We Promised

Chapter 10

The components of the generator are similar to a yard machine, or a lawn mower. My parents never let me help with the yard work. Their words echo in my head, reminding me of who I am, and who I can't hide. Ilvera, you're a royal. You aren't born to look at dirt. Or their inhabitants. Mother would glare at our gardeners, furious that I had helped them with their jobs. They were executed a day later. Evelyn reminds me of her, not by heart but by looks. She has the icy poise of a queen, the stare of someone cold-hearted. The lights have turned on in sections of the city but I keep yanking the string back. The ache feels good, and lets me focus on something other than myself. Everything I've seen, my whole life, I've been taught to hate the people in the slums and anyone who wants to destroy what our blood has built. I doubted the rebels and then I doubted my morals. Now I don't know what to believe in. I don't understand what I am to do anymore. Going back to the castle doesn't feel right anymore, with an empty void where my dead siblings should be. What's the point of anything anymore if we keep dying? "Ilvera." I notice Blayne and his hand on my arm, stopping me from continuing. My arm aches, but not as much as my heart. Blayne holds me as I collapse, both of us falling to the ground. I silently cry into his shirt, as he tries to be strong for me. I'm not sure what he's feeling, the only thing I know is he doesn't want to feel anything at all. Another call from Evelyn mixes with my pain, irritation swirling with fury in my soul. I throw the pager over the cliff without a second glance. I close my eyes and I don't know how sleep comes but it does, slowly and full of pain.

The sun's rays pierce through the darkness of my eyelids. Blayne is fast asleep, snoring loudly. Overlooking the city, the morning breeze runs its fingers through my hair. The driver stayed for us, waiting patiently in the driver's seat. Blayne shifts as he wakes, blinking slowly. "Hey, little duck." I give him a small smile, but it falls as quickly as it came. "We have to go back," he whispers. My bottom lip trembles. "I don't want to go." He runs his fingers through his hair. "I know." He stands slowly, heading over the doors to our transport. "We need to go back, V. We'll do it together." He grabs my hand, and I let him pull me inside the open doors.

We pull into the royal garage and I slam the door closed while Blayne steps out leisurely, not woken up yet or not wanting to wake up. Evelyn is waiting for us, as I suspected. "Yeah, yeah. Spare me the lecture, Evelyn." Anger and annoyance make her face turn red, but I can't find it in me to care, not after I just lost my baby sister. "She's alive," Evelyn says bitterly. I flinch at her accurate impression of our mother, going rigid. "What?" I ask in a perfunctory tone after recovering. "Our sister is alive." My eyes widen, realizing she's serious. My feet carry me to the medical wing on their own, as fast as I can.

All of my siblings gather in the medical room for the first time since the tragedy. I hug Athena close and wipe the tears from my face harder than I should. "How?" That is all I can manage to say. "I took a pill." I study her, confused as Evelyn fills in the space of silence. Her face flares in heat and my eyebrows jump. She looks like she's about to explode. "Well? Tell her the rest you irresponsible brat!" My mind runs down so many paths, conjuring up ways that my sister can be here, with us, alive, after a terrorist snapped her neck. That terrorist must have given her a pill. "You took drugs from him?" I ask carefully, keeping my tone steady so I don't yell at her. A sudden hatred for my former enemy reignites, burning down my throat to settle in my heart as I make sense of what I've said. He offered a fourteen-year-old a drug, a dangerous one, one that I'm having trouble losing the high for. "Athena, why? You know better than this," I snap, and I step away from my siblings. I guess Evelyn isn't the only one who has an accurate impression of our mother. "You would listen to a murderer, a terrorist, over your judgment? I guess you don't have any judgment considering you took that from him." I begin to pace back and forth, pinching the bridge of my nose. What was I thinking about bringing him here? Blayne cowers under the tension of the room, standing in a corner by himself. He doesn't like when we fight, because our parents did most of that for us. "Well, that drug saved my life!" She folds her arms over her chest, and I sigh. "I'm glad you are okay, Thena. But, you need to use common sense. Just as much as that pill saved you, it could have killed you." I settle her with a look, and she rolls onto her side, ignoring the three of us. I step out of the room in a whirl of wind, slamming the door behind me. Despite my disappointment, I smile in relief. Blayne and Evelyn find me right outside the door. "My apologies. By my blood, Ilvera, is something amusing to you?" Evelyn asks. I push myself off the wall, glaring at her. "Is she not alive, Evelyn? Surely, I deserve some relief for the fact that she isn't cold on that floor, and not breathing." She heaves a small breath, frowning. We have more important things to worry about. Important things like what will happen if her blood decides to mutate to that pill's substance like mine did. "Come with me."

The throne room is more umbrage, darker than usual with the curtains closed. I shut the door behind them as they follow me and begin to fidget, unable to stand still. Evelyn does not scold us for our little escape routine earlier. None of us say anything at all. "The drug is going to take a toll on her." Eve places one hand in the other, leaning against the edge of the table elegantly. "How do you know that, Ilvera? Maybe it won't affect her at all," Evelyn states. I wring my hands together as I pace. "A drug always has side effects," I mutter. Not even Evelyn can know about me. "You've taken the pill, haven't you?" Her accusation throws me off guard, and I stare at Blayne. Maybe she doesn't know what else this drug possesses, maybe she thinks it only has regenerative properties. "You scolded her yet you did the same thing?" I grind my teeth together, keeping improper words from leaving my lips. "I was dying, Evelyn. I was stabbed. He gave it to me, so I wouldn't bleed out." My voice quivers with fear. Blayne purses his lips into a thin line. I've won this argument, big sister. I start pacing again, hardly noticing when I stopped. "What do we do about Athena? We leave for the tour tomorrow. Where are we to put her? We can't just leave her here," Evelyn says. I run my fingers through my hair, keeping it out of my face. "Yes, we can. That's exactly what we should do. She's grounded." Blayne nods. "Yes. She's been looking forward to this tour for a while." We all share a look, smiling. "We sound like parents," I say. Our laughs resonate in my ears, feeding my soul with happiness.

In my chambers, I sleep horribly, my heart racing with every tortuous dream my mind conjures up. I see Liam and his obliterated form, the homeless man hanging from a noose, and Cada twitching as she chokes on her blood. I wake up in a panic, kicking my sheets away, sucking in greedy breaths. "Are you alright, V?" I wipe the beads of sweat that have formed on my brow, fighting tears. He lights a candle next to my bed and tells me not to worry like I'm a little girl all over again. "Just a few more hours, Vera. You think you can try to sleep until then?" I nod slowly and swallow the lump in my throat. A few more hours and I would have to plaster on a face for the country. I would have to worry about the safety of my siblings. I would have to worry about a man who doesn't care about his family and only cares about power. There is only one person who can threaten my family as much as my father and that is his wife. We'll have to see her too. Thinking about her sends chills down my spine. He curls under the covers next to me with a sigh, and his arm hangs off the edge of the bed. Just his presence helps me sleep, like when we were kids. It's a warmth that can never be replaced. I love my brother. He's my greatest ally in this world or the next. I'll never leave him.