City of Deception (The White City Series Book 1)

by Alexa Mackintosh

  My blood starts to boil, but I control my anger. “I love Dmitri. I don’t see the man you think evil; I see a man who cares for me and loves me. Nothing you say or do will change that, and the more you try to convince me, the less inclined I become to kill him.”

  I stop when I reflect on what I said. It’s the first time I’ve ever said I love Dmitri out loud. I thought I’d never say it because of nerves or the engagement, but now that I’ve said it, things seem so clear.

  City of Deception

  I’m lying to myself if I think I can kill Dmitri. I could be handed a gun and a perfect moment to kill him, and I don’t think I could do it.

  I love him, and it’s that simple. No mission changes that.

  Though I’m scared, I will tell Dmitri I love him the next time I see him. I will find a way that we might be together. My loyalty to the revolution hasn’t changed be- cause I still believe in the cause. I don’t see Dmitri as the face of the evil the rebels want to stop, and I don’t see that he has committed any injustices other than being part of the Mersiovsky family. I’m still a rebel, but now need to change my mission. I’ve always believed I would control my future. Well, I’ve decided to try to find a future where Dmitri and I can be together.

  Maybe Vera’s right. Love is the strongest motivator.

  s

  When the nurse returns half an hour later, Vera and I say goodbye and wait until the walk out of sight. We dis- appear back into the room we left from. We are back in the present.

  “Does Ivan remember you?” I ask.

  She slips the device off her wrist before glancing my way. “If he does, he’s never said. He remembers a young woman who often talked to him and who he thought of as a mother, but he’s never realized it was me who tried to watch out for him.”

  Alexa Mackintosh

  “Is that why he knows you as Angel? He doesn’t realize you were in his past?”

  “Yes,” she answers. “I chose Angel because, in some ways, I like to think of myself as his guardian angel. He needed protection and love, but no one was there to give it except me on rare visits. I make sure to visit when the princes and nurse are alone. Being recognized might wreak havoc on time.”

  “You had an affair with Ivan, didn’t you?”

  She freezes. “Yes, I did. I guess Zadie told you. She always chatted nonstop.”

  “Why didn’t you try to marry Ivan instead of Orion?”

  She sighs. “I did try, but like you, I had little power then. Power seems to come to us too late.”

  As we are about to leave, someone knocks on the door. “Natalia, could I speak with you?” Ivan says from the

  other side of the door.

  I look to Vera, but she panics. “Use the device to leave,” I say.

  She presses the button on the device and disappears.

  Hurrying to the door, I exit before Ivan can enter the room. If he came and found me, I wonder how long Vera and I have been gone.

  “Dinner will be in a few minutes, but I wanted to dis- cuss something with you first.” He glances over my shoul- der towards the door. “I never said you could go into Vera’s workroom.”

  “I needed to check on something.”

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  He frowns but holds out his hand, and since I have little choice, I take it. We start walking back to my room at a leisurely pace.

  “With the recent deaths and Zadie leaving, I think it would be wise to leave the White City for the time being. There’s so much about the Royals in the news and rebel- lion is imminent. Then there’s the wedding, and I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of hearing about it. I think we should get away from here. What do you think about taking some time visiting the Isles?”

  I shrug. “I know little about them. I suppose it would be fine.”

  He tilts his head in my direction. “Only fine?”

  “Do as you wish. I have little choice but to accept what you choose.” I’m too preoccupied with Vera to argue with him. I saw him as a little child not five minutes ago.

  He hesitates before saying, “We will leave two days from now. The journey won’t take but a few hours, and we will stay for a week or two. My brothers will accompany us, but the Empress will stay here.” He glances down at the hem of my dress. “You should hurry off and change before dinner.”

  I glance down and notice the mud caked hem for the first time. I suppose I picked the mud up during the trip to my village. Apparently, that hasn’t changed over the decades.

  “I’ll see you at dinner,” he says before walking ahead and out of sight.

  Alexa Mackintosh

  But after dinner, I have to find my father because we have a lot to discuss.

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  Chapter 34

  GLARE AT GENERAL HARDCASTLE FROM ACROSS

  THE TABLE. As a senior military commander, he dines with us every night.

  Dmitri raises a questioning brow when he notices my expression, but he is too many seats away to explain to. Besides, I’m not sure I want Dmitri to know this secret. It has eaten at my soul since I was a child, and my father let me suffer without a second thought.

  Perhaps revealing my father’s identity as rebel leader would be a fair punishment for what he has done to me alone, not to mention the grief he caused my mother.

  As soon as we rise from dinner, Ivan and Hardcastle start for the study to finish a discussion of a new law.

  “I’m afraid your discussion will have to wait,” I say, stopping them. My anger makes me bold. “I have urgent business to discuss with General Hardcastle. Perhaps you

  Alexa Mackintosh

  can forgive me, Ivan? I’m sure I can repay you on our wed- ding night in our chambers.”

  Ivan blushes a shade of crimson so bright I laugh. Hardcastle turns white as the walls that surround and smother us.

  “Yes…Um…Yes, go speak with the general if it is so im- portant,” Ivan says.

  “Thank you, Ivan. Hardcastle, follow me to my kitchen.”

  Hardcastle turns green. So, he remembers how I thought he died? Good. I want to see his fear because he made me live with so much for so long.

  He tries to speak as we make our way to my kitchen, but I shout, “Silence!”

  “Let us talk in my room. It is one of the few rooms in the palace where we will not be heard.”

  “I’m sure you know where the cameras are in my kitchen. Remove them if you wish not to be heard. Let the Royals find out what you really are.”

  “You wouldn’t-”

  “Tell them? Oh, try me, father. You better have a damned good explanation for why you did what you did, or you’ll come to regret the day I was born so that I might cause you pain now.”

  He sighs. “First, I see you’ve picked up ‘damned’ dur- ing your stay here. It isn’t said in the village or much of anywhere else on the planet except the White City.”

  He’s right, but I don’t stop to think where I heard it.

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  “Second,” he continues. “I already regret the day you were born.”

  His statement brings tears to my eyes, but I continue towards the kitchen.

  This is not the same father I remember teaching me how to fix clocks and pulling me onto his lap and telling me magical stories of a place he invented called “Earth.”

  Earth.

  I’ve heard that word.

  We reach the kitchen as it all dawns on me. The arti- fact showed a map with “Earth” circled.

  “Earth is…it…”

  “It’s real,” he finishes for me.

  “But there’s two other planets with life on it besides this one. Zadie’s home planet and the trading colony of Kailani.”

  “That is what the public is told, but the truth is far more complicated.” He paces the kitchen setting me on edge. “I’m from Earth. I came to this planet as a young man and won the favor of Sergio. When he rose to power so did I.”

  “If you’re from Earth, then I’m…�
�

  “You’re a hybrid. A new species, and a rare one indeed. Your mother gave you the blood of this planet while I gave you that of Earth.”

  “Are there others like me?”

  Alexa Mackintosh

  He nods. “A few hundred. I spoke with the Emperor when you were born, and because of your special blood- line, we thought it wise you marry one of his sons.”

  I gasp. “You arranged this? From the start?”

  “A little, but Prince Orion rather ruined our plans.

  You were to love Emperor Ivan, not Prince Orion.” “But Prince Orion lived in the village. Why?”

  “A clerical oversight. Last I heard, your mother moved away with you to your aunt’s. Since I knew the house, it was easy to set up security measures for Prince Orion. It was foolish I see now, but at the time it allowed me to rem- inisce about you and your mother.”

  “We were with my aunt a short time before we re- turned. Your death broke Mama’s heart. And then what you did to me-”

  He holds up his hand. “I know it was wrong, but I had to fake my death. When you started baking and mixing poisons…I thought if you ‘killed’ me, few would ask ques- tions. They would see it as a terrible accident.”

  My tears break loose. “I gave you the pastry with the contents of the blue vial in it. Mama always said never touch that vial as it was special. I thought she meant it had good qualities. She could mix potions to heal, to create love, and to take life. I thought…You took one bite and you fell to the floor dead.” I sob. “I tried to shake you awake, and then I realized what I’d done. I’d poisoned you, and like that, I’d become the Death’s Apothecary Mama always wanted me to be. What happened?”

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  “I gave your mother the vial as a gift. I picked it up supposedly while traveling for clock parts, but I was here in the city. It was a special flower soaked in rosewater. Whoever took it would look dead, but live.”

  “Like the potion in Romeo & Juliet.” Oh, the sick, sick similarities my life had to that play.

  “Exactly. Your mother told you to stay away from it because it was special, but it was no poison. I may have persuaded you to use it, and you did. You were so young and gullible. As soon as I ate your pastry, the potion af- fected me. I assume I dropped dead then.”

  “I didn’t know who to go for. I…I ran from the house screaming, and ran into the current mine supervisor.” I wipe my tears, but they keep coming. “I told him what happened, and he said I shouldn’t tell my mother. He knew what to do. We dragged your body into the mines and parted way. The next day, the massacre happened, and none were the wiser. But why go to so much trouble to leave us? What did we ever do to deserve what you did?” He sits down at the island and steeples his fingers. “It was time for me to go to join the Royals here. They needed my help. I devised the plan with Ramsey, the supervisor, in exchange for my loyalty to the revolution. It was a young movement, but growing every day. We’d heard the news that violence would break out, and predicted the massacre and when it would happen. Neither of us ex- pected it to be so bloody or we might have tried to stop

  it.”

  Alexa Mackintosh

  I sniff and wipe my nose on the edge of my sleeve. “The supervisor helped you?”

  “I told him to wait outside and to watch over you. We didn’t know you’d naturally turn out to one day make such a great strategist.”

  At least that skill was not owed to favoritism by the supervisor.

  “When you ran out, he was waiting and took care of the rest of the plan. After the massacre, he woke me and got me in a carriage headed for the capital. I’ve been here since.”

  “You left us for a position?”

  He reaches across the table and clasps my hands. I des- pise him right now, but this simple reassurance of his warm, living skin against mine is a comfort. “It was a price I had to pay if you were to ever get here. Think, without my actions, you wouldn’t be here.”

  That thought stings. “Why did you say you regretted my birth?”

  He sighs. “Things should have been different. It’s not you, my starlight. I will always love you and wish the best for you.”

  My starlight. How I’ve missed hearing that.

  Against all the warnings in my mind, I let my heart lead me to him. I embrace him and cry into his shoulder.

  He hugs me back. “I’m sorry for all the lies.” I don’t know how long we stay still and quiet. “You mustn’t tell anyone who I am.”

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  “Of course.”

  “I know too that Orion loves you. You love him?” “Yes.”

  “I’m sorry I cannot let you marry him. Forgive me?”

  I chuckle curtly. “You ask forgiveness for many mis- takes. Give me time to decide.”

  “Understandable, my dear.” He wipes my wet cheeks with his sleeve. “You best go before anyone becomes sus- picious. You know where to find me.”

  “Yes, father.”

  He smiles as I call him ‘Father,’ not ‘Hardcastle.’ “Goodnight, my starlight.”

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  Chapter 35

  he Isles:

  Two Days Later:

  THE RED BEACHES STRETCH OUT FOR MILES. No one is

  in sight except for Dmitri who walks a few feet behind me. After we arrived, he volunteered to walk with me to the beach. I’m still reeling from the news of my father and Earth, so a vacation is a perfect distraction.

  The wind whips past and tries to blow up my skirt. I’ll have to remember to wear pants and tie my hair back while here.

  The Isles are beyond description. There are five is- lands in total, but this is the smallest. Other than the Roy- als and their guards and servants, no one lives on this

  Alexa Mackintosh

  island. The other islands hold entire cities and the vaca- tion homes of other firsts. Few seconds and thirds live on the islands.

  Plants grow everywhere, their heady fragrances float- ing on the wind. The blooms are numerous and bright col- ors, and they weigh so much that the stems almost break under their weight. At home, I rarely saw flowers.

  The Isles are man-made and supported by giant me- chanical propellers and filters. All the natural Isles rest several hundred miles below the surface of the water or are far off the coastline.

  Dmitri takes my hand as we start down the other side of the dunes. I pull him along to the edge of the water. Being with him here reminds me of our time at the lake.

  He pulls me into his arms and holds me. “What do you think, princess?”

  I set my head against his chest. “I think I would like to stay this way forever.”

  He chuckles, and the rumble of his chest echoes in my ear. “I meant what do you think of the Isles?”

  “It’s beautiful.” Wrapping my arms around his waist, I block out the problems of my life. I really could stay like this.

  I glance up at his face as my heart starts to flutter. I bite my lip as I try to find a way to say what I’m thinking. I have to say this; I made up my mind already.

  “Dmitri?”

  He kisses my forehead. “What?”

  City of Deception

  “I…I love you.”

  He stiffens, and I wonder if I said the wrong thing. “Really?”

  I duck my head and nod.

  Nudging my chin upwards, he looks into my eyes be- fore kissing me on the lips. “I’m glad because I have some- thing I want to tell you. I love you too.”

  “Do you mean it? It’s easy to say, but not easy to put into actions.”

  “I mean it. I came along to the Isles because…I don’t like the idea of my brother having you to himself. While we’re here, I want to show you how much I love you. Here we’re free of cameras and prying eyes.”

  “And how will you show me that?” I ask mischievously.

  He runs his hands up and down my hips and kisses me again.

  When he pulls away, my cheeks are crimson and my lips a little swollen. �
��I’ll think of other things too, but that’s a start. I thought maybe a picnic to the far side of the island and another late-night swim.”

  “And how will explain your feelings for me to your brother? Don’t you think he’s getting suspicious?”

  “Let him seethe with jealousy,” he whispers as he brushes my hair aside and kisses my cheek.

  “It’s easier here without worrying about the media and reporters.” In the White City, I worry that reporters might catch a photo of Dmitri and me.

  He nods. “Ivan is our only enemy here.”

  Alexa Mackintosh

  “I feel bad lying to your brother. I don’t like…cheat- ing,” I confess.

  “It’s not cheating if you don’t love him.”

  Something about his statement doesn’t seem right. I don’t love Ivan, but I’m still engaged to him. He still de- serves to be treated like a human. He is a first, one I won’t hesitate to kill, but he has never been near another girl the entire time I’ve been in the palace. If he kissed every girl he saw I might feel different, but he accepts that we are to be married. He doesn’t even look at other girls, but I stay in Dmitri’s arms.

  A guard appears at the top of the dunes. “Emperor Ivan wishes you to return.”

  Dmitri frown. “We’re coming.” He glances at me when the guard turns and says, “We’ll finish this conversation later.”

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  When we return, Georgianna guides me to my room.

  She accompanied us since she is my personal servant.