The Savior's Throne

Chapter Twenty Two

It was a long sleepless night, but I cannot dwell on it. In the mirror, I see the bags under my eyes and the fear still lingers on my face. I try a few practice smiles, but they all fall flat and my face is stuck in a petrified expression. My eyes are too wide, my cheeks too bright, my hair too messy, my lips too shaky.

The knock that drudged me out of bed sounds again and I head to my door. Arlo stands with Nome and Winn behind him, but none of them mention my appearance. In response, I don't either. Arlo looks disheveled in a way I've never seen, Nome is outright shaking, and Winn won't look at me.

Knowing we have to discuss future events, I let them in. I shut the door firmly and look back at the most prominent person in my life right now. Winn still refuses to look at me and stares diligently at my bedroom floor.

"We have a lot to discuss," I tell them. "Please get comfortable."

All three boys collapse on my bed and I walk over to my window and sit down on my window seat. I stare outside at the cloudy sky and watch as a light mist of rain falls from the sky. Eventually I sigh and face the three people who might be my saviors. I start off with Nome and ask a question that needs to be asked, "Have you spoken to Desmond at all?"

Nome shakes him head, "Not really. I mean he stopped by to check on my tests results, but our conversations never went farther than hello." I nod, realizing I should've thought about how to go about this conversation. "What do you know about your parents?"

Nome frowns, obviously taken aback by the subject, but he answers me anyways. "Not much, I was taken from my mother when I was old enough to carry out orders and I never knew my father." I rub my hands together and resist the urge to look over at Arlo. This is my idea, making it my problem, and me who has to do this.

Instead of trying to think of the right words, I just spill it all out, "Desmond's your father." Nome immediately starts shaking his head, but I do the opposite and nod. "There's no way, he would've said something to me by now," Nome says.

I fold my hands together and place them in my lap, "I'm promise you that I'm not lying."

"It's true," Winn says. I curl my feet up and tuck my feet under me. I watch as Nome stands and looks at all three of us like we're crazy. Winn uses a gentle voice, "All those tests that were done on you-one of them was a DNA test. You are a match to Desmond, he is your dad and you're his son."

He bites his lips, reminding me of how young he is, and says, "Why so many tests just for a DNA result? And why hasn't he spoken to me or tried to get to know me?" There's a crack in his voice every time he says why.

Arlo interjects this time, "He wants you to take the Western throne Nome, that's why he had all the tests done." Nome's face explodes in shock and disbelief. I stand from my seat and walk over to him. With a hand on his shoulder, I force his gaze to me. "They're are telling the truth. He wants you on the throne, but not for honorable reasons." This time I look at Winn, "He wants to use us, to put us on the throne and rule through us. He's already undermining me in the meetings and acting as if he's the ruler and I'm just a pawn. And to him, I am a pawn, just like Arlo is and Nome."

Nome steps up, "Why are you telling me this?"

"Nome, Desmond forced me onto the throne, literally. He had his men grab me and drag me onto the throne. He knew I didn't want to be ruler, knew the risk of the throne rejecting me, knew that I could die, but he didn't care. He hasn't even asked you if you wanted to rule, but he has plans to put you on the throne-no matter what you want. So, Nome do you even want to rule?"