Reap (The Harvest Saga Book 1) (22 page)

The Greater woman pinned me with an incredulous look and shooed me and Guard away.
Maybe she thought I was a witch. If only that were true. I would poof myself out of here in an instant and take my Lesser friends with me.
I flashed what I hoped was a freakish smile at her. Maybe if I scared them, they’d leave me alone.

Guard moved toward the door, his hand still positioned on his weapon. “Let’s go.”

“I need clothes.”

“You’ll get clothes—at the Palace.”

I shook my head. “No way I’m leaving in this. My hind end is all but hanging out. It doesn’t even close in the back and you can see all of my legs. I need clothes. Please.”

He blew out a breath, and then spoke slowly to me, as if I were a child. “Look, I don’t have them. These girls are going to be placed in housing for now. They’ll all be together and given clothes there. You are to be taken to the Palace. Your clothes are there.”

“Fine.”

“Fine. Follow me.” He opened the door and we descended the stone staircase. He led me down a small sidewalk to another platform where several individual train cars were awaiting passengers. “Your chariot, my lady.” He swiped his hand dramatically and the train’s door opened automatically with a loud whoosh of air.

I stepped inside with him and it closed behind us and then took off into the city so fast that I rocked backward and nearly fell over. Guard caught me by the elbows and stood me upright again, but not before I caught him looking down my shirt. I jerked my arms away from him. “Hey! Stop ogling me.”

“As if I would need to ogle a Lesser.”

“Well, you just were. I saw you!”

He smirked and snorted leading the way onto the white pod.
Jerk guard.

In no time at all, our tiny white train car zipped between several enormous buildings and then was slowing. It stopped smoothly in front of a tall stone gate. When we exited, the train’s doors snapped closed and it sped away quickly making a strange, high-pitched zipping noise as it left. “Weird little trains,” I remarked.

“They aren’t trains. They’re PerTs.”

“Perts?”

“Personal Transporters.”

I nodded. Whatever they were, they were weird and fast. The whole city was on rails and the tiny white cars zipped along the tracks like busy little bugs, rushing from stop to stop, happily zipping this way and that. The stone wall was tall—taller than the trees in the forest at home, tall. Guard led me to a gate. It was wooden, white washed and intricately engraved with the Olympian insignia, which stretched across both doors. “The Palace,” he said.

He punched something in to his small communicator machine thing and the doors opened for us. The sight behind those doors was more than I could have ever imagined. Perfectly manicured grass led to immaculately sculpted hedges that swirled and wound around the grounds in intricate patterns all pointing toward a large fountain in the center of a brick lined courtyard. Amazed by the water shooting high into the air, I almost missed it.

The Palace stood ominously in the background. It was constructed of stones larger than the old rusty pickup trucks at home. Large windows with arched panes stretched toward the heavens. The main structure was huge, but the towers and turrets that pointed toward the clouds were even more intricate and beautiful. It was like one of the stories that Lulu used to tell me—of a princess trapped in a tower. I could almost picture the girl she had described in such detail sitting on one of the window sills that towered above us.

“Close your mouth, Lesser.” Guard teased.

“Huh?”

“You act as if you’ve never seen a building before.”

“Well, we don’t have buildings like this in our village. Most structures are made out of wood and are small. My house is tiny. There are only three rooms.”

His brows knitted together. “Seriously?”

“Yes. There’s nothing wrong with it, either.” I huffed.

“No. There’s not. I just...I just can’t imagine you there. In the dress you were wearing, you almost looked the part of Greater.”

“Well, don’t let the fancy clothes fool you, Mister. I’m as Lesser as they come.”

He chuckled. “I doubt that. You obviously caught the eye of the Crown Prince during his visit.”

“Unfortunately, yes. I did. He pretended that he was a Lesser from another village, helping with our harvest. He’s a liar and perhaps you Greaters shouldn’t trust him either.”

Leaving him with his mouth gaping open, I clenched the paper dress tight to cover my bottom and started carving a path directly to the Palace.

Guard caught up with me a moment later and we ascended the massive stone staircase side by side. The stairs led to an enormous wooden door. He punched more buttons on his communicator and then pinned me with his dark orange eyes. Opening his mouth as if to say something, he was interrupted.

The door opened and I was ushered into the Palace by a rotund middle-aged woman covered head-to-toe in black. “Hurry!” she squawked. I almost lost hold of my gown as she grabbed my arm and yanked me forward. “I’m to prepare you for dinner.” She led me past enormous shiny wooden tables that held equally huge vases of freshly arranged flowers, closed doors, enormous crystal structures that hung precariously from the ceiling, up a staircase that curved along with the walls that it skirted and down a long hallway. Doors mirrored one another all the way down its length.

I followed along quickly. Guard’s footsteps fell heavy on the stone stairs and richly carpeted floors. The woman’s graying brown hair flowed behind her as she led us up a tightly spiraled staircase, to a locked door at the top. “Your room,” she said, out of breathe. From her apron, she fished out a set of iron keys. She picked through the keys until she found the one to unlock my door and then pushed it open.

The walls were stone. A fireplace sat cozily in the far corner of the rounded room. A turret. I was in a turret. The woman scared me by abruptly turning on her heel. I nearly ran into her. “Guard! Start a fire quickly!”

“That’s not—”

Pinning him with a no-nonsense stare, she reiterated slowly, “I said, start a fire. Quickly!” He grumbled but complied and began piling logs and kindling into the hearth. A long white piece of furniture sat across from the fire. It sort of looked like a couch on one side, and then stretched down into a bed, or something. The woman must have noticed my gaze. “It’s a lounger. A chaise.”

I nodded.
Okay
. A large bed sat on the opposite side of the room as the fireplace. Its posts nearly hit the ceiling and delicate swaths of gauzy white fabric canopied the top of the frame and cascaded delicately to the floor. It was beautiful. Plush blankets and more pillows than I could count were piled upon the mattress. A large wooden armoire sat next to the bed next to the window.

A window! I rushed over to it and looked down. Wow! I was really high up. I’d never been so high. Climbing up the trees in the orchard, or even in the woods had never scared me. This was frighteningly high. I slowly backed away from the sill.

The woman rushed around frantically, grabbing towels, cloths and what looked like soap. “Come on, dear. Time to get you cleaned up and dressed for dinner.” She ushered me toward a small door. Stepping in behind her, I gasped. A large porcelain tub stared back at me, along with a sink. She turned some sort of knob and water began pouring into the tub automatically. Steam wafted up into the air. It was water. Running water. Hot water. Guard stood behind me. The woman pinned him with a stare. “You stay out there.”

Red filled his cheeks and I giggled. He looked angrily at me and then turned and strode back toward the fire. She moved around me and slammed the door after him and then took a deep breath.

“Alright, dear. I’m Gretchen. I’ll be your servant here at the Palace. I didn’t get a chance to introduce myself because we’re in a real hurry. I know you don’t know me and I know you’re probably overwhelmed, but we have to do this quickly, so just let me take care of you. Okay?”

“Okay.”

She released a pent-up breath and said, “Let’s get you out of this hideous excuse for a garment. Shall we?” The skin around her eyes crinkled when she smiled and helped me into the tub. Into perfection. Pure bliss.

I let Gretchen work her magic. She scrubbed my skin with purple soap that smelled like flowers that were even more fragrant than the lavender soap we had at home. She washed my hair twice and then helped me out of the cloudy water and into a plush robe. I snuggled into its comfort while she combed my hair out quickly and efficiently.

She powdered my face and spread light pink lipstick on my lips. She weaved my hair into intricate braids and then knotted them to the side at the nape of my neck, before inserting a yellow lily into my hair. The flower’s center was brown and speckled. It was beautiful. It made me beautiful and its sweet smell baptized me in complex floral notes. I could only enjoy the scent for a moment.

“Follow me.” She jerked me up from the chair and led me back into the main bedroom where guard looked up in surprise at us. His gaze fell over my hair and face, and then lower. He’d seen me in the tiny paper gown, but by the look in his eyes, you’d never have known it. It was as if he’d seen me for the first time. I clutched the robe tight across my chest and ran along after her, out of his scrutinizing gaze.

“You get out,” Gretchen told him. “She has to get dressed. Wait outside the door.” This time, he didn’t even put up a fight. He just grabbed his gun and quickly exited the room, slamming the door shut behind him.

Rummaging around in the wardrobe, she pulled out a beautiful gown. It had only one shoulder and was stark white at the top, gradually fading into pale and then bright yellow at the bottom. She held it up to me and nodded. “This is it. Right now, since you’re still not technically a member of the royal family, you can wear some color. Don’t get used to it, though. Royalty wears white. Nothing else is permitted. So this will be the best of both worlds, I think.”

She helped me cinch a tight white corset after I pulled on my undergarments. Then, Gretchen held the dress up while I dove into it, careful not to mess up my hair. It fit perfectly, as if it had been made for my body alone. She smoothed and tugged it into place, stuffed my feet into some bright yellow heels and then looked me over from top to bottom. A bright smile stretched over her face and she nodded in approval, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Time for dinner. Ready to meet your Prince?”

My prince?
My fingers found purchase on the cool steel ring still clinging to my throat. “Let’s get you to the dining hall, sweetie.” She led me to the door and instructed Guard to escort me to dinner immediately, before turning around, winking at me and pushing me forward. Guard was perched on one of the stone steps, his mouth open as if he was about to say something, but no sound ever came out.

I stepped forward and began down the staircase, holding onto the stone walls for support. Heels weren’t something I was used to at all. They’d never been practical in the village. My feet teetered dangerously as I made my way to guard.

His gun was slung across his shoulders by the wide black strap. He gripped it for dear life. “Is everything okay?” I paused, looking at how he held his weapon.

“What? Oh, yeah.” He relaxed and released the gun, which fell to his side and collided with the wall behind him. “Do you need a hand?” He extended his hand to me and I took it, thankful to have something else to steady me. His sunset eyes watched me until I stepped onto the stair just above the one he was standing on.

“Hmmm.”

“What?” He asked.

“The ring around your eyes. It’s not very pronounced like the others I’ve seen. It’s barely visible.”

He shifted on his feet and looked away and then back up to me. “Some rings are larger than others.”

I laughed out loud. “Do you have ring envy?”

“No.” He grumped. “I do not have ring envy, as you put it.” A lazy smirk surfaced, his smile lopsided and ornery. “Besides, the size of a man’s ring has nothing to do with the size of his—”

“Guard! Take me to dinner. Now!”

He chuckled. “Let’s go, Princess.”

“Stop calling me that.”

He laughed again.

We traced the steps we’d
taken to my room, back down the staircases to the main floor and then headed deeper into the palace. I kept hold of Guard’s hand, teetering precariously with each step. I was going to break my ankles if I kept this up. Luckily, he didn’t protest or make any more embarrassing remarks. I meant to tease him. But, boy had he turned the tables on me.

I’d joked around with Kyan my whole life, but something about Guard was different. My heart began to jump erratically. I would be coming face to face with Crew and his parents, the Royal Family of Olympus, rulers of the Greaters and Lessers alike, in only a matter of minutes. Guard stopped outside of a large wooden door.
Make that seconds.
A long creak sounded as he pushed the door inward and motioned for me to go ahead.

I made eye contact with him one last time, taking comfort in the burnt color for a moment. Though, I wasn’t sure why it was comforting.

Harrison and Alyce Cole sat opposite one another, Mr. Cole positioned at the table’s head. Mr. Cole’s suit was completely devoid of color, matching Alyce’s evening gown, adorned with matching ivory feathers that jutted out here and there all over the bodice and skirt. She looked like a regal white peacock. My heels clacked my arrival with each step I took closer to the royal family.

Crew was seated in between his parents with his back to me, but turned once he heard my approach. His eyes lit up, as if they could become molten gold, they began to roil like a gilded storm cloud. He quickly rose and walked to me, offering his elbow, which I gladly clung on to. Leaning in to me, his warm breath brushed my ear and his stubble grazed my jaw. “You look stunning, Abby.” I could feel my cheeks warm. Nervous moisture coated my palms.

I smiled in response but couldn’t bring myself to look at him directly. He walked me around the ornate wooden table and pulled out my chair. Seated, I finally grabbed hold of the napkin in front of me and placed it in my lap, twisting it into a cloth spiral, strangling it with each squeeze. Mr. and Mrs. Cole were now seated again as well. Both had stood when I was seated and waited for Crew to seat himself before settling into their own chairs again.

The table wasn’t large, but the decor was elaborate. Plates sat beneath other plates. I had more forks and spoons than I knew what to do with. I even had three glasses. One held water with ice in it. The other two sat empty. I raised my glass and sipped the cool water greedily, before I looked up and saw three pairs of eyes fixated on me. I slowly lowered the water and looked back at the napkin in my lap. “Sorry,” I muttered.

Several servants spun in and out of the room, around the table, filling our plates with food, our empty glasses with white and red wine. One even filled my water glass again. When everyone had a full plate of food in front of them, Mr. Cole clinked his fork against his glass of white wine. “To young love. May your union be prosperous and fruitful.” With the last word, he pinned his eyes on me.

Alyce raised her glass, as did Crew, so I took mine up as well. “Well said, darling,” she cooed before sipping daintily from her glass. Crew’s eyes locked with mine. He smiled slightly, but I could tell it was forced. I recalled the conversation they had about me outside the train car. Crew could have me, if I was fertile.

“Crew, you should try the new salts that we’ve been given to try.” Mr. Cole waited until Crew picked up the tiny shaker and shook it onto his food generously.

My thoughts ran rampant as I watched him. I didn’t know what I wanted. I didn’t want to be infertile. It had been my dream to settle down with someone I loved, have babies and raise them in the village together, as I had been raised, surrounded by love and friendship. And, as much as I had grown to like Crew while he was in the village, and as much as I thought I loved him, things had changed. He had lied. Deceived me and then claimed me as his own possession in front of the village and his parents. He was a Greater Prince. I was a Lesser. End of story.

Now, I just wanted to find a way out of this Olympian nightmare. I wanted to go home and go back to normal. And, I wanted to take the Lesser girls that had been stolen from their homes, back with me. Something in my gut told me that was never going to be an option now. Something said I would never see my home again. I’d never see Kyan again, either. Crew’s eyes met mine. He took a gulp from his glass and looked down at my neck. My fingers flew to the ring.

Dinner was quiet. No one spoke at all after the toast offered by Mr. Cole. The only sounds were the scurrying of the servant’s feet, the clink of a glass, or ting of a fork against the porcelain upon which it lay. Crew’s parents seemed to be having a silent conversation with each other, making eye contact periodically along with frowns of disapproval. Those were probably aimed at me.

After a while, I just chewed, sipped and avoided eye contact. It was more than clear that I wasn’t welcome at this table. Crew’s jaw flexed and tightened. He shifted in his seat more and more as the evening wore on. When the servants had taken away our plates of rich cheesecake, drizzled with cherries, the silence became deafening. Guard stood in the corner toward the door. My gaze found his more than a few times. I wished he could get me out of here.

Crew followed my line of sight and turned around to look at Guard. His parent’s followed suit. “You. Guard,” said Mr. Cole.

Guard walked swiftly to his side. “Yes, Sir.”

“You were assigned to Miss Kelley?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Has she left your sight?”

“Only while in the steam bath, Sir.”

Harrison Cole chuckled. “Very good. You are assigned as her personal guard until further notice. You will not let her out of your sight—even when she must bathe. You are to be with her constantly. Plaster yourself by her side. Understood?”

Guard’s face looked completely unemotional, but I could see his fingers flex into balled up fists at his side. “Yes, Sir. I understand. She will not leave my sight, Sir.”

“Even while she is with my son, you are to be present. Do not allow him to dismiss you.”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Escort Miss Kelley back to her room. Dinner is over.”

“Sir.” Guard pulled the back of my chair out and grabbed my elbow to help me up. The moment that his hand touched me, Crew stood.

“Let go of her,
now
.” He growled.

“Crew, he’s just helping me up.” I pleaded with him with words and eyes.

His lip snarled up and eyes hardened. “No one touches what is mine.” He pointed a finger at his father. “And you!” He glared at his father. “How dare you say that she can
not
be in my presence without an escort? Never mind supervision or impropriety. I am her intended.”

His father did not blink. “You are her intended. And until she is found fit,” he emphasized the last word. “You will not be married. She will remain chaste. The guard will see to it. Do not test me on this, Son. You will not succeed.”

Crew circled the table and grabbed my elbow, jerking me toward the door. “Crew, stop!”

But he didn’t stop. He all but dragged me all the way to my room. I had lost one of my shoes on the first staircase and the second on the narrow spiral leading to my room. He unlocked it and shoved me inside, entering just behind me. Guard wedged his boot inside the sliver of space and pushed his way into the room before Crew could slam the door on him.

“I have orders.” He gritted, as Crew’s hand found his throat.

I grabbed Crew’s forearm. “Please, Crew. Don’t. This isn’t you!”

He turned his eyes toward me. I’d never been afraid of him until that moment. They were hard and lifeless. His breaths were heavy and uneven. His entire chest heaved, veins in his neck bulged out as his teeth clenched together. He released Guard, who fell back against the wall beside the open door, and then turned his attention to me.

I began to back away, around the bed and toward the window. My hands trembled as I gathered my dress, which was now a bit too long without my heels. He stalked slowly toward me, meeting my retreat step for step.

“Don’t touch her!” Guard rasped, still trying to catch his breath, scooting himself up with is heels and trying to lean over to get himself up.

This was a Crew that I’d never seen before. Even when everything happened with the Preston’s back in the village, he’d never frightened or threatened me before. My back bumped the wall beside me. The window was just to my right. Night had fallen during dinner.

I turned my face to the side just as he stepped up to me, wincing, expecting the worse. The warmth of his breath fanned my cheek. If I turned my head, my nose would have collided with his. His fingers wound into my braids while those on his other hand grabbed my collar.

“You. Are. Mine. I claimed you. I love you. No other man touches you. Understand?” I didn’t dare nod. He was too close and his fingers inside the collar around my neck were choking me.

“I understand,” I squeaked. My voice trembled.

“Good.” He moved my head to face him and when my eyes met his, his lips fell on mine. They weren’t gentle and loving, not sensual as the kisses we stole in the village. No. This kiss was possessive and demanding. When his hand jerked my collar to get me closer to him, I whimpered and opened my eyes.

Guard had stood up and was watching from his position near the door. His body was coiled tight, ready to strike. I could tell he wanted to help me, but was conflicted. Crew was his Prince. His superior. Though Mr. Cole had ordered that Guard stay with me, Guard didn’t want to upset Crew. And what could he do to him anyway? Crew was the Prince.

Guard stepped toward me. I shook my head. No. He stopped and looked at me as Crew’s mouth claimed my own. When he finally pulled back and let go of my hair and collar, my lips were bruised and swollen. Tears formed in my eyes, and I blinked them back.

Crew turned without even looking at me and fixed his eyes on Guard. “If I find out you’ve laid even a finger on her, even to help her out of a seat, I’ll have you beheaded,
friend
.”

Guard nodded once, his jaw muscles flexing in rage.

Crew stalked past him, out the door, slamming it closed and locking it behind him before I heard his footsteps retreat down the spiral staircase below. When I could no longer hear him, I released the breath I’d been holding, along with the tears that I hadn’t let Crew see.

I ran to the bathroom and began to sob. I sat on the edge of the large sink and wrapped my arms around myself and cried. After a time, I heard the doorknob turn. Looking up, Guard’s eyes collided with my own.

“You should go. You heard him.”

“I won’t touch you. I just wanted to make sure you were alright.”

“I’m fine.” I sniffed and wiped the tears from my cheeks.

“No, you aren’t.”

“That’s not how he acted in the village. He was so sweet and seemed like any other Lesser. I thought he was one. Except for his pale skin, he seemed to have fun and acted like he liked me, maybe even loved me. Until he put this thing around my neck and confessed who he really was. I don’t even think I ever really knew him. That,” I motioned out the door, “was not the Crew I knew in the village. That was a freaking monster!” I began sobbing again.

“That stupid—”

“Guard!” Gretchen pushed the door open behind him. Her eyes widened as she took us in. “What happened to her?” She ran to my side and hugged me, pushing my head into her shoulder. She shushed me and told me all would be well. I doubted it.

“Did you do this?” Gretchen was scary when she was mad. She was like a big, angry mother hen.

Guard threw up his hands in surrender. “It wasn’t me. It was her intended.” He said the last word as if it tasted bad on his tongue.

Gretchen felt around my neck and then began unpinning my hair. When I turned to the mirror, I could see the angry red and purple marks encircling the sides of my neck made by the collar. Made by Crew.

Gretchen buzzed around the bathroom as angry as a hornet, her voluminous black skirts swishing to and fro as she went. Before I even knew it, my hair had been taken down and brushed, my face had been scrubbed, and my dress and all of the uncomfortable undergarments had been removed and I’d been stuffed into a soft, floor-length night gown in a purple so soft, I almost thought I’d imagined it.