Testament (15 page)

I turned away, but not before I saw a scarlet flush creep across Kellan’s cheeks. “Goodnight, sir,” I said, tightly and headed for the study door. Kellan was hard on my heels. When I got out in the hallway, I exhaled sharply. I didn’t breathe again until I got to the elevator to go back downstairs.

Kellan appeared at my side and inserted his key. “I’m sorry about that,” Kellan said, his voice small and strained.

When I surveyed his expression, my heart went out to him. I knew he couldn’t help his father was a sexist jerk, but at the same time, I wished he would stand up to him. “It’s all right,” I murmured.

We got onto the elevator in silence. The doors closed, and Kellan turned to me. “I know you’re upset, Cadence, and you have every right to be.” He jammed his clenched fists into the pockets of khaki pants. “I-I don’t know why I let him talk that way to you.”

The elevator opened on his floor. Leaning over, I planted a kiss on his cheek, anything to try to ease his pain.

Kellan’s lips twitched in a small smile. “Hmm, I’ve been reduced to a peck on the cheek. Not exactly the fire I’d hoped.”

“Uh-huh, well,
goodnight
then,” I said, nudging Kellan off the elevator.

“Goodnight, Cadence.”

Just when I thought he might lean over for a goodnight kiss, the elevator door closed shut.

Sunlight streamed across my face and warmed my cheeks. I popped one eye open and then snapped it shut when I realized I’d forgotten to shut the blinds the night before. Yawning, I stretched, taking in the luxurious feel of the satin sheets and fluffy down comforter. Before I could panic, I remembered where I was—in my suite at the palace. Then I groaned as the events of the previous night flickered in my mind like a bad replay.

A throat cleared beside the bed, and I jumped a mile. When I untangled myself from the sheets, I saw Mrs. Munroe standing at the foot of the bed.

“Good morning, Cadence.”

Griping the sheets closer to myself, I replied, “Good morning.”

“Richard has designated me as your personal secretary.” From her sour expression, I could tell she wasn’t pleased with her new position. “You are to be downstairs for breakfast with the family in forty-five minutes.”

“Oh, okay, I’ll get ready.”

“Naomi and Laurel will be in to do that. You only need to shower.”

“Excuse me?”

“Dressing yourself and preparing your hair and makeup are no longer your concern. As Kellan’s fiancée, those things will be taken care of for you.”

“You can’t be serious?”

Mrs. Munroe stared at me like I’d lost my mind. “Of course, I’m serious. Now run along and have your shower. You are never, ever to keep Kellan or Richard waiting.”

Without another word, she flounced into the bathroom and turned on the water. “Am I incapable of turning on the shower now as well?” I asked.

She chose to ignore me. “I’ll have your clothes laid out for you when you come out.”

I gave her one last look and then stalked into the bathroom. Great, barely twenty-four hours into the palace world, and my life had already changed. What was next? Someone to feed me breakfast?

As I slipped off my pajama top, my tattoo glared back at me from the mirror. Closing my eyes, I said thanks for the fact that Naomi would be my dresser. I wouldn’t have to worry about trying to always hide my shoulder from someone.

Staring into the mirror, I shook my head and said, “Yeah, that’s all fine and dandy, but how am I ever going to continue hiding it from Kellan?”

My emotions ran so out of control I ended up scrubbing my hair until my scalp hurt. When I finished, I wrapped a towel around my wet hair and started to slip on the terrycloth robe on the back of the door. I gasped. My initials were embroidered on the top left hand side of the robe—complete with my soon to be married last name: Quinn. How they had managed to already do that when the pageant finale had only been last night was beyond me.

When I threw open the door, Naomi stood waiting on me. She forced a smile to her face. “Good morning, Cadence.”

“Good morning,” I replied, my voice barely a whisper.

With a curt nod, she then became all business. “Based on your measurements, I’ve got several outfits for your approval.” She started over to a rolling rack she had brought with her. “I’m thinking this would work well today.” She pulled out a strapless emerald sundress with a cream colored sweater with emerald buttons down the front.

“Naomi, I—”

“Then Mrs. Munroe has instructed me to have preliminary designs for your wedding dress ready for your approval by the beginning of the week.”

I sucked in a breath. “My wedding dress? But I thought it was only a proxy wedding—just signatures on paper and that sort of thing.”

Naomi’s face darkened. “Due to the popularity of the pageant, Richard has decided to throw a full wedding and reception. Something the people can get behind and enjoy, considering all the problems the province is facing.”

The room started spinning around, and I sunk onto the bed. “Oh no, please, no,” I murmured. I wasn’t even eighteen, and my wedding was being planned. It was too much, too soon and totally out of control. I put my head in my hands and tried to breathe in and out.

I felt a hand on my shoulder. I peered up to see Naomi staring down at me. “Whatever you’re going to do, whatever you’re going to decide, you’re going to have to do it quickly.”

Before I could say anything, a knock came at the door. I looked wildly up at Naomi. “Listen to Micah. He’ll know what to do.”

I nodded, and then said in a shaky voice, “Come in.”

Laurel burst through door with her usual smile. “Good morning, sunshine.”

“Good morning,” I replied, trying to force a smile to my face.

She swept one hand to her hip and then pointed at me with the other. “Girl, you better get cracking. You’re supposed to be down to breakfast in thirty minutes, and we can’t have you late on your first day.” When she clapped her hands, I shot to my feet.

“Okay, okay.” I took the dress from Naomi and went to the bathroom to change. When I emerged, Laurel had everything laid out on the dressing table, and Naomi stood by the rack, still waiting for my approval on the clothes. The old me would have been thrilled to have a rack full of clothes to choose from, but at the moment, I couldn’t care less.

As I sat down in the chair, I eyed Naomi in the mirror. “They’re all wonderful, I’m sure. Just hang them in the closet,” I instructed.

She nodded and then disappeared into the walk-in closet that was practically bigger than my house…well, my old house.

Laurel got busy drying my hair and then pulling it back on the sides with sparkling emerald barrettes. After she finished my hair, she peered at me in the mirror. “You’re uncharacteristically quiet today.”

“Yeah,” I murmured.

“Anything you want to talk about?”

I shook my head. “I’m just tired, that’s all,” I lied.

Laurel didn’t press me for anymore conversation. Besides the fact I was so overwhelmed with the events of the last twenty-four hours, I knew there wasn’t anything I could talk to her about. Sure, she knew I had feelings for Micah, but I couldn’t imagine what she would think if I mentioned running away with him. Then, there was also the fact she had no idea I was a Believer and trying to help my brother’s political group overthrow the palace.

“All right then, I’m all finished. Demure enough for Richard, but dramatic enough to get Kellan up and running.”

I laughed in spite of my churning emotions. “Thanks, Laurel.”

“No problem.”

When I opened the suite door, Kellan stood waiting for me in the hallway. He was outfitted in black dress pants, a white shirt, and an electric blue tie, which brought out the color of his eyes. I fought to still my traitorous heart that sped up at how good he looked.

Before he said hello, Kellan drank in my appearance, lingering over certain parts. Crossing my arms over my chest, I blocked his view and rolled my eyes. “And good morning to you, too.”

His usual cocky grin slunk across his face. “Can’t blame a man for looking, right?”

“I hold more fault with the memorizing.”

He laughed and shook his head. “Come on, we don’t want to keep Father waiting.”

While we took the elevator downstairs, Kellan’s hand kept brushing against mine. It was like he had to be touching me somehow. When the elevator door opened, he took my hand in his. I guess I looked accusingly at him because he said tightly, “We have to keep up appearances.”

Richard was already seated at the head of the mahogany table. Newspapers and documents were strewn on the table, and he appeared ashen. “Father, what’s wrong?” Kellan asked, as he eased into a chair. He motioned for me to sit across from him. I would have rather sat beside him since I didn’t want to be close to Richard.

“We’re about to face an attack.”

Kellan’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “By who?”

Richard hesitated. “I haven’t made this known to anyone outside my cabinet of advisors. Since the Believer’s Rebellion last year, militant gangs have been forming literally underground in the old subway systems.”

“I thought those were destroyed in the Great Fall,” Kellan said.

“They were destroyed for transportation usage, but they make a great place for rebels to live and unite. Through our intelligence, we’ve learned they’ve been receiving funds from a wealthy benefactor, but we can’t find out who that person is. Last night, two gang members were killed on the outer perimeter of the palace—we believe they were on a scouting mission.”

I stared down at my plate. The Abir was already on the move. Why hadn’t Griff mentioned anything to me?

“I can’t believe it.” Kellan shook his head and appeared thoughtful. “And who are these gang members?”

“Believers,” Richard replied with disgust.

The mention of Believers sent my tattoo burning, and I shifted uncomfortably in my chair. Richard misread my discomfort and smiled reassuringly at me. “There’s no reason to be alarmed, my dear. We have the best defenses here at the palace—the military is at our disposal along with a bomb shelter.”

“That’s good to know, sir.”

He turned to Kellan. “I’ll be doing a televised address to the province at noon. We’ll be going on Code Red precautions—a six pm curfew, electricity blackouts, neighborhood patrols.”

“But we haven’t had a Code Red since the Believer’s Rebellion,” Kellan murmured.

Richard nodded. “It’s not that serious, but at the same time, we want to do as much as possible to squelch any uprising.” He brought his hand down hard on the table and spat, “Mark my words, this will
no
t turn into another rebellion.”

“What about Roarke?” Kellan asked.

“He’s being kept informed of what is going on, but I’m also having him followed.”

Kellan nodded. “What do you need from us?”

“After I’ve addressed the Province, I plan to call the two of you up on camera with me. It’s imperative that we keep the people calm and reassured. I will announce to the Province that you and Cadence will have a formal wedding at the end of the month.”

I bit my lip to keep from gasping. Naomi had been right about there being a wedding and how quickly it would go off. My gaze skittered over to Kellan who appeared surprised, but pleased. “A wedding will unite the Province and give them hope for the future of this administration.” Richard turned to me and smiled. “Of course, if you were to become pregnant right away, that would work splendidly for us.”

My eyes widened. “P-Pregnant?”

Richard nodded. “I’m sure Kellan won’t mind helping you out in that department, will you, son?”

Kellan turned on the charm for his father and smiled broadly. “No, I’m sure I’ll be fine with that.”

“Good, it’s all settled then. When Cadence meets with my doctor, I’ll inform him you are not to be given any birth control.”

In response, I stared down at my plate for the rest of the meal. Richard didn’t seem to notice or care. He rattled on to Kellan about all the security measures in order and then read him snippets from his speech.

I wasn’t allowed to leave the table until he stood up. “I’ll see you both in the corporate suite in an hour.”

When he was safely out of earshot, Kellan came over to me. “You look a little green.”

“Yeah, it’s supposed to be a good color for redheads,” I retorted.

He rolled his eyes. “At least your personality isn’t affected.”

“Do you know when my birthday is?” I blurted.

Kellan shook his head.

“How about where I grew up? What my parents’ names were? What my favorite food is?”

“No, I don’t,” Kellan replied.

“If you don’t know even the basic things about me, how is it possible we’ll be married in three weeks?”

Kellan shrugged. “How well does anyone ever truly know the person they’re marrying?”

I sighed with exasperation. “I know
nothing
about you, and you know
nothing
of me. We can’t build a future on
nothing
.”

“People used to have arranged marriages all the time, and they’re happening more and more after the Great Fall. We’ll work the kinks out.” When I didn’t appear convinced, he grinned. “Besides, we have three weeks of togetherness.”