“You were tortured? Is that where the scars come from? From when you were a kid?”I whimper. He presses his lips together but decides to answer despite the discomfort he feels.
“Yes, I was. I have never been the best. My brother was. I always ended up in the dungeons and took the hits for him,”he murmurs so softly that I believe he doubts if saying it is the rightthing. I reach for his hand and give his huge hands a squeeze, smiling at him.
“You will never have to take the hit for me,”I whisper. His eyes meet mine and sparkle with something I have not seen a lot before. Someone speaks up and is not Braxton.
“Why did you do that to your sons?” a familiar voice spits out.
Hazel.
“You know how much hurt you have put Zephron through? Did you see him? Is that why he isn’t here?” she yells at her. She is standing, walking towards the woman. She gets dragged back and the guards want to take her away. The king points towards her chair. Braxton’s mom leaves, and Hazel is pushed in her chair. The king talks further like nothing happened.
“Eliane, you may come up now.” The king’s eyes burn into my flesh as he spits the words out. I drop Braxton’s hands, and wipe my hands in reflex off my dress.
“Breathe.”Braxton’s words echo through my head. I lift my chin, push my shoulders back and shake my waves behind my back. I give him a nod and walk on stage. My power feels off and it worries me. I can’t use it if I need to. Luckily the shadows have disappeared, and I don’t have to walk through them. I don’t sit down. The king’s eyes have something curious in them.
“Well, Eliane. Who do you have and what did you steal from them?” he asks, smiling, but it feels evil. I hate him even more than I already did. I take the name out of my bra and show it.
“I have got Hazel.” I look at her, letting the realization sink in. “I have stolen her plan to start her own shop.” The guards step forward and hand the king the paper. He reads it, and hands it over to me, so I can show the public. That is what I do.
“I heard something happened,” he suggests.
How does he know that?
I feel my face turn red and my heart thunders. I look for Da. Where is he? My eyes meet Braxton his eyes as he speaks to me.
“He is trying to upset you. Tell them what happened. A fire. Don’t lie, but tell them what you want them to know.”
He is right. The words leave my mouth, not in a stutter, but in an announcement.
“When I came into her house, a lantern fell. A fire started.”
Some people hold their breath and wide their eyes. Da sits on the top of the crowd. I have finally found him. He is the only one I can trust hundred percent, it turned out. He smiles at me and the fear from before washes away. I might not win this second trial, but I will not break Hazel her house and her dreams.
“The fire started, Braxton and I took her plan and ran. Her parents got out in time.” I jump off the stage, strolling towards my still angry sister, but she looks kind of surprised as I come closer.
“Here,” I whisper to her. “It was yours in the first place.” I hand her the plan. Her eyes scanning the plan and the relief in her eyes are all I need to know to confirm this is really my sister. I will talk to her about it after these trials. She jumps up and her arms wrap around me, whispering something in my ear. Fear covering her face.
“Are they all safe?”
I push her back, comforting her with a soft squeeze.
“Your parents got out.”
She gives me a soft smile, but the fear on her face doesn’t disappear as she speaks up again.
“Thank you.” People clap and I walk away. I don’t tell Hazel any more than what I told everyone. Not about my burn out, our parents, or the lie they told. I just walk away. I sit down next to Braxton. The king, it appears, does not know what to say. He stands up and clears his throat.
“Well, thank you.” He nods towards the leaders of the other continents that are sitting behind the row of candidates. “Let the voting begin!”
Chapter 27
Braxton
If stares could kill, we would all be dead.
The suspense in the room is killing me.
I sit down next to Caleb, who looks hurt, but keeps his mouth shut wisely. It makes sense now why Zephron was nowhere to be found. The things people took, must have gone by him first. He must have seen our mom—talked to her. That is why he wasn’t there. My eyes turn to Eliane, sitting on the other side off the table, pushing her food around the plate. Hazel sits next to her and reaches for Eliane’s hand. She whispers something and they start a silent conversation. If I wanted to know what it is about, I could just slip in Eliane’s mind, but enough has happened today.
