Dovetailed (16 page)

Amberlee was surprised the crown fit so perfectly, as though it’d been made for her. Like a fifty-pound barbell, it weighed her down.

Make Mom proud. Make Mom proud. You can do it. Make Mom proud.

She’d changed into clothing that appeared more queenly: a long black coverlet with a long slit up either side of her thighs and embroidery-covered indigo pants. The outfit was more comfortable than she thought it would be. It looked like something her mother would have worn; in fact, it was possible Modna might’ve retrieved the outfit from her mother’s closet.

For some reason the thought of wearing her mother’s clothes both creeped her out and comforted her at the same time.

“You look beautiful,” Palmo said. There wasn’t much light, just a blue glow.

“Thank you,” Amberlee replied.

She, Palmo, Zaren, Palamina, and three other Formytians had left the Chans in the war room and were headed down to the tunnels.

Hovering behind them was a motorized cart made of thrantum. It was filled with supplies: blankets, food patches, and cleaning tablets. It was enough to last her people several months, but she hoped they wouldn’t have to remain in hiding that long.

Amberlee felt slightly claustrophobic so far underground. The air was dank, like wet dirt and each footstep the company of seven took reverberated around them, lulling her into a hypnotic state. Their march was slow going. She’d wanted to ask how much longer but kept quiet, especially since she knew the slow pace wore on the others’ nerves as well. More than once she heard one Formytian whisper to another that it would’ve been better if they could’ve used Britorent. Since Amberlee and Palmo hadn’t been through the transformation yet, it wasn’t possible.

The tunnels held a secret location only a select few had known until the war began. It’d been built and maintained for this exact moment. Amberlee hadn’t been in them before today. She’d arrogantly believed the tunnels weren’t necessary and had even commented to her father once that building them was a waste of time.

Before the war, the whole idea of needing a safe place for her people to hide had seemed so far-fetched, like something only barbarians took part in. Not any more.

She realized war was about power. King Antyon was about power, pure and simple. The king wanted all of it and he would lie, steal, cheat, murder, and more to get what he wanted. He was twisted and full of evil.

Amberlee hated him. She would do anything to bring him down. He deserved to pay for what he’d done to her parents, to everyone he’d betrayed.

“Stop,” Zaren whispered, bringing Amberlee out of her thoughts. The company halted behind him. Amberlee realized they’d come to a door.

“This is a checkpoint,” Zaren announced, looking directly at her.

Amberlee had no idea what that meant, but she nodded. One thing she was certain of was that Zaren would never lead her or the people of Alayeah astray. He could be relied upon. He was trustworthy. She’d seen him in action down in Helker and understood why Venus had fallen for him, why she trusted him so fully.

For probably the tenth time she wondered where Venus had gone. She’d said she wouldn’t abandon her, yet it felt like she had.

Zaren pressed his hand against the door. It glowed a deep blue, outlining his large hand.

“Access granted,” a female voice said and the door clicked open.

The presence of technology so far underground surprised her. It surprised Palmo too. She heard him gasp. They looked and each other. Amberlee shrugged.

“How much farther?” she asked once they went through the checkpoint.

“Not long now.”

Palmo sighed.

His impatience irritated her, probably because she wanted to be impatient too, but couldn’t. It wouldn’t be becoming of a Queen.

This hallway was different from the others they’d come through. It wasn’t made of dirt, but some kind of black material. The lights reflected off the substance, making the way shine.

The other huge difference with this tunnel was the Formytian guards standing on either side every ten feet. They reminded her of statues because they didn’t move, except for their eyes. She knew their presence was to keep out intruders, but they made her uncomfortable and she hastened her pace.

Palmo didn’t seem too excited to talk with the additional guards around, either, so they kept to themselves. Amberlee became lost in her own thoughts and the knowledge that so much had changed over the past several months. Before all this had happened, if someone had said she’d be queen before her sixteenth birthday, or at all, she would have laughed in their faces and told them they were crazy.

Yet there she was, crowned with the full support of the Chans and headed to gods knew where to help her people.

A nervous flutter came to life in her belly. What if they didn’t like her? What if they rejected her as Queen?

Everyone knew what she’d done, that she’d betrayed the king and queen, and they’d been killed because of her. Why wouldn’t they hate her? If she were in their shoes she had no doubt she’d hate herself.

She already did.

Zaren interrupted her thoughts again. They’d reached another door. He pressed his hand to the center. Blue light surrounded his hand.

“Access granted.” It was the same female voice that’d been at the other door. Come to think of it, the voice was the same as the one used in the castle to monitor them while they slept: The Body Sensor voice. For some reason that comforted her. She knew the voice was computer generated.

The door clicked open. Instead of Zaren opening it all the way, two Formytians came through and blocked their path.

“State your business,” one said to Zaren.

He and Palamina each placed a hand over their chest. “I’ve brought the newly crowned Queen of Alayeah.” Zaren turned to introduce Amberlee.

She worked not to shrink against the wall or hide behind the supply cart. Instead she straightened and gave him what she hoped was a queenly smile.

The guard looked surprised.

“She also brought supplies.”

Whatever he might’ve thought about Amberlee being queen, it immediately changed at the mention of supplies. He relaxed. “Food? Blankets? Cleaning packets?” the guardian asked hopefully.

“Yes to all three,” Zaren said.

Both of the guards pushed open the door and allowed the group of seven to pass.

Zaren beckoned Amberlee to come forward. When she stood next to him he whispered, “You’ll do great.”

She nodded, too afraid to speak, and worried her voice would betray how scared she was.

As they moved forward the room grew lighter and lighter until the hallway opened into an enormous cavern. Amberlee swayed to a stop, nearly knocked over by the stench of waste and unclean Kelarians. Her silver eyes scanned the room. Thousands of Alayeahian citizens were holed up down here.

A male, dressed in shabby clothes, approached Zaren. He spoke softly, but still loud enough for Amberlee and several of the nearby kels to hear: “My name is Manny. I’ve sort of been nominated leader down here.” He gave Amberlee a fiery glare. “She isn’t welcome. The child is a traitor and we believe she should be killed for her crimes.” He returned his focus to Zaren. “Even if I told each kel to leave her alone, I can’t keep watch over every person all the time. She would be killed where she slept her first night.”

Zaren’s face went stony. He pressed a hand against Manny’s chest, moving him out of the way.

“Hey,” Manny said.

Palamina put a hand on his shoulder and shook her head. “Don’t.”

Manny crossed his arms, but kept glancing at Amberlee. She took a step closer to Zaren.

“A lot has happened since the war started. Ith and Aetha have left Kelari,” Zaren began. The crowd responded with fear and outrage. Zaren raised his hands. “Please remain calm. They didn’t leave us alone. There is a new goddess who is doing all she can to save our planet. Her name is Venus. I’m sure most, if not all of you, know her.”

“She is a traitor,” someone shouted.

“Just like her sister,” said another.

“That whole family needs to rot in Helker.”

Zaren pulled his new Ostwallow sword off his back. “Do not speak of Venus that way.”

“The Formytian is a traitor as well.”

“Let’s kill them.”

A cheer roared throughout the room.

The three other Formytians came to stand beside Zaren, their swords also drawn.

Amberlee looked for Palmo. She wanted him near for comfort. He’d run back to the door and was pounding on it, trying to get out.

What a coward
, she thought, realizing she wanted to do the same thing.

“Please,” Zaren shouted.

The kels gathered together. Angry faces shouted and cursed her, Venus, and the war. Amberlee couldn’t blame them. She understood.

A calm trickled down her spine and spread to her limbs. If she died she would die as a queen, without cowardice, without running, but facing the crowd head on.

Moving in front of Zaren and the Formytians, she lifted her chin.  

Venus returned to the castle and to her bedroom. She hadn’t wanted to frighten anyone by just appearing out of thin air. At the sight of her bed she suddenly longed to lie down, fall asleep, and wake again in a month or so. It felt like forever since she’d had a moment of peace.

She sat at her vanity and looked at her reflection in the glass. Her blue eyes seemed tired. While she stared, something happened. The mirror no longer reflected her image, but showed her images of her sister. She stood in front of an angry mob. It looked like they would destroy her, and suddenly she knew they would.

Amberlee wasn’t Kelvieri. Killing her would be easy.

By the looks on Zaren and Palamina’s faces, they would defend the newly appointed queen, but at what cost? How many would die?

As much as Venus wanted Amberlee to learn how to rely on herself, this moment wasn’t the time. Venus had figuratively thrown Amberlee to the wolves.

She thought of the tunnels, the large room where most of the Alayeahian people were. She was there instantly.

Without wasting any time, she lifted her hands, putting up a shield between Amberlee and the furious mob.

The crowd gasped. Everyone in the front stepped back, surprised, but they recovered quickly.

“It’s the other one.”

“We can kill her too.”

“Traitors must die!”

“We want Manny to be our King!”

And on and on.

Their words angered Venus. She felt her fury rising. It was bad enough they tried to harm Amberlee, but calling Venus a traitor? Her whole life had been about serving. The worst part of all was that some of the people in the crowd were those that she’d just given back their bodies.

Talk about treachery.

“Stop!” she yelled, throwing her hands up.

The room went silent. No one moved—not because they were afraid, but because they couldn’t. Venus had rendered them all motionless. She took a deep breath, surveying the room. Even Amberlee, Zaren, and Palamina were unmoving.

She hadn’t meant to do that. Her anger had gotten the best of her. But now that she had everyone’s undivided attention and the guarantee no one would be hurt, she decided it was a good thing.

Except Amberlee. She touched Amberlee’s arm and the queen relaxed.

Amberlee grinned manically. “Remind me never to make you mad.”

“Right?” Venus said, moving to Zaren and Palamina. She touched their arms and they were able to move as well.

“Thank you, Goddess,” Palamina said, relieved.

“I think now is the perfect time to talk some sense into these people, Venus,” Zaren added, bowing slightly.

“Agreed,” Venus said, turning to face the crowd.

She searched their faces, meeting as many sets of eyes as she could. She needed the time to collect her thoughts. “Ith and Aetha, the original gods of this world, were sent to Kelari to save the planet and its people from the evil of a Ferether called Ramien. Nearly seventeen years ago they had a child. Me.” As she spoke she paced back and forth, keeping her focus on the people, meeting their angry faces with her intent one. “I didn’t know they were my parents. Up until a few days ago I believed your king and queen were my mother and father.” She glanced back at Amberlee. “I believed your new queen was my sister, and that one day I would rule this land.” Venus turned back. “I’m sure most of you know that even the most carefully laid plans never work out the way you want them to.” She gave them a melancholy smile. “The truth is I am not a member of the Carania family. Amberlee is.” She raised her voice. “Amberlee is meant to be your queen and, if you’ll open your minds, you’ll see the certainty of it. But more than that, you’ll feel the truth of it.” She brought a fist to her chest. “In here.”