Displaced (The Birthright Series Book 1)

by Bridget E. Baker

  I think back to my life before Mom’s ring wrecked everything. I fought with Judica daily, and I was desperate to break free. Other than Mom being ripped away, the essentials haven’t changed. My life still sucks and only one option offers me the chance to break out of the never-ending cycle.

  I’m sorry Mom, if you’re up there shaking your fist at me. I’m terribly sorry if you’re hungry for justice. Judica might have killed you, but killing her, if I even can, won’t bring you back. I can’t live my life for you, not any more. Alora shouldn’t have lived for you either. I have to live for myself. I don’t know how I feel about Edam or Noah yet, but I know how I feel about myself, and I know I don’t want to kill my twin.

  I’m going to abdicate.

  25

  I ought to run downstairs and tell everyone that I’ve made my decision. But I don’t. Alora told me to be one hundred percent positive, and I’m only a hair away from that. It’s hard to go to breakfast and ride to school, all while pretending I’m crippled by indecision. But it’s so freeing to have the peace of a plan, to have my future figured out again.

  I flirt shamelessly with Noah during calculus, and again while we circle the track.

  “So what are you doing after school today?” he asks.

  “Studying, I guess,” I say.

  “Ha,” Noah says. “You’ve gotten a hundred on every single assignment.”

  I quirk one eyebrow. “How do you think I do that? I study.”

  “Well, why don’t you come study at my place? Or invite me to yours.”

  Edam drops in next to us. “You’re not forgetting about your consultation today are you, Rebecca? Forget pulling strings, I yanked on them hard to get you a meeting with Dr. Kenning. You wouldn’t want to miss it.”

  “With who?” Noah asks.

  “Oh you didn’t hear me?” Edam asks. “I said it’s with Dr. None of Your Business.”

  I roll my eyes and lie on the fly, following Edam’s example apparently. “He’s a running specialist. He’s going to analyze my pacing to see how I might improve.”

  “With her time, as a female, she could be Olympic bound, and soon.” Edam beams at Noah.

  “What about me?” Noah asks. “I’d be happy to pay for the entire consultation, if he’d like to take a look at my pacing.”

  Edam shakes his head. “I pitched you, believe me, but since you’re a Chinese citizen technically, it was a hard sell. Dr. Kenning works exclusively with US Olympic hopefuls.”

  Edam’s a better liar than I gave him credit for.

  Noah drops to a walk. “Another time then,” he says to me.

  “For sure.” Once Noah’s far enough behind us, I slug Edam in the arm. “Stop baiting him.”

  “I never have any fun. But that I enjoyed.”

  I should tell him I’ve chosen to abdicate. I should give him time to process that fact. I open my mouth to tell him. But the wrong words emerge. “What time will the famous Dr. Kenning be arriving?”

  Telling people something they don’t want to hear is hard. Which means abdication really is the right call for me. Being Empress would involve a lot of telling people things they don’t want to hear, and I can’t even make myself break the bad news to Edam.

  “Ha.”

  “Seriously though, what time are we training?”

  “Right after school. I have some new ideas, actually.”

  “New ideas?” I ask. “Like the one you had after the party at Noah’s?”

  “Not that I mind the flirting.” Edam grins wickedly. “But maybe save it for when I’m not posing as your teacher.” He drops his voice. “The humans are staring.”

  Right. I drop to a walk and pretend I don’t feel foolish while I stretch and head to the girls’ room to change. I prepare myself all day to tell Edam about the decision I’ve made, but after school, he doesn’t give me an opening. He shows me a few new moves and points out some places I can use them, but he doesn’t bring up the looming decision I need to make at all.

  Alora has prepared a big dinner in the dining room right after we finish. All my guards, Lark, Edam, and a few of Alora’s children are present. Edam takes the spot on my left, like a Consort would. Lark takes the seat of the Heir on my right. It’s strange to be sitting at the head of the table.

  I don’t like it.

  Which just strengthens my resolve.

  The next morning, I steel myself to tell everyone. I can start with Lark, who will support me no matter what, and then I’ll tell Alora, and I’ll save Edam for last. He won’t be pleased, but he deserves to know.

  I’ve barely finished knotting my sneakers when I hear a tap on my door. I’ve gotten downright casual in my school attire, and I wonder what Alora will say, seeing as she had me dressing in a suit the first day. My older sister pokes her head into my room and looks around, her eyes wide, her heart practically racing.

  “Is everything okay?” I ask.

  She comes over to my bed and drops an envelope on the end of it. “A letter came for you yesterday via the normal postal service. Because my name was listed first as a ‘care of,’ my staff unwittingly dropped it into my regular mail.”

  My stomach lurches. “A letter from whom?”

  Alora glances down at the thick ivory envelope and I follow her gaze to the familiar handwriting. My stomach lurches.

  “It’s only a letter? No package with it?”

  Alora shakes her head, squeezes my arm, stands up, and walks out.

  My heart beats almost as fast as a human’s would. I don’t know what to do. I stand up, then I sit back down. I reach for it like I might reach for a pit viper, tentatively. Scared, excited, nervous. Finally though, I pick up the letter and hold it in my hands. It’s addressed to me in Mom’s perfect cursive.

  Chancery Divinity Alamecha.

  I don’t know how long I stare at it before I use my finger to carefully separate the back flap from the rest of the envelope. I pull the parchment paper out carefully and unfold it.

  Dearest Chancy,

  I don’t have much time, so you’ll have to pardon any errors or imperfections. Today is my birthday, and I’ve never felt like this, not in nine hundred years. Aches and pains, trembling and hot flashes, a splitting headache, dry mouth, and cramps in my belly. I hope Alora has to call me and ask why I sent you a letter. I hope she can throw this letter out with a laugh.

  But smoke comes before fire.

  In case I’m not being paranoid, in case I’m in trouble, there are things you may need to know. I’m supposed to be listening to a report from. . . it doesn’t matter. I’m pretending to pay attention. Today has been so busy I haven’t had time to tell you some vital things. I’ve seen far too many people die and leave the world in upheaval. I won’t do that to you.

  I try not to clench my fist. Nice try, but no dice, Mom. You left my world an upside-down mess.

  That’s why this morning I changed the Heirship documents to name you as my Heir. I know you don’t want it. You want to run away. Human life seems hopelessly romantic, but it’s not for you. I know this, because I know you better than anyone else. I’ve loved you every single minute of every single day since you were born almost eighteen years ago, and I will love you every minute that I draw breath. I know your sister Judica will struggle with this change, but I hope that you and I together can help her understand my reasons.

  It’s not only about the stone, you know. I’ve been thinking about making this switch for quite some time, now.

  You’re not like her. You aren’t vicious or savage, and you don’t act out of anger or spite. You have trouble making hard decisions and you always look for a soft solution. I’ve always seen that as a liability, and it would be if your job was to carve out a place for the Alamecha family, but it isn’t. You’re destined for more than holding our ground, or even snatching up a little more.

  I had no idea of the scope of God’s plan for you when you were born. In fact, I spent a lot of time full of anger that having you and Judi
ca at the same time complicated everyone’s lives. But it was all part of your destiny, to be a unifier, a merciful and benevolent ruler the likes of which the world has not seen since Mahalesh herself.

  But even Mahalesh needed Shenoah. They were different, but they complemented one another.

  Similarly, you need Judica by your side. No matter what she’s done, you must forgive her. You are who you are for a reason. You must unite the families and locate the Garden of Eden.

  If you’re reading this, it means I’m sick from being poisoned and I have died. It means I hid my ring and it’s probably still missing—I didn’t want it to be stolen by whomever is poisoning me. You will need time to sort all of this out, and by hiding the ring, I hope to delay the investiture to give you that time. You will know where I hid it if you think about it. When the time is right, the clues I left you will make sense. But the biggest clue is that I hid it in place with value only to you, because that ring means something in your hands that it doesn’t to anyone else.

  You never developed your own spy network and you will certainly need one as monarch. I would like to gift mine to you. If you’re reading this, the head of my network may be compromised. You already know who that is. I fear that individual may have had a hand in my demise. I hope it isn’t the case, but don’t approach her. Contact my second- lieutenant instead. If you think about the one I love more than any other, you’ll be able to puzzle out my keycode.

  It’s almost time for my party and I must close this. But before I do, I need to tell you something that will probably break your heart as much as it does mine. Judica has resented you since she was old enough to feel the emotion. You know your father died while I was pregnant with you, but you may have wondered why I never chose a new Consort or tried to have another girl.

  A new daughter would have solved all our problems, you may have thought. I can’t answer that simply in the time I have here, but I will say, I loved my first Consort, Althuselah, as I have never loved another since. When I met your father, I was dwindling. I was thinking of walking away from everything, of abdicating the throne and spending what remained of my time here on Earth in retirement. Your father and I didn’t share an epic love, and we were incompatible in many ways. But.

  He made me feel again.

  When I lost him too, my heart closed off forever, or so I thought. Sometimes we don’t know what we need until it’s right in front of our nose. Even without finding love again, I might have tried for another daughter, but I haven’t had much luck having daughters. As you know, I’ve had two hundred and eleven sons, and only eighteen daughters. I had no assurances that if I had more children, they would be female. After keeping you, I knew I couldn’t sell another son. It’s a barbaric practice we should have eliminated long ago, but I selfishly wanted you girls to have options for Consorts who had been raised by Alamecha, so I didn’t ever take a stand against it.

  Be very careful with complacency, my daughter. A day quickly grows into a week, and a week quickly graduates into a month. If you feel something must change, do it now. Do not wait.

  I’m nine-hundred years old and have lived a remarkably full life. If I am not with you any longer, please don’t let your mourning dictate your course of action. I’m sure you’ll ignore this because the heart is what it is. I feel robbed of the years I yet hoped to spend with you. But the thing I mourn the most if this is indeed my time is the loss of something very small but very precious.

  Last week I discovered that the baby I am carrying, against my personal odds, is a girl. I want to name her Sotiris because I believe she might be your salvation, yours and Judica’s too. If only she can come into the world, perhaps the enmity between you and your sister will finally evaporate. But if not, mourn your almost sister, dear one, as I mourn the loss of my time with you both. Accept the world as it is, or do something to change it.

  And I do believe you will change it, in ways no one will expect, not even you. From the moment of your conception you’ve been throwing things off balance. Stop assuming it’s a bad thing. Stop apologizing for it. You’re more extraordinary than you can possibly know.

  All my love,

  Mom

  It takes less than five minutes to read my Mom’s letter, twice, but I still can’t believe what I’ve read. Mom was pregnant, and with a little girl. Questions crowd my brain. Why? Who’s the father? And then an overwhelming sorrow knocks me to my knees. I’ll never meet my sister. She didn’t even have a chance. And selfishly, I mourn what her loss means to me.

  Mom was right. Sotiris would have set me free.

  Last night I decided to abdicate, to let Judica rule Alamecha and selfishly take control of my life for myself. I was ready to live as Alora does. I was thinking of creating a society for the half-evians. Lark and my future children would have a place, somewhere to belong.

  But if Mom was pregnant with a girl, then maybe she wasn’t killed because Judica realized she was making me her Heir. After all, Judica could have challenged me and defeated me after Mom died. I wasn’t much of an impediment to her ascent to the throne. A new baby is different, though. A new daughter would be an Heir who would displace both Judica and me, and if Mom was pregnant, she might have taken a new Consort. Evians have been known to have children as late as 961 years old. She might have had even more daughters. A lot can happen in sixty years. Mom might not have stood up for me against my twin, but if she saw Judica as a threat to a new baby? I have no doubt she would have taken action.

  Judica knew that. I thought she killed Mom before, but now. I close my eyes and every part of my body shakes with anger and sorrow. Mom might have wanted me to forgive Judica, even for taking her life. But this is different. Judica killed Mom because she was having another child. Because we were both being displaced.

  Mom can’t avenge Sotiris. But I can.

  I’m not abdicating. I’m going back, because Judica can’t be rewarded for what she’s done. And even more than that, she must pay.

  26

  Edam, Lark, and Alora are waiting for me in the breakfast room. Alora must have told them Mom sent a letter.

  I stop in the doorway, watching the cars in the morning traffic crawl past the window. My life turned upside down when Mom died, but New York has no idea. Life rolls along out here, people going to breakfast, and driving to work, and taking kids to school. Except not my mom, and not my little sister. They will never go to work or school. My mom will never hug me again, and I’ll never meet Sotiris at all. I’ll never be free of my burden, because even if I defeat Judica, I’ll be saddled with guilt and obligation.

  Which means Judica ruined everything like always, but so much worse.

  I glance around the room. No guards in sight. “Where are the closest guards stationed?”

  “I told them to wait outside,” Alora says. “I thought you might want some privacy.”

  “Good, because this information is top level clearance only. Mom suspected she was being poisoned,” I say. “And thanks to some information in her letter, I’m now certain it was Judica.”

  “I’m sorry,” Alora says. “But are you surprised? I thought you already blamed her.”

  I slump down at the table. “I guess I was hoping, more than I realized, that she was innocent. The more I watched videos and saw how Judica reacted to Mom, the less I thought she could actually kill her. She denied it so vehemently. Judica is many things, but I’ve never known her to out and out lie.”

  Alora and Edam share a glance I don’t understand. I consider telling them about Mom’s pregnancy, but I just can’t quite bring myself to say the words aloud. The question I can’t resolve is, how did Judica find out Mom was expecting? If even I didn’t know, how could she have discovered the secret that precipitated the poison? I think back on the tiny heartbeat I attributed to a mouse in the dark tunnel.

  Maybe Judica heard Sotiris. Maybe she was smarter than me and knew the sound for what it was.

  “I can’t let her get away with it,” I say. “I
just can’t. I’m going back. I’m not going to abdicate.”

  Edam’s smile melts almost as quickly as it appears, but it’s there. He’s pleased, and for some reason that annoys me.

  “You missed our session this morning. Ready to make it up now?” he asks.

  I shake my head. “I’m eating a quick breakfast, then I’m off for school. I’m probably going to be late as it is.”

  Alora’s eyebrows rise. “You’re still going to school? Why?”

  “Because Judica’s watching her,” Lark says.

  “Exactly,” I say. “If I don’t show today, someone will report that I’ve decided to stay home. How do you think she’ll react once she knows I’m not attending? I don’t need to make myself a target. She gave me time to decide whether to abdicate, not a week to sit in your brownstone and prepare to kill her.”

  “But you’re wasting time at Trinity,” Edam says. “Unless...have you decided about my offer?”

  I slam my hand down on the table. And my reaction tells me that I have decided. I can’t take him up on his offer, no matter how dire my chances. I’ll do this myself or not at all.

  “I’m fighting her myself.”

  I grit my teeth at Lark’s quick inhalation of air.

  “That’s a mistake.” Edam’s eyes flash. “You’re like a terminal cancer patient insisting on full treatment. It’s too little, too late, and like a terminal patient, you’ll die.”

  “A terminal patient will die either way.”

  Edam huffs. “What I mean—”

  “Is that really what you think?” I ask. “That I have zero chance of defeating her?”

  Edam won’t meet my eye, and I guess that’s my answer.

  I turn toward Alora. At least she’ll look at me. “Do you think I’m in denial?”

  Alora frowns. “I didn’t say that.”

  “You haven’t said anything about it at all. Inara told me to let Edam fight for me. Edam’s my trainer and he thinks I don’t have a chance, but you’re a melodics master. If anyone would know whether I can defeat her with my current level of skill, it’s you.”