My stomach rolled. I had to make something for Kyan to eat when he got home. I paced the floor, cried, and slammed cabinet doors shut. I cried some more and talked to myself as I slammed a pan onto the stove to start dinner. This whole thing was crappy and I couldn’t believe he would do this to me. He promised me forever. Infinity. And infinity doesn’t end.
I had trouble sleeping the rest of the night, and no matter what I tried to think about to get my mind off of it, I couldn’t get the image of Crew out of my mind, no matter how hard I tried. In the morning, I was dragging. Pulling on layer after layer, I prepared for the worst. A cold wind was already rattling the windows of the cabin. I pulled on a thick wool sweater and laced the boots that would later be caked in mud.
I braided my hair down my back and then wound it into a bun and tied a small piece of fabric around it. When Kyan walked in, I was pulling the biscuits out of the Dutch oven. He looked ragged.
“Hungry?”
“Starved.” He sunk down into a chair at the small wooden table. “Do you have any coffee?”
“Sure.” I poured him a cup. Ky rubbed his eyes with one hand and brought the cup to his lips with the other.
He looked up at me. “You’re in South today. You’ll be climbing. Pruning.”
I nodded. “I’m ready. They do know that the trees shouldn’t be pruned this late. Right?”
He pulled a pair of fingerless woolen gloves out of his pocket. “They don’t care. It’s just to keep us busy. You can use mine.”
“Thanks. I don’t know where mine are.”
I sat down beside him, happy to see him for a few minutes before I had to report. We sat quietly together, eating biscuits and sipping coffee. Well, I gulped it. I needed all the help I could get today.
“Listen, there’s something you should probably know.”
“If it’s about Crew’s engagement, I already know.”
“How’d you find out?” He lowered his coffee mug, his blue eyes clouded with concern.
“Gray stopped by and showed me. He didn’t want me to be caught off guard either.”
He rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m sorry, Abby Blue.”
“I should have expected it. It just sucks when the one you love looks so happy with someone else.”
His eyes met mine. “Yeah. It really does.”
Insert foot in mouth.
∞
Frost covered the branches of the trees like a delicate lace. Actually, it covered everything. Blades of grass, piles of dried leaves, everything was draped in it. A cold wind blew from the north. The southern orchard was the largest. It was also the most exposed to the elements. Nestled into a valley and set onto rolling hills above it, the wind all but screamed through the orchard.
Kyan tried to give me his coat, but I refused. He needed it. It was hard to tell what the guards who’d taken over my home had done with mine. They’d probably used it for kindling. Half of the village was working in South. The other half was pruning North. When we were finished with these, we would split up and cover East and West as well.
We’d never pruned in the winter. It seemed wrong to prune when the trees were enjoying the respite they’d worked so hard all year to earn.
“You,” barked a guard. “You’re small, so you’re climbing. Get up there and we’ll hand you the pruners.”
I nodded, and my fingertips found purchase on the bark of a strong limb. I pulled myself up and then eased carefully from branch to branch until I was as high as I felt comfortable going. Steadying my feet, I looked down, nodding to the guard, who handed me long-handled pruning shears. I went straight to work. If they wanted to ruin the trees and any chance of harvesting fruit by pruning off-season, then fine.
The freezing temperatures were the only thing that abated my sweat. The wind burned my cheeks and lips. The tips of my fingers turned red and numbness set in. By noon, I was shivering so hard my teeth were chattering.
Climbing out of a tree, I dropped to the ground. Pins and needles shot through my feet. “Where’s your coat, Lesser?” Crap. It was Ardis, the jerk guard from the trail. I looked at my boots before answering.
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know. You should keep track of your things.”
“When I came back, you guards had taken over my house. My coat had been in it. So I have no idea where it is now. It was you who didn’t keep track of my things.”
His polished black boots stepped up to mine. Toe to toe. Again. He did not understand the concept of personal space. At all. “We’re in your cabin?”
“Yes.”
“Yes, sir.”
I gritted my teeth. “Yes, sir.”
“That’s perfect. It burns you up, doesn’t it, Lesser.”
“I don’t like it.”
“You don’t like what? Look at me.”
I raised my eyes to his. “I don’t like you in my house.”
“Greaters allowed your village to build the house, so shouldn’t we be given use of it when we need it?”
“No.”
“Why is that?” He cocked his head to the side, studying me.
“Lesser hands built it. We cut the timbers, mortared the cracks, and hammered the nails. These were built with the strength of our backs and the sweat off our brows. It’s not yours. It’s ours. This entire village is ours. These orchards are ours.”
His breath came out in visible puffs of smoke that filtered right into my face. “And why would you think the orchards are yours?”
He was daring me. “We plowed the land, fertilize it, grow the trees, prune them then harvest their fruit. This is Lesser land. These are the fruits of OUR labors. Greaters...you do nothing.”
“You’ve been given a gift from someone very high up. I’m not supposed to... Never mind. But listen to me, Lesser bitch. If you ever say anything like that again, to anyone, I will see to it that you disappear.” He snapped his finger near my eye. “Like that.”
Oh, darn. I was beginning to think he didn’t like me.
My mother and father watched as the tailor adjusted the suit jacket. The man tugged and pulled one sleeve down and then the other before worrying about the lapel. “You will be such a lovely groom, Crew,” Mother cooed.
She swiped a tear from her eyes. It was probably as fake as her eyelashes, or my parents’ marriage.
“Of course he will be handsome. Nothing but the best for the future King of Olympus.” My father was forever reminding me of my duty.
Marian was across town, being fitted for her dress today. I imagined Mother had it designed to catch the attention of the entire city. Subtlety was lost on my mother. Bigger was better, and the more outrageous, the better. It would garner more attention.
After dinner last night, Marian and I strolled through the streets and then changed into dark clothing in an alleyway before making our way to Laney in the Lesser section. Gretchen met us there as well.
The underground resistance in Olympus was enormous and very well organized. I expected all of the Lessers to be involved, and they were. What I had not expected was how many Greaters had joined the cause. It was not as if the supporters of the resistance met on Tuesdays at sundown. We were organized into small teams. Each team was led by a member of the resistance council.
Gretchen was our leader. Though our group was one of the smallest, she preferred to keep it that way, since I was involved now. She began our training. We would need to strengthen our bodies, sharpen our minds, and prepare. For what, exactly, I was not sure. But I was told that we would strike after Marian and I were wed. We would wait until all citizens were high on love and hope before jerking those feelings of security out from under them.
I just hoped that after all was said and done, I could find my way back to Abby. She was my forever. And if helping the resistance got me back to her, I would do whatever it took.
Kyan worked into the night, and as soon the stew I made over the fire was finished, I wolfed it down, cleaned myself as best as I
could, and collapsed into bed.
He was after me. Norris. I ran through the foggy orchard, branches grabbing at me in the eerie moonlight. The sound of hoofs pounding the dirt behind me filled my ears. He was getting closer. I was almost out of the trees. I only had to make it to the fence. I pumped my arms and strained to run as fast as I could. My calves screamed and my lungs burned. Only a few more feet! A snake coiled around my waist, poised to strike. It’s stark white with eyes the color of fresh blood. It bears its fangs and I tense up, waiting for the inevitable.
“Abs, wake up!”
Someone was shaking me. Hard. I opened my eyes to see Gray. I hadn’t seen him since he left this morning. I tried to figure out where I was. What was going on?
“Gray?”
“Yeah, I’ve got you. You’re okay.” He held me against his chest and rocked me gently.
After a few minutes, my heart and breathing slowed so I let loose of him a little. “You scared me,” he admitted.
“I’m sorry. I had a nightmare.”
“Must have been some kind of nightmare.”
I nodded. “It was.”
I never slept in pants, so I tried to cover up with the blanket still hovering around my waist. Gray glanced at me and then looked away with a slight smile on one side of his mouth.
“Shut up.”
He chuckled. “You’re very modest.”
“And you aren’t?”
Shrugging, he looked back over at me. “Not particularly.”
“Well, I am. So, how was your day? What’s your assignment?”
He sighed and lay back onto the mattress, staring at the ceiling. “I don’t belong here. But I don’t feel like I belong in Olympus anymore either.” He paused. “I’m overseeing the teams pruning the western orchard.”
“I think I’m supposed to prune again tomorrow, but I’m not sure where. I’ll be assigned in the morning. They’re shifting teams daily. What time is it?”
“It’s just after midnight. My shift just ended. I needed to talk to you for a minute.”
“What’s up?”
When he pulled the small communicator out of his pocket, my stomach sank. Memories of the words and pictures from yesterday flooded my mind. Gray typed something into the small keyboard. The screen illuminated. His eyes met mine as he held it out for me. “I thought you should know before anyone says anything about it tomorrow.” Not again. How could this possibly get worse?
I took the tiny device. I read the words twice, just to be sure of what I’d seen. “Is this true?”
He nodded. “Yes. It was announced today.”
I threw the communicator back to him as if it were a hot coal in my hand. “I don’t believe it. The engagement was only just announced yesterday!” Not only was Crew getting married in two days, his bride-to-be was reported to be pregnant with their first child. The photograph on the comm showed a glowing and enamored couple, Crew’s hand resting gently on the side of her stomach.
“His father is powerful.”
“Yes, but he would never go along with this. He wouldn’t do this. Not after everything that happened. The only way she could be pregnant would be if she had the procedure.”
Gray nodded in agreement, as he tucked the comm back into his pocket. “Perhaps something he loved was threatened, or someone.” He looked up at me with that last word.
“Do you know that?”
“No, but I wouldn’t put it past the King. He is famous for getting what he wants regardless of the method.”
Warm tears slipped from my eyes, carving jagged trails down the planes of my skin. I wiped them away harshly. “I can’t believe it.”
Gray pulled me to him. “It’ll be okay, Abs.”
“What’s okay?” I pulled away from him. “This is not okay! Crew marrying someone else is not okay! I am not okay! The village is not okay! People are being dragged away at the slightest scent of what they call ‘resistance.’ How is any of this okay?”
“It isn’t. You’re right. I was just trying to comfort you.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to go all psycho on you. I just…I don’t know what to do.”
“Why is it up to you to do something?”
“Because I know what’s going on.”
He squeezed my hand and then held tight. “Don’t do anything stupid, Abigail.”
I looked up at him, sniffed and smiled. “Define stupid.”
I managed to work the next day in South with no further run in with Ardis. It was probably a miracle. Gray didn’t visit that night and Kyan worked into the early morning hours. I covered his breakfast with a cloth and headed back into the cold. Gray was in the group of guards hovering over our work team today. He watched me carefully, often out of his periphery.
My fingers and toes were numb as sundown descended. My thighs were tingly as well. I finished pruning the tree I was in and then made my way down. When my feet found the earth, I almost dropped and kissed it. Ardis sauntered over. “Gray, you guarded this one didn’t you?”
Gray cleared his throat. “Yeah,” he replied, reluctantly.
“She’s quite spirited.”
Gray grunted a reply.
Ardis stepped up to me. I kept my eyes down and hugged my torso to stop my shaking. I still had the rusty pruner in my hand. Was it wrong that I wanted to stab him in the neck with it?
“The Crown Prince was smitten with you, huh?”
I refused to bite. He could fish all he wanted, but I wasn’t going to give in.
“Did he tell you he loved you? Wanted to be with you forever?”
I pressed my lips tightly together.
Ardis chuckled. “So, why did he discard you so easily? So quickly…like a piece of garbage?” He slowly circled me. “Did you not give him what he wanted?” I could feel his eyes on me; hear his smirk in the words he pierced me with.
Gray stepped toward me. I shook my head slightly.
The sound of shouting from across the orchard broke the tension. Someone yelled, “Guards!” Ardis, Gray, and the other guards went running toward the voice. I returned my pruner and crept closer to the disturbance. Brock Jennings, a boy of fourteen, was screaming. He lay at the bottom of a tree, his arm bent at an odd angle. Gray typed on his comm and then shouted into the device a request for immediate help from a medic.
While I watched the chaos unfold, someone grabbed my arm. I looked up to find Kyan. “Ky?”
“Hey. We need to talk.”
“Now?”
“While they’re busy.” He ticked his head toward the guards. “They’re keeping me away from you. That’s why I’m never home.”
“What? Why?”
“They want to isolate you. You’re less of a threat if you’re by yourself. There is no one to talk to, or tell your secrets to.”
He pulled me back into the orchard, away from everyone. Stopping suddenly under a tree, he pulled me to him. I hugged him back. “What’s going on?”
“I’ve got to tell you something.”
“Okay.” I pulled back a little, but he pressed me back toward him. His warm breath fanned over my ear.
“There is a resistance. The woman you saw pulled away from the depot wasn’t part of it, but there is one.”
“Where?”
“Everywhere. I think the guards are catching on. That’s why they’re working everyone so hard—so they’ll be too tired to meet and too tired to fight.”
“Fight?”
“We have to do something. What they did to you, to the other girls, we can’t let them do that ever again. But it’s bigger than that. They’re no better than we are. They have no damn right to rule over us. And we need to bring our girls home.”
“I know.” I held him, reveling in his warmth for a minute. “Where are they taking people?”
“We don’t know for sure, but I think it’s the old prison. Do you remember finding it when we were little?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s the only place that makes sen
se.”
“How’d they find it?”
“They found everything. They’re taking everything from us. It was bad enough when they ruled from their city, but this is our village. It may have been bad before, but we can’t live like this.”
I nodded. He was right. This had to stop. We had to resist. It was bad enough when it was just Norris punishing people in the village left and right. Now, we had an entire army of bullies. We had to fight and get Laney and the others out of Olympus somehow. “What can I do to help?”
“A few of the leaders are meeting at three in the morning at the park. I need you to come. You have to tell them what happened to you and explain what they’ve done with the other girls. They need to hear it from you.”
“I can do that.”
He relaxed and leaned back against the tree trunk. Gruff voices began filtering closer to us. I pulled away. “Abby Blue?”
“Yeah?”
He pulled me close and lightly and quickly pressed his lips to mine. My eyes fluttered. What was that? I stepped backward, rubbing my lips.
“Sorry,” he said. “I shouldn’t have done that. I just...never mind. Sorry.”
Kyan walked away down the long row of the orchard until he faded from sight. My heart broke. When would he get it? He couldn’t keep doing this, not to me and not to himself.
“Back to work,” barked from behind me.
∞
Kyan woke me at two-forty in the morning. I was still foggy from sleep as we made our way through the woods. We couldn’t risk the trails. That’s how the guards moved around. He tugged me through the crunching leaves, over fallen tree trunks, and held branches out of the way so they didn’t smack me in the face.
“Almost there.”
We made our way into the funhouse, which was still full of frightening memories. Three shadows emerged from the darkness. The first was Councilman Stephens, a younger man, probably in his late twenties, tall and thin with a short dark beard that matched the thick hair on his head. He was Paige’s new husband. Oh, how he would pay if she found out I was here.
Resist (The Harvest Saga Book 2) Page 3
