by Jenn Vakey
Gryffin and I spent the next half hour making our rounds through the group. The nerves had started to lessen after they had gotten to meet everyone and they were fed. By the time Faida came in with the housing assignments, they had willingly allowed the children to be left with the others in the schoolhouse. Although, there were some hesitations when we walked them over there and they saw Kip. The children were a lot more eager to get to meet him than their parents were, but after assurances from both the adults and the kids already in there that he was sweet and gentle, they relented.
Instead of following them through the tour and to where they would all be staying, Gryffin and I walked around to check the progress on everything. The first stop was to the chicken coop, were we checked the eggs to see if they had been fertilized. Gryffin laughed when I told him that was what we were doing, but he didn’t hesitate before jumping in to help.
That was one thing I admired about my brother. It would make him a good king.
After putting all of the fertilized eggs in the incubator, we went to go check on the progress of the new garden. It had already been planted, and the winter housing was nearly complete. It would take a little time, but this would double our food production.
The houses were also coming along nicely. The time consuming part of this was going to be getting all of the wood needed. The groups were working smoothly, though, with trees coming in steadily to go through the machines for processing. It was hard work, but no one was complaining.
As it stood now, the first two homes should be up and ready by the end of next week. Within the next month, I was optimistic that we could have enough built for everyone to have a place to live.
My brother and I helped with framing one of the houses until it was time for everyone to break for lunch. After a quick stop by the dorm to rinse off and change, we headed toward the dining hall.
And there was my girl.
Leeya’s head turned the moment I walked in the door. It was almost like she could feel me watching her. I couldn’t keep from smiling. She looked happier than she had in days. At ease. I knew it wasn’t just that she had her head straight again. Now that she remembered everything, she could truly understand what had been happening. What we had accomplished.
Gryffin and I took the last open seats at the table. I dropped down next to Leeya, brushing my hand across her thigh as I settled in. She smiled, but kept her eyes on Aarys, who was across the table.
Our group had expanded to the point of taking up the entire table instead of just the middle of it like we always had. Not all of the people residing in the dorm were part of the regular meal group, but a fair amount were. Lillith and Paxton were at Leeya’s other side. Next to Aarys, the side my brother wasn’t at, sat Natali, the girl Leeya had found in the broadcast station in Eden. She and Aarys had bonded over their shared banshee abilities. I was pleased to see Alister had also struck up a friendship with her, and was sitting on her other side. Not that his eyes weren’t still finding Leeya whenever she spoke. I knew I had nothing to worry about there, but I still didn’t like the attention he gave her.
Maizie caught my eye from where she sat next to him and smiled. I tilted my head in response and turned my attention to my food. With Leeya back, I wasn’t as worried about the situation. It was still something I knew I needed to handle. Sooner rather than later if Leeya and I would be making our engagement public knowledge soon.
“We have a meeting after lunch,” I said, looking between Leeya and Gryffin. “We’ve got reports in from the city.”
Leeya looked over and met my eye. She didn’t ask, but instead searched my eyes for answers. Any hint at what it was we had been told. I didn’t have anything to tell her right now. Faida hadn’t told me anything when I met her with the bag of clothing earlier. There was a weight in her look, though, so I knew it wasn’t great news. There was no hope of us going in to be told that the people of Eden had overthrown Dex.
I reached under the table and took the hand that was resting on her lap, squeezing it gently. Our fight might not be over, but we would get through whatever was waiting for us in Eden.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
LEEYA
Instead of taking my normal seat at the back of the meeting hall, I walked with Rhydian toward the front. That had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that Maizie was sitting back there. None at all.
The room filled up quickly. I took a seat on the front row while Rhydian and Gryffin stood at the front with Orson. Dallin walked in moments later and sat at my side. I wasn’t really surprised to see Paxton just behind him. I could tell by the cautious look Orson gave him that he didn’t trust my friend, but I did. Thankfully, Rhydian also didn’t have any reservations when it came to him. Paxton might be the son of a council member, but that didn’t make him anything like his father. He had a good heart, and he would always be on the side Lillith and I were. The fact that he was Othman’s son could end up helping us in the end. He likely had valuable information we couldn’t get anywhere else.
“We received a report from our people in Eden,” Orson said when the room settled. The silence that filled the space was thick, tension coming from everyone as we waited. Orson sighed, folding his arms tightly across his chest. It wasn’t going to be good. “For those of you who haven’t heard the specifics, Rhydian and Leeya were able to have Dex’s confession broadcast to the entire population of Eden. It included what took place at the facility, the plot to steal the crown, and the understanding that everyone within Eden has the Tainted genes.”
“He also made it very clear that he has no problem killing people in mass,” Rhydian added.
That night came rushing back to me. The sick look on Dex’s face when he announced proudly that he would kill them all. Rhydian had told me how the people had responded. I wished I had been awake to see it.
“The news right now is that most of the citizens aren’t standing behind Dex,” Orson said. “That includes a significant portion of the Sentry.”
“We can confirm that based on an encounter we had with Sentry yesterday,” said Auggie from where he sat on the second row.
There was some chatter at his statement, but no one elaborated. Very few people had actually been informed about what happened. If some of Dex’s loyal Sentry, those permitted to hunt us, weren’t doing as they were ordered, it would be safer for everyone if the details were known by as few people as possible.
“According to the most recent information, Dex has started arresting anyone outwardly acting against him,” Orson pushed on. “The council is backing him.” His eyes shifted to Paxton for a fraction of a second before returning to the room. I nearly growled. The low chuckle coming from where Paxton sat beside Dallin said he was more amused than anything else.
“We were able to get a large group of Eden’s Tainted out of the city safely, but there has been an official order to have anyone with abilities rounded up. We don’t have details on how he plans to identify them, but we can assume they’ll no longer be planning to keep the ones they do find. He’s also made a statement confirming the princes are Tainted and enemies of Eden. He’s gone so far as to say King Phineas was, as well, which was why the council and his late father approved of his removal from the throne.”
I looked to Rhydian just in time to see him tense. Dex could use whatever fancy phrasing he wanted, but it didn’t change the facts. They had assassinated him. Murdered him.
“We need to determine what our next step will be here,” Orson stated. He leaned back against the table and waited. His silent approval to hear our suggestions.
“With Dex taking anyone willing to assist us out of the picture, it won’t be easy to mount an attack to try to remove him,” Dallin said.
“They’ll also be watching, so we can’t count on the element of surprise like we had with the rescue,” Auggie added.
And that was the real problem we were facing. Even if most of Eden was actually siding with us, how were we supposed to even stand up against him
and his Sentry army?
We needed more people on the inside.
“We need Tainted in the city,” Rhydian said, reading my mind. “They used the Tainted in the facility for research so they could create weapons to replicate our abilities. The only one we’ve seen is a gun that can produce a banshee scream, but it’s highly effective. If we want to be able to stand up against that, we need an army of Tainted.”
“You want to use the serum,” Noella said. I already knew the answer. We had talked about it weeks ago. Where the thought had seemed like an attack back then, things had changed. It could be the only chance we had of success now.
Rhydian and Orson exchanged a look, then they both nodded.
“So how do we go about using it?” Nevin asked from somewhere in the middle of the room. “Do we offer it to people, or do we put it in the water?”
I almost laughed when Orson’s gaze turned to me. It was like I was frequently opinionated when it came to the ethical decisions we were faced with or something. I guess it would be rude to let him down now.
“If we put it in the water, we’re proving that we are the threat and danger they claim we are,” I said, loud enough for everyone to hear. “We should give people the choice. From everything we’ve been told, there are a lot of people on our side. People are just frightened and don’t have a way to really stand up against Dex and the Sentry. I say we get the word out that it’s an option if they want to help us fight back.”
“I agree,” Gryffin said as both Rhydian and Orson nodded. “Forcing it on people would make us no different than they are. People need to have the power to make decisions when it comes to their lives.”
And that was why he should be the one ruling Eden.
“It’s also imperative that we take Dex and the council alive,” Rhydian declared. His jaw tightened some, and I could see that his personal feelings were warring with what he was saying. He might not be the murderer Adler had claimed him to be, but Dex and his father had taken so much from him. At the same time, he was a good man, and he was putting the needs of the masses above his own. “They need to be taken into custody so they can stand trial for their crimes. Then we replace him with a valid king.”
He looked to Gryffin, who nodded.
“All good ideas, but how do we go about doing any of it?” Prestyn asked.
The room was quiet for a moment. It was Dallin who finally spoke. “We need to gather the Sentry who are on our side. It will take Sentry to fight Sentry.”
There was no question there. They were the only people in Eden who were trained to fight. We could give others the abilities, but that would still leave most of them at a disadvantage.
“That should be the place to start when offering the serum,” Paxton said. “Dex will be arming his with the weapons Rhydian mentioned, although I couldn’t imagine he could put one in the hands of all of them. Especially if they aren’t aware of when the attack will be. Giving friendly Sentry abilities would put them at the advantage.”
“With Dex arresting them now, they’re either going to be in prison or hiding where their loyalties lie,” Jaron said. “We’d need to both figure out how to get the ones detained out, and get a list of ones we can trust who are still free.”
“I might have an idea how to go about getting a list of names,” Dallin said.
Orson met his eye and nodded. It was a look that said he knew exactly what he was talking about, and that it would be discussed further later.
Over the next ten minutes, different ideas were thrown around about how to orchestrate a mass prison break. Each one had its flaws. In Eden’s four hundred year history, no one had ever left the walls of the prison without being officially released. If it was seen as impossible for one person to get out, how were we going to manage a large group?
The closest we had come to a resolution was simply to charge the prison and overrun the staff. The problem we faced with that was the hour it took for the serum to work once taken. The fighting would be well underway before any of the Sentry presented.
“We’ll get back to that,” Orson said when the ideas stalled. “Our next issue will be detaining Dex and the council. Dex will be protected in the palace. Ideally, we want to take all of them down. If we’re unsuccessful in getting to Dex, it’s imperative the council members are all removed. Without their backing, it will be nearly impossible for him to hold the throne.”
“We could have small teams sent out to get each of them,” Faida offered. “We would just need to have people on them beforehand so we had the locations.”
“That won’t work if the attack has already started,” Paxton spoke up. “As soon as the alert is sent out, all council members with the exception of Maker and Sentry will be moved to the palace. The Maker councilwoman will be at the power station, and Sentry will be at Sentry command.”
It wasn’t the lack of common knowledge that he was the son of Othman that kept him from addressing him as his father. The hard edge to his tone told me it was his anger. I don’t think there was anything in the world Othman would be able to do to earn his son’s forgiveness. It was about more than his support when it came to how Eden handled the Tainted. He knew just as well as Dallin and I did that Pax was in love with Lillith, yet he willingly let her be tortured in that place.
Orson must have also picked it up, because there was nothing but appreciation for the information in the nod he gave in response.
“That means that if we want to get our hands on them, it would need to be done in quiet before the strike,” he stated. “The problem with that…”
A loud booming sound echoed through my mind before I could hear what he was going to say. In that moment, I was back there on the walkway in Eden. My bones shook from the vibrations, the air leaving my lungs. It was right there, just out of reach. The pain I had felt when everything had crumbled down around me. The heat against my skin as I was thrown through the air.
I swallowed, blinking away the memories. Unsure where the sudden flashback had come from. But when I looked to Rhydian, hoping for something to tether me to the here and now, I realized my mistake.
Silence filled the room for a single second, but it felt like it had been an eternity. It was the shock on Rhydian’s face that told me it hadn’t been a flashback at all. At least not the sound. The explosion that had just happened.
“The wards are down,” Rhydian announced.
Those four words were enough to snap everyone out of the shock we had been clouded in. I was on my feet before Rhydian could take the two steps toward me and grab my hand. Then he was pulling me along with the crowd as everyone ran for the door.
“Do what you have to do to get them up!” he yelled back over his shoulder. “Clear all the houses. Anyone not in fighting condition needs to take cover.”
I didn’t stop to see who was listening as we emerged through the crowd and my hand slipped from his. Several people were looking around in the direction I knew the wards totem to be. Others appeared to be in complete shock. We didn’t slow as we ran toward the dorm.
Rhydian was already yelling before the door was completely open for us to cross through.
“Everyone out!” he called out. “We have Sentry incoming.”
Lillith was standing in her doorway as we ran toward her. She looked terrified, but she was safe. That was all that mattered.
“Don’t leave her side,” Dallin was saying as I moved to my room and grabbed my bastons. I didn’t bother with my harness. I wouldn’t be needing it. By the time I stepped back out and saw Rhydian with his staff in hand, Paxton already had an arm protectively around Lillith. He would protect her.
The five of us turned and ran back outside. I stopped and looked around, finally taking everything in. We had so many people here, and half of them had little to no training. My heart hurt when I saw the children being herded into the schoolhouse. They were crying, terrified.
“What if there’s another bomb?” I asked, feeling Rhydian at my back. He hadn’t gone
with the others to the training field. I could hear muffled orders being called out, people yelling to try to find someone. Dallin was telling Paxton to take something, more than likely a weapon, and go somewhere else with Lillith. All I could do was watch the children.
“They’re going into a bomb shelter,” he said. He reached out and squeezed my arm. Offering support he could tell I needed. “They’ll be okay, Leeya.”
I took in a breath and nodded. This wasn’t the time to let my fear consume me. To let the memories pull me under. We were under attack. We had to fight for our community.
Spinning slowly, I assessed our surroundings. People were standing between buildings, each armed with something. I could even see some of the people who had just arrived that morning. They weren’t cowering. They were ready to do what they needed to to protect their families.
“How long will it take to get the wards up?” I asked, turning and hurrying to the training field with Rhydian.
