“A higher tier?” I interrupt, narrowing my eyes at him because that sounds suspiciously like he’s insulting me.
“He’s the Regent and you’re…” he gestures at me.
“I’m what?”
“His ward,” Trey says evasively.
“So?” I ask him, seeing that there’s something he’s not saying.
“So, that position could change,” he replies sharply.
“Yeah, I know. I’m going to be his crappy advisor now…but what else could I do? I couldn’t just sit there and let Kyon and the Narc make a play for me,” I reply, crossing my arms defensively. “I had to get rid of the Narc and that meant exposing my secret. It was a risk, but Manus could’ve been swayed by them…I could feel it.”
“I agree. Until that point, you were like a beautiful piece of art to him, appreciated but easily bartered away. But, you went too far, Kricket! Manus will never make you his consort,” he says in a harsh tone.
“What?” I exclaim, feeling shocked because that hadn’t even occurred to me.
“He’d have you as his inamorata, but do not expect him to commit to you,” Trey’s tone is bitter. “He’s the Regent and you are half Alameeda.”
“Hold up,” I order, putting up my hand to stop him. “What is an inamorata?”
“A lover,” he says accusingly.
I blush. “You think that Manus wants me as his lover but not as his…wife because he’s on a higher tier than me?”
“Yes.”
“Because I’m not good enough for him.”
“That’s the way it would be viewed,” Trey replies, and my heart contracts painfully.
“Why are you telling me this, Trey?” I ask in a soft tone.
“I don’t want you to be…disappointed,” he looks away from me.
“Why would you care?” I ask, looking away too, toward the fountain so that I can blink back the tears in my eyes. “Aren’t you supposed to be having a commitment ceremony of your own soon?” I stoop to pick up some small stones.
“Who told you that?” Trey asks, sounding sullen.
“Does it matter?” I toss a stone at the pool and watch it disappear beneath a lily pad.
“I’ve known Charisma my entire life. She’s always been my friend.”
“That sounds ideal. She comes from a good family?” I ask, forcing myself to sound normal, but my heart really hurts now.
“They own the estate next to my family’s estate.”
“In the Valley of Thistle?” The perfect place that I created in my mind begins to crumble.
“Yes.”
“With the spixes?” I ask, my throat raw now, seeing the house where I had my fake commitment ceremony dissolve.
“Yes,” he says again, but softer.
“I’m such an idiot,” I breathe, squeezing my eyes shut.
“What?” Trey asks from behind me, sounding confused.
“Nothing…I wish…” I throw another pebble in the fountain.
“You wish…what?” he asks, coming closer to me.
Angry voices, speaking in hushed tones stop me from answering him. Trey’s arms wrap around my waist and pull me back into the shadowy edge of the hedge. I don’t make a sound.
“She is the prophecy,” someone hisses from the other side of the hedge. “We haven’t had a diviner of truth for hundreds of years—and she can already do it—at her age with absolutely no training.”
“That is an opinion, Nark. One you will not express again,” Kyon’s unmistakable voice responds, while they continue walking by us on the other path. Trey lets go of me, following their voices.
I follow closely behind Trey, kicking off my shoes so they don’t make crunching noises on the gravel. “This is not something that we should keep from the Brotherhood. If she is the prophecy, then she’s more dangerous to us than just having a rogue priestess in Rafe hands. If she is the one…then a house will fall.”
“I know the prophecy. You do not need to explain it to me! The house was not named. It could be Rafe that falls.”
“Or, it could be Alameeda…or Wurthem. Do you like those odds?”
“You want to maintain the status quo at the risk of greatness, Nark. That’s why you’ll always be where you are…at the bottom.”
The bluster in the Narc’s voice is unmistakable. “When I make my report, Kyon, I’ll be sure to mention that to the Brotherhood. My trift is being made ready. You should join me. There’s nothing here for you now.”
“No, I’ll stay. Don’t be surprised if the information you impart does not throw you into a favorable light,” Kyon says easily. “Safe journey, Em Nark.”
“Haut Kyon,” the Narc responds formally, before feet crunch away on the path.
“What’s the prophecy?” I whisper to Trey. He turns quickly and covers my mouth with his hand, pulling me back against his chest. I still and listen for a second for any sound that would signal this kind of reaction from Trey. A soft humming noise, like a low vibration, throbs near us.
Trey tenses for just a second, and then he lifts me off my feet, carrying me while running back the way we came. A static noise sounds behind us, and looking over Trey’s shoulder, a shiny, long, bullet-like thing is following us. It’s emitting a green beam of light, scanning everything in the vicinity…like it’s looking for something.
“What the—” I breathe the words and instantly, the green light flashes on my face. The silver metal thing turns as if it has locked on to me; it streaks toward us like a missile. Horrified, I can only clutch Trey’s neck tighter and watch it near, emitting a high frequency noise that makes every hair on my body rise.
Just as it’s about to pierce Trey through the back with a long needle projection, he dives forward, carrying me with him head first into the pool beneath the fountain. Submerged beneath the lily pads, Trey’s body holds me under, pressing me to him like an anchor. My lungs are burning. I try pushing him off of me so that I can get to the top for air, but he’s not letting me go.
Opening my eyes, I see the green light scanning the water above us. I stop struggling, trying to stay beneath the water as bubbles of air escape from my mouth. The light from above slips away and Trey eases me to the surface of the water. Breaking the plane, I inhale air greedily.
Shouts and running feet pound on the gravel path behind the hedge near us. Someone yells, “Squelch tracker!” Then, the rapid fire of weapons erupts and a huge explosion sends me back under the surface of the water.
Trey’s hands wrap around me. He hauls me up again, pressing me tightly against his chest and stroking my wet hair. Shivering, more from trauma than from cold, I rest my cheek against his chest.
“Kricket, are you hurt?” Trey demands, pulling me away from him so I can look in his eyes.
“No,” I say breathlessly, seeing water dripping down the sides of his perfect face.
His hand reaches up, cupping my cheek and pulling my lips to his. The moment his lips touch mine, I lose all thought of squelch trackers, prophecies, and regent police. Wrapping my arms around Trey’s neck, I press closer to him while my heartbeat drums in my ears. Trey’s lips slip from mine, trailing a path of urgent kisses over my cheek to my neck. A coil of heat collects in my core and spreads to all of my extremities in an instant. My knees become weak, while a gasp of pleasure comes from me.