CHAPTER FIFTEEN
RAIN
Halfway to my room, I realize, I can’t go to sleep now. There’s no way. Not after that argument with Father. Not after he bashed the love of my life. Not after the brutal reminder that Ember is dead.
“Take me to Aurora.” I push the words past the thickness in my throat, half afraid the Defenders will laugh in my face and throw me into my room. Surprisingly, they turn me down another hall and lead me toward the ballroom. Which means Aurora instructed them to let me see her if I requested.
Aurora is sitting in her throne, her chin in her palm. Her other hand holds a wineglass resting on her knee. She looks bored as I was. When she sees me, she straightens. The sad look in her eyes vanishes and a wall comes up.
I bow, my hands still bound.
“Rise,” she says with a sigh. I do and look her in the eye. She smiles. “Didn’t get enough party to suit you?”
“I want to go to the Black Tiger Club.”
Her brows shoot up. “Quite a request from a prisoner.”
I look away, clench my teeth until my jaw hurts. I should have known better than make such a demand and expect her agreement.
“Is our refined wine not good enough for a drunk like yourself?”
I snort. “Like you’re one to talk. I haven’t seen you without some sort of drink all night, apart from Mcallister’s Defenderhood-restoring thingy.”
She offers a lazy smile and swishes the white wine around in her glass, then takes a sip. “Titus never allowed me the luxury of drinking. He was afraid I’d turn into an alcoholic, you know, being locked up and all.”
“Looks like you don’t even have to be locked up to become an alcoholic. All you need is access to wine and voilà!”
She rolls her eyes. “Take him to his room,” she tells the Defenders, then she looks at me. “Anyone foolish enough to disrespect the chief right to her face doesn’t deserve the freedom you ask for.”
The Defenders twist me around and begin guiding me away. “Just like your brother,” I mutter loud enough for her to hear me. But if that gets to her, she doesn’t do anything about it.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
AURORA
I realize, as I watch my subjects dance and feast, that the people don’t like me because they don’t know me. They knew Titus. They watched him on their TV screens since he was an infant. They respected him and they served him. They knew Ember, where she grew up, her fear in the prison, her disgust with Frankfort, her love for justice, and her longing to go back to the Garden. They were fascinated with her and they empathized with her.
But they know nothing about me. I just showed up one day, pretended to be someone else, and haven’t even bothered telling them that Titus had me locked up. It’s such a personal secret, a skeleton I’d rather not release from the closet. But if I want the people to really know me, I guess it’s time to open up.
Tell them your secrets, Titus said. He might not have meant this secret, but I don’t even care right now. I rise from my throne and walk toward the drinks table where a group of girls is gathered, Olivia Doss being one of them. She got turned down by Forest when Ember showed up. But I have no idea how she feels about me. Titus spoke highly of her, saying she might be one of my best assets. Only one way to find out.
“Congresswoman Doss,” I say. “May I speak to you in private?”
Her eyes cloud with confusion, but she sets her glass down and walks with me out of the room. She’s tall and willowy, with high cheek bones and raven hair that reaches past her shoulders. I understand why Forest had a thing for her. She wears a black toga with a silver sash, reminding me of a black tiger.
I take her to a small conference room where I know there aren’t any cameras for Titus to eavesdrop. I don’t know why I haven’t disabled his cameras yet. Just another to-do to add to my long list.
I gesture for her to sit, then sink down in a chair across from her. I try to think of the best words to open up with. Women are supposed to be good at small talk, at easing into hard conversations. But since I only had two people I could talk to until recently, I have no idea how to begin. I decide to dive right in.
“Tell me what people are saying about me.”
Her sculpted brows shoot up, and she leans back, crosses one pencil leg over the other. “They don’t like you.”
“I know. Why?”
She shrugs. “This is the first ball you’ve thrown in almost a month, while Titus hosted social occasions at least three times a week.”
Exactly what Titus said. Patricians must really value their parties. “How can I…what can I do to make them like me?”
She stares at me, and the pity in her eyes makes my stomach curl. Finally she releases a sigh and leans forward. “I can easily make people like you by word-of-mouth alone. But I won’t do it for free.”
Typical Patrician.
“How much can I pay you?”
“A position in Congress.”
“Done.” Titus told me she wanted to be in his inner circle. I anticipated this demand. “I already have a few members I plan to eliminate. You can take one of their places.”
Her lips part in a shocked gasp, then a smile curves on her lips and she arches a brow. “Wow. I think I like having a woman leader.”
I can’t stop my own laugh. “Things are seriously going to change.”
She leans back. “What would you like your people to know?”
I release a breath and stare at my hands. Might as well tell them the truth. No more secrets. The question is, are they going to believe me?
“Tell them…tell them my mother left me behind when she ran away, and Chief Aden had me locked up since I was a baby. Tell them Titus kept me locked in that same room after our father died. Tell them the only way I could get out of that room, that solitude, was to agree to pose as Ember.” I lift my eyes to hers, and for the first time see the shock, the horror.
“Is…that true?”
I slowly nod. “All of it.” My voice comes out as a hoarse whisper. “And, I wasn’t going to add this part, but it’s going to come to light eventually, so I might as well.” I swallow hard, my hands suddenly trembling with the secrets I’ve held in for so long. “Tell them that…Titus was manipulative. That he made me sleep with him, and that we had a child together, whom he took away and sent to Nashville.”
Now Olivia’s hands fly to her mouth. She shakes her head, her eyes shining. There’s no false pity now, but pure, unadulterated rage. “Titus…our chief did that?”
“He has a lot of dark secrets, Olivia. The person he poses as at the parties is very different from the darker side that lies beneath.”
She lower her hands and shakes her head. “Where is he now?”
“Locked up in the same room where he kept me.” I don’t dare tell her where he kept me. When this information leaks out, I don’t want people to go looking for him and releasing him.
“Olivia, you know about the situation with the Proletariats—how they’re brainwashed. How one look from a Patrician can compel them?”
“Yes.”
“How do you feel about that?”
She lifts one shoulder, her dark eyes darting around the room as though searching the most appropriate answer. “There’s not much we can do about it.”
“But what if there was? What if we had a cure?”
“Then it would make perfect sense to distribute it.”
“Exactly!” A sense of relief washes over me. So not everyone thinks like Titus. Some people actually see sense in curing our country. “We have a cure. And the sooner we can settle things down here in Frankfort, the sooner I can free the country of mind compulsion. Olivia, can I trust you to be my eyes and ears in Frankfort? Can I trust you to be on my side?”
She smiles fondly. “Of course, Chief Aurora. Get me a seat in Congress, and I’ll be more loyal than a Defender.”
* * *
By the time I return to the
ballroom, half the guests have left. I release a breath of relief. The ball is finally almost over. And it’s carrying on fine without me. I decide to turn and head to my room, when I catch a glimpse of Mcallister leaning against the doorpost. His uniform is grungy and wrinkled. His boots are scuffed and his hat is faded. The only thing immaculate about him are the many pins lining his left shoulder. I find myself stepping closer to him.
“You don’t look like a captain,” I say before thinking better of it.
His head jerks up and he quickly straightens, locks his hands behind his back. I immediately regret saying anything. He’s a Defender now. Not a rebel. And the sudden change in his character is surprisingly disappointing.
“What can I do to please you, Chief?” he asks. I hate the way his voice sounds suddenly monotone.
“You need a new uniform,” I say, shrugging. “Meet me in my room in a half hour.”
His eyes flick to mine and he quickly bows. “Yes, Chief.”
I step past him, walk down the lonely halls until I arrive at my room. My maids immediately begin undressing me and pulling the many pins out of my hair. When they finish, I dismiss them. After years of solitude, I almost prefer it. I pull on gray flannel pants and white T-shirt, then throw my hair up in a bun. A knock sounds at the door and I hurry to answer it.
Mcallister’s gaze flits across my pajamas in obvious discomfort.
“I’m sorry to appear so informal,” I say. I honestly didn’t think he would care. He’d seen me in rags when he was instructed to watch me in the caverns. But I’m no longer a prisoner. I’m his chief. I stifle a sigh. “Come in.”
He steps in and I pick up his new uniform from the dresser and hand it to him.
“Thanks,” he says with a bow.
“Try it on, so I know it fits.”
“Where?” His eyes flit around the room, and he arches a brow. “Here?”
“In my bathroom.”
“Oh. Of course.” He steps into my bathroom and closes the door. Poor Mcallister. I never took him for one to get so uncomfortable. He was so laid back at the caverns. He was in his element, I guess. Even after we returned here, he was more like a friend. But just in the past hour, I’ve noticed a subtle change. He’s a Defender again, back to the place where he was pretty much a slave. He had to pretend to be brainless around Titus just to keep his position as a Captain of Defenders. What else has he done to keep his unbrainlessness a secret? I shudder just thinking about someone as kind as Mcallister doing something commanded by someone as barbaric as Titus.
Like torture.
He steps out a moment later, and I have to catch my breath. Wow. Defender James Mcallister really cleans up nice. His uniform is pressed and still carries the bright red shade of an unused uniform. The white strap crossing his shoulder is a stark contrast to his dark skin. His hat is stiff, fitting his head snuggly, and slightly crooked like all Defender’s hats. Shiny gold buttons glimmer in the light, matching his pins. His buffed leather boots are black as the dark void of night, all the way up to his knees. He looks taller, more muscular.
And a little intimidating. Seriously, if the Resurgence ordered it, he could take me down and kill me in a second. So why do I trust him so much?
I swallow hard. “It…fits well.”
“Would you like anything else, Chief?”
I blink. “Yes. I have another request. Are you exhausted? Or do you still have a little energy left?”
He arches a brow. “I’m willing to serve you any way I can.”
“Rain wants to go to the Black Tiger Club tonight.”
Mcallister’s lips tip up in a smile that he clearly tries to fight.
“I want you to go with him,” I say.
His smile flattens. “Instead of his Defenders who brainlessly follow your law?”
Aha. Here’s the rebel Mcallister.
I sigh and sit at the edge of my bed. “I need someone bright enough to understand his requests and make them, and someone who knows him well enough to stop him if he tries to do anything…questionable.”
“And you trust me to do that?”
“I want to,” I whisper.
He blinks, nods, and bows. “Of course, Chief.”
It irks me the way he keeps calling me Chief.
“You can keep calling me Aurora.”
He looks at me again, his fathomless eyes filling with confusion. “I’m a Defender now. You’re my chief. I can’t call you by your first name without breaking the Code of Defenders.”
He’s right, of course. I look at the floor, rub my hand up my arm. “When we’re alone then. Call me Aurora.”
“Why?”
“Because…because you’re one of my only friends, Mcallister. And maybe that sounds ridiculous, because you probably hate me as much as Rain does and you’re just better at hiding it. But I enjoy your company, and I feel a certain…security around you. And now that you’re all Defender and making very little eye contact, there’s a certain detachment and…” I shrug. “I don’t like it.” I search his eyes, willing him to understand. “I need you to be you around me. I need your honesty, Mcallister. Even brutal honesty like what you showed me after our meeting with Titus.”
His brows flicker in confusion, but then understand seems to take its place. He steps toward me. Slowly. Cautiously. And he bends down on one knee. And he takes my hand in his, and while I would usually withdraw if a man did that, I cling to his hand like a lifeline, because Mcallister is possibly the only man who I feel safe around. He looks into my eyes, and I feel like he’s looking straight into my soul.
“I don’t hate you, Aurora,” he says.
My heart skips a beat with the way he says my name in that deep voice. And it’s confusing and thrilling all at once. His fingers tighten around my hand, and there’s that security I feel around him All. The. Time.
His eyes look a little sad now and he says, “I hate the way the government is run. I hate what Titus has done to his own people: the citizens brainwashed to work to the bone, the people who are starving. And I hate what he’s done to you. I hate the injustice and the violence that follows the pursuit of justice.” His throat convulses with a swallow. “But I don’t hate you. As chief, you have my sincere loyalty because I know you will make things right. Do what you say you will, and you’ll have my love and utmost respect as well.”
I’ve never felt the calm around anyone like I feel right now from just looking into Mcallister’s eyes. I want to drown in the sincerity of his adoration. I want him to always be looking at me with this sort of devotion every time he’s around me. I’ve never wanted anyone’s love and respect as much as I want Mcallister’s.
My fingers tighten around his hand—strong and calloused from years of working as a Defender—and I offer a small nod. He presses his lips against my hand, and now I can’t breathe. My heart is a trapped bird, its wings beating against the walls of my chest.
I clear my throat. “You know I plan to carry out justice.”
“Then prove it.” His voice is a hoarse whisper as his onyx eyes search my own. Then he stands, releases my hand. “I’ll take Rain to the Black Tiger Club, as you request.”
“Thanks, Mcallister.” I try to even out my breaths, try to slow down my rapid heartbeat. “You’re…dismissed.”
He bows formally, then walks out of the room.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
RAIN
I’m lying on my bed, staring blankly at the ceiling, hating Aurora and Father and the fact that Ember is dead, when the friendly face of James Mcallister appears.
I jerk upright, immensely relieved at the sight of him here to chase away my demons. There’s something about Mcallister’s companionable presence that’s so calming.
“Nice uniform.” I snort. “Looks like the chief got you real cleaned up.”
He smiles. “I’m here to take you to the Black Tiger.”
I stand. “Does Aurora know you’re here?”
/>
“She’s the one who sent me.”
Shock doesn’t even cover what I’m feeling right now. Not only that she’s allowing me go to the Black Tiger at this time of night, but that she’s sending Mcallister of all people to escort me. Does she want us to escape? Is this her way of getting rid of us?
Must be a trap.
I grin. “Well, brother. Let’s get the shoddy rot outta here then.”
We head out of the building and walk down the street where Mcallister’s Defender vehicle waits.
“How does it feel?” I ask after we get in the car. “Being back in the position of a Defender?”
He shrugs. Mcallister never did like being a Defender. It’d always been hard on him, arresting those who worked for our cause and sentencing them to their executions. But he also helped a lot of Resurgencies escape. It was teamwork between the two of us to get Ember, Ash, and Judah out of prison.
“It’s different now, y’know?” He looks at me, his eyes soft, yet piercing at the same time. “Before I had to act brainwashed. Now I can think for myself.”
“You think you can be yourself around Aurora? It’s like stepping on egg shells around her. You never know what could set her off, she’s so shoddy uptight.”
“Is that why she’s letting you go to the Black Tiger?” He looks at me. “Because you offended her?”
I grit my teeth. I did offend her. I tried hard to offend her. So why is she letting me go? And with Mcallister, of all people?
“We need to leave Ky,” I say. “We need to cross the river and head into the Indy Tribe where we’ll both be free.”
Mcallister shakes his head as he turns down the driveway onto a busier street. “Who will torture Titus? Aurora needs someone trustworthy to get the information she needs out of him.”
white dawn (Black Tiger Series Book 3) Page 12
