Highlander Enchanted(85)

I couldn’t look away from the Silent Queen. The priests had drilled the history and importance of the hereditary Bloodline into us since we arrived. The Silent Queen’s ancestors were touched by the gods, and it was said only she could appeal directly to them in a way that defied even the priesthood. Throughout history, once Greece fell as a global power, the most powerful nation on the planet was given the sacred duty of protecting the Bloodline and housing the royal leader, which was how she ended up here in the United States. “She’s amazing.”

“I’m sure she’s been Photo-shopped for television,” Leandra said somewhat defensively.

I rolled my eyes. The nymphs knew they were special. There was something strange about thirty orphaned women of extreme beauty and charm, all born within three months of me, all under the strict protection of an orphanage run by priests who didn’t hold weekly worship ceremonies but taught us instead the Old Ways, as they called them. They were positioning the nymphs in places of eventual power, where they could then share the Old Ways with others.

If our world was strange, we had no idea. As far as we knew, this place and its customs were normal.

“I’ve been assigned to her court,” Leandra said.

“Seriously?”

“Yep.”

It made sense. Leandra was a hair prettier than the others and quite a bit smarter, according to the priests. I was suddenly crushed that I might end up taking food orders from hung over college students the rest of my life while the others went off to positions I could only dream of.

“Where are you going?” she asked, green eyes finding me. “To live with the Mountain Man on some isolated peak?”

“He’s not a Mountain Man,” I said, bristling. “He’s the greatest Olympic athlete in history.”

“A disgraced one who ditched his wealthy benefactor to live in a forest with us. He’s absolutely mad, and he’s turned you wild and ruined any chance you had at a decent future.”

My anger bubbled. I knew better than to cause a fight. I had stopped that nonsense when I was fifteen, but sometimes I wanted to sock the pretty, perfect women around me.

My biggest issue with Leandra wasn’t that she was mean. It was that she was often right, and her words about Herakles stung. Something was wrong with him, and I sometimes thought maybe that meant there was something wrong with me, too. It was why I didn’t turn out like Leandra and the others and why I was definitely not going to the Silent Queen’s court.

I squinted to see the ticker at the bottom of the news. Civil unrest grows. Supreme Magistrate places five more states under martial rule over SISA’s objections. That made about forty states under martial rule by my count. The priests refused to tell us about the civil unrest when we asked, but sometimes, like today, tiny pieces of information slipped through their censoring and made it to us. I was dying to know what the world outside our boring forest was like.

“When I get to court, I’ll find you a job chopping wood or something,” Leandra said with a wide grin.

I stormed off to my room, followed by the sound of her laughter. I loved Herakles like the father I couldn’t remember, but sometimes I was really embarrassed to be me. I hated that feeling. I had trouble making friends, more so because Herakles often had some bizarre requirement for me to hang out with someone. Boys had to be able to outrun me, and girls had to solve a riddle. No one ever succeeded at his challenges, except for the perfect little nymphs who hung out with me only to laugh at me.

Basically, I was always alone, and he seemed determined to keep it that way. I felt even more isolated knowing the nymphs all had plans of where they were going after graduation and I didn’t.

I went to my room and closed the door, sitting on my bed. I had barely pushed off my shoes before a tap sounded at the door. “Come in,” I said and tossed myself onto my back.

“Lyssa, I have to leave for the weekend.”

Startled, I immediately sat back up. “Where? Why?” I demanded of Herakles, who had never left me for half a day let alone a weekend. “Is something wrong?”

“No.” His features were scarred beyond recognition, his smile lopsided and frightening. Everyone else winced when he looked their direction, but I loved every knotted scar and burnt piece of flesh on his face. He was my protector, my friend, the only father figure I knew. He had always been beautiful to me. “You are to travel to the eastern boundary and back this weekend. Here’s your surprise pack. Open it when you get there.” He tossed the satchel onto the bed beside me.

“Ugh.” I eyed it warily. He no doubt had planned another weekend of torture. I’d probably have a hat and spoon and nothing more to survive two days in the forest alone. Technically I should have had only three more weeks of this madness remaining, except I had a feeling his plans were always going to trump mine. “You’re sure there’s nothing wrong? You’ve never left me before.”

“I’m going to scout someplace where we might settle after you graduate,” he told me.

I looked up, thrilled. “I won’t be trapped here for the rest of my life!”

“No, but you might one day wish you had been.” He frowned. Every once in a while, my guardian had a mood I didn’t understand. Naturally open, upbeat and focused, his features were now grave and unreadable.

I studied him, wishing I could read his thoughts or make him smile again. “Something is wrong,” I assessed.