds. I find myself smiling, watching all of the joyful faces below me. His mother would have been proud of what her son had become.

  “Hey,” Caden’s voice is soft.

  I turn slowly, my eyes widening, butterflies causing havoc in the pit of my stomach. It’s still not a feeling that I’m comfortable with… that any one person could make me feel so shattered and whole at the same time. Caden is magnificent in monarch purple and black, his long overcoat trimmed in sable. His hair has been combed back off his face, and his eyes are a sparkling green. He looks beautiful, perfect.

  I find my voice. “You clean up good.”

  “Thanks.”

  “You look like a prince.”

  “I feel like a weirdo,” Caden says with a grin. “I mean, have you seen this cape?”

  I grin back. “Sadie would definitely approve.” The look in Caden’s eyes drives any other words about Sadie from my mouth.

  “Do you approve?”

  “Yes,” I say. “I definitely approve. You belong here, Cade. This is where you were meant to be; this is who you are.”

  “I thought you wanted me to go back to my world,” Caden says, stepping forward to brush a strand of hair out of my face.

  His light touch makes the butterflies take flight, and unconsciously, I lean into his caress. “At the time, it was the only place where you would have been safe from Cale. But everything worked out, didn’t it?”

  “Riven,” Caden says, moving to stand directly in front of me, both his hands pressed to the sides of my face. “None of this could have happened without you, you know that, right? I mean, you’re the reason I’m here and alive. You’re the reason I even know who I am and what I’m meant to do.” Caden pauses, staring out at the throng of people below us. “The only reason I don’t feel like I don’t belong here is because of you. You made me fall in love with Neospes just like I’ve fallen–”

  “Cade,” I interrupt him, blushing furiously. “You always had Neospes in your heart. It’s in your blood.”

  “Will you let me finish?” he says, bending his head to graze my lips so softly that it’s barely a touch, but it silences me effectively.

  “You know what happened the last time,” I breathe, my eyes fluttering closed, and tilt my face up to his, pressing my lips against his mouth. His hands slide into the hair at the nape of my neck, and he deepens the kiss, opening his mouth against mine. My fingers curl into the fur of his collar, pulling him closer. I never want to let him go.

  That kiss says everything that Caden wants to say and more, and I kiss him back, leaving him with no doubt of my own feelings. Because now, more than ever, he needs to know how much I do love him, especially with what I know I have to do.

  The loud sound of cheering breaks us apart, and we glance down to see the crowd below staring up at the parapet with their hands in the air.

  “Go do your thing, Cade,” I say, drawing away from the edge of the stone balustrade. “I believe in you. And I will always be here.” I clutch my fist to my heart, the tears burning a pathway behind my eyelids and down my cheeks.

  “Wait, why are you crying?” he says.

  “Because I love you, and I’m so proud of you. Now go, address your people,” I say with a laugh, swiping my face with the back of my hand. “And stop making me say such reckless feeling things.”

  Watching Caden address the crowd, I have no doubt that he will be a great leader, and with people like Aurela and Sauer at his side, he will unite the people of Neospes. I walk back to where Era and Aurela are standing. Era stares at me and I shift uncomfortably, but her stare is curious instead of anxious.

  Even if she is Faction, I still don’t quite trust her. Maybe it’s the way her eyes seem to pierce right through me, or the fact that she is one of the most powerful women in our combined universes. No one person should have that much power. That said, it’s not like she ever abused her power. She stepped in where she had to.

  And I know I’m going to need her help if I am to track down my father.

  I feel Aurela’s arms encircle me from the side, and I lean into her, inhaling the scent of my childhood. My arms cross over my mother’s arms and I squeeze.

  “Take care of him,” I tell her.

  I punch in a sequence on the arm of my suit and pull out an eversion device from the pack at my side. Time is of the essence, and every second I delay
here means my father will get further away. I meet Era’s eyes with a wry grin. I don’t need her serum – I can evert from anywhere just as the Vectors do.

  Just another one of the perks of being a half-human, half-robot hybrid.

  “Guess I’ll see you in physics class,” I say to her with a forced grin, even though it feels like my very bones are splintering inside of me.

  My eyes flit from Aurela to Sauer to Caden… my family is no longer broken. It’s beautiful and it’s more real than anything I can imagine. I never thought it would be so hard to leave anyone, because I never had anyone to leave before.

  No wonder people say that love begets weakness. It hurts like a beast. But I know that it isn’t weakness; it’s might. It takes far more strength to care. It makes you want to fight harder… to live for something worth believing in.

  It makes you more.

  As if he can sense what I’m about to do, Caden turns around, his eyes widening in delayed understanding. I smile to reassure him, but my lip quivers. I can’t even lie to not hurt him… all I can see is the pain in his eyes, those intense green eyes asking me why, pleading for me to stay.

  But there’s no time for answers, no time for reasons. I can only smile and weep.

  Everything fades to black, the fabric of time and space shimmering around me, but I hold on to Caden’s face. I hold on to his green eyes. I hold on to him and the weightless way he makes me feel. I hold on to the touch of his lips upon mine and the salt of his tears in our kiss. I hold on to love.

  I know I will see him again.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  To my fabulous and feisty Strange Chemistry editor, Amanda Rutter, who saw so much potential in The Almost Girl that she bought the duology, thank you so much for collaborating with me and letting me share this story with the world. It’s such an honor to be inducted into the nefarious ranks of the Strange Chemists! This book could not have found a more perfect home at Strange Chemistry, and for that I have to thank my warrior princess agent, Liza Fleissig of the Liza Royce Agency. I honestly cannot thank you enough for everything you do—your foresight, your enthusiasm, your drive and your passion are all astounding. I’m so grateful to have you in my corner.