ADAN “I’m eating crow,” Kerr said, raising a glass to Adan in toast. “You knew exactly what you were doing. I’ll never doubt your strategic mind again.” They were in Kerr’s home office, meeting with Clarice and another politician she had recruited to Adan’s cause. The woman, called Fianna, was a close ally of Clarice, and she had pledged her allegiance to the uprising eagerly as soon as Clarice told her of the opportunity. Adan gave Kerr a little nod of acknowledgement and sipped his drink. The four of them were seated around a big circular table that held trays and plates and platters of all kinds of breakfast foods.So far, only Kerr had touched any of it. “And now we enter the next stage,” he continued, leaning over the table to spear a gigantic sausage link with a steak knife. He took a bite, eating it right off the knife. Adan stood and paced over to the fireplace.He let the heat cling to his suit and his skin, breathing in the smell of smoke,
YENA I woke in the morning to a hesitant knock on the bedroom door. Crawling out of bed, I had a vague memory of Nolan rising early and kissing me before he left. I wondered if he had gotten any sleep at all. Rafaela was at the door. She pushed her way inside and shoved the door closed quickly, telling me she had urgent news. “What is it?” I asked. Her impulse to do her job was distracting her, though. She ran around the room and flipped on all the lights, making me wince and squint against them. Then she dragged me by the hand over into the bathroom, sat me down on a stool, and began running the hot water in the tub. Then she told me what happened early in the morning.Nolan had gone into a meeting with the King. And for whatever reason, he left that meeting and got locked away into a confinement cell.“Where is he?” I demanded. “Where exactly?”“I don’t know, Miss Yena,” she said meekly. “But I will find out for you.”She loitered a moment a
Nolan shook his head and said, “I don’t know how you could. My father said he would only keep me here for one day, but…” “But what?” Nolan sighed. “He’s been known to say things he does not mean.” “I don’t understand. You didn’t even touch Adan. Why would your father think this was necessary?” Yena gestured around at the tower, the little jail cell, the silver bars. “My father seems to think that I am… unstable,” Nolan said, still pacing. “Adan must have convinced him, after baiting me into that trap, that I can’t be trusted.” He heard Yena whimper quietly. He stopped pacing and went to face her through the bars. Her mouth was a thin line, and tears were pooling in her eyes. “It’s going to be okay,” Nolan said. It was the first thing he could think of to say. “No,” she said, “it’s not. And it’s all my fault.” “This is not your fault, Yena.” “It is,” she pleaded, falling into a heavy sob. “I’m so sorry. I should h
I spent the evening digging through Nolan’s file boxes. I couldn’t say exactly why, but I knew there was something in there that I needed to find. Lily had told me to trust my instincts.I was trying to get better at that. I didn’t know what I was looking for. But I knew I’d recognize it when I found it. And I found it. There was a file folder that had a few loose pieces of paper in it, along with one small, white envelope. My heart started hammering in my chest the second I touched the envelope. Somehow, I just knew that this was what I’d been looking for. Maybe it was Lily who knew.She seemed to know everything.I pulled out the envelope and saw that on
“He was ill, and very poor. He had one son, but he did not want to ask the son to give up everything to take care of him.” “Wow.” Yena looked down at the letter in her hand. “And you’ve stayed in touch with him all these years since then?” Nolan nodded. “Yes. He has become… my oldest friend.” “Why didn’t you just tell me about this?” Yena asked. “I never wanted him to know who I am,” Nolan said. “I never wanted anyone to know about any of this. I just wanted to be… a regular person to them.” Yena gave him a sad look. “I’m sorry,” she said, “but that was not going to last forever. And if
It was an informational pamphlet about the orphanage. “Check it out,” she said. “You can read all about what we’re doing here. It’s still a really new operation, and our first priority was just getting the doors open and getting all the kids a roof over their heads, so we still have a lot of work ahead of us.” I flipped through the pages, glancing at the pictures. Looked like they were all from the opening day. “We don’t have a lot of group activities set up for the kids yet,” the woman added, frowning. “That’s what we really need the most help with.” A younger woman popped her head out from a nearby hallway and called out, “Cindy? Can we borrow you for a minute, please?” The p
“He’s one of your volunteers here, isn’t he?”Cindy nodded and said, “Oh, my. I didn’t know… why would he…”“He didn’t want you to know. Because he wanted to help out here and he didn’t want special treatment.”Cindy’s shoulders relaxed.She must have been worrying about some interaction or another. Replaying something embarrassing in her mind. Something she wished she hadn’t said or done in the presence of the future King.She stared down at Nolan’s photo and shook her head slowly.“Cindy,” I said, pulling her back to the present. “Can I call you later today? Nolan and I actually need your help with something.”“Of course.” She rummaged through a drawer and produced a business card with her contact information. “But what I could I possibly help you with?”“Have you been watchin
NOLANThe freezing night seemed to go on forever. When a tiny bit of sunlight announced it was daytime again, Nolan felt a flicker of hope. Thinking Yena would come to see him again.But she did not come.And the day just dragged on. One slow, cold minute at a time.This was the real punishment. It was not the discomfort or the hunger. It was the isolation of solitary confinement.When night fell once more, Nolan was tempted to slip into feelings of hopelessness.His body missed Yena’s. It felt like part of himself was missing without her.But dwelling on those thoughts did not help to pass the time. And they were not productive, either.Nolan braced himself for another night of deep blackness and bitter cold. He resolved to spend the hours ahead planning.Considering what were Adan’s next possible moves.And how Nolan could anticipate and respond to each one.Nex