Resist (The Harvest Saga Book 2) (2 page)

I stepped into my father’s
office. He motioned to the leather chairs across from his desk. “Have a seat.”

“I prefer to stand.”

“I said sit down, Crew.”

He pushed a few buttons on his computer. A projection illuminated in the space between us. Abby stood next to Kyan in front of the council of Orchard village.

A young councilman, whom I did not recognize, stood and addressed her. “You are to speak to no one about your visit to Olympus. Many things have changed since your departure. Mr. Marks will explain those changes to you. It will be your responsibility to comply with the newly established rules. We must preserve the stability of our village. This is your first and only warning. Should you breathe one word about your time in Olympus, you will be removed from the village. Should you cause an uprising, you will be beheaded.” I could see the fear in her eyes as she nodded her compliance.

I sat down on the opposite side of his desk, refusing to make eye contact with him. “I know you arranged for Miss Kelley’s departure. I understand why. But you are to cease all contact with her. You are never to speak of her again. It will be as if she never existed.”

Finally, my eyes met his own. “I knew you would figure it out. Anyway, it is not like we can call one another up on our comms, Father.”

He chuckled. “Let me put it this way, Son. If I find out you have any more dealings with Abigail Kelley, or any of the Lesser girls we harvested, I will charge her and you with treason and order you both put to death.”

I guffawed. “Treason?”

“Yes. Treason. You are the Crown Prince, yet you work against Olympus—against her needs. Your actions have already been treasonous.”

I looked away from my father, but the words that fell from his mouth brought my attention back on him immediately. “It is time for you to take a wife.”

“What?”

“Let me put it bluntly. We have harvested eggs from each of the Lessers, Abigail included. Those eggs are being implanted into the wombs of Greater women as we speak. Procedures have been scheduled for women all over Olympus for the next several weeks. I have chosen a wife for you. She looks much like Abigail and I believe you will be happy with her. If you are not, you will put on a happy face anyway. She will bear your child.”

“My child?”

“We couldn’t request sperm samples from all of the Greater males. So, we have harvested from the most important ten percent amongst our male population. It will ensure strong genetic offspring in the future.”

“You took mine? Is that what happened after they attacked me and put the anesthesia on my tongue? You would do that to your own son?”

“Of course. It is an honor. You will literally be one of the fathers of a new generation of Greaters.”

“This is sick.” I slammed my hand down on his desk. “Even for you.”

“Don’t be so emotional,” he replied flatly.

I stood and asked, “How can I not be affected by this?”

“You cannot let your emotions get in the way of your duty. Our way of life is at stake. The very existence of the Greaters hinges on our being able to reproduce. The ‘implantation’ children will be fertile. At least, our scientists predict that many of them will.” He pushed his chair back. “Heavy is the head that wears the crown. There is so much truth in that simple statement. This crown will be yours one day, and you will then have to make the difficult choices. You will not have the luxury of ruling with your heart. The welfare of the citizens of Olympus must come first. Do you understand?”

I nodded and crossed my arms over my chest. There was no arguing with him. Besides, on that singular point at least, he was right. One day I would rule this city, and I would put her citizens first.

My father interrupted, “Enough talk about your distant future. Let’s discuss your union. You will be married in three days’ time. You will dine with your bride tonight. And this is not up for discussion, Crew.”

I walked back to my room with thoughts spiraling in every direction. I had to find a way out of this mess. Marrying someone other than Abby was not an option. I had to get back to my forever; I just had to figure out how to do it.

Kyan escorted me out of
the Main Hall. I couldn’t believe they threatened to behead me. I rubbed my neck absently. I was very fond of it. Before they dismissed me, the council had ordered me to the guard station. I was to be assigned to a work team immediately. So much for my aching abdomen.

When we were far enough away, Kyan finally cleared his throat and spoke. “Abby Blue, you aren’t going to like the guard station.”

He looked over at me and then quickly away. I slowed my pace and looked around. We were headed toward my cabin. Lulu’s and mine.
No. They took it?

“Please tell me it’s not what I think.”

“I can’t tell you that. It
is
what you think.”

“Do they have to take everything from me, Kyan? No wonder they threatened my head. It’s one of the only things I have left to take. They took Lulu, my freedom, my freaking eggs!”

“Shh. Calm down. We’re close. You don’t need any trouble. You’ve got to steer clear of the guards. Period.”

He pulled me further down the trail that my feet and Lulu’s had worn over the past fifteen years. I remember being so small, with sticky fingers and chubby toes, running up and down this very earth.

The ‘guard station,’ better known as my cabin, was buzzing with activity. Male Greater guards, all clad in black entered and disappeared inside, while others exited and made their way along different trails. I was glad we weren’t about to encounter any along the trail again. Nope. This was much worse. We were heading straight into the hornet’s nest. Lulu always told me that anything worth doing was worth doing right.

Golden hair gleaming in the midday sun, Kyan’s warm brown eyes met mine. “Keep your eyes down and your mouth shut.”

I nodded.

As we approached the porch that I’d scrubbed my entire life, I immediately noticed the mingled clumps of old, dry dirt and freshly caked mud tracked all over it. I could feel my lip twitch. The Greaters respected nothing. Kyan stopped short of it and waited. I stood beside him with my head tilted down, eyes fixated on my shoes.

A moment later, a guard exited the cabin. “State your purpose.”

“Kyan Marks, sir, with Abigail Kelley. The council has requested that she be placed in a work team immediately.”

“Fine. Place her on the paint crew. They’re at the depot today, but I’m sure you already know that.”

“Yes, sir. I will see that she gets there.”

“Dismissed.”

With that, Kyan turned and tugged me along behind him. We took the path to our right, toward the depot. When we were out of earshot, he said, “I have some work to do inside. I have to arrange for some supplies to be delivered. But I’ll keep an eye on you.”

“Don’t. I have to do this on my own, Ky. Don’t forget your promise.”

He stopped and blew out a breath. “I won’t. I just. Damn it, I just worry about you. And I know you don’t want to hear it, but I love you, Abby Blue. I know how you feel about him, but I don’t care. I love you.” He scrubbed his stubbled jaw.

“I love you, too, Ky.”

“No. Don’t say that anymore until you actually mean it the same way I do. I know you love me as a friend. But you know that I’m
in
love with you. I promise you that I’ll hear those words come out of your lips one day, but until you mean it, don’t you dare say it again.”

I looked away from him. I was on the verge of bursting into tears. “Okay. I’m sorry.”

He pulled me in for a brief hug. “Don’t be. I just need you to know.”

I nodded. We started down the hill toward the depot. I could see the team painting. I wasn’t close to any of them, but that didn’t matter. The guards standing at attention all around the depot told me we wouldn’t be conversing anyway.

Being on the paint team
sucked. It was beyond frigid outside. My hands were frozen. They shook as my brush traveled left and right across the beams of wood constructing the depot. Kyan kept watching me from inside. He would hover at the window occasionally, pretending to do something. He was going to get us both in trouble if he didn’t stop hovering.

I know he missed me while I was gone. I missed him, too. I was terrified. When I was taken, I wondered if I would ever see him or home again. Kyan had always been my rock. He was a big part of my home.

His profession of love this morning wasn’t a surprise. Inwardly, I wished he’d find someone who felt the same way about him. My heart ached for Crew. I felt like I left a chunk of my heart in Olympus, the city I’d grown to hate, the home of the boy I’d only begun to love.

I know he said he would get the girls out. He promised he would do the right thing. But I knew his father and the influence that man had at his fingertips. President Cole drugged his own son. What else would he do to him if he learned that Crew was working against him? I hoped he never found out where I was and that it had been Crew who arranged for my escape.

A cold chill shook me and dried leaves stirred and danced at my feet near the base of the building. Even the guards were shivering. They blew warm breath into their cupped hands and shifted on their feet. Their guns were hanging by their sides, no longer pointed in our direction intimidatingly.

All afternoon, no one spoke. Afternoon turned into evening and the silence stretched on. But the more the guards relaxed, the looser their lips became. It wasn’t long before we knew that they were assigned here indefinitely, that most had wives waiting back at home in Olympus. No children were mentioned.

One of the older women working along the back wall of the depot started coughing violently. She gasped for air and dropped to her knees. “I can’t do this anymore,” she choked out.

A guard approached her. “Get up. Get back to painting.”

“I can’t. I just can’t,” she croaked in between bouts of coughing. Tears flooded her eyes.

“Get up! Now!” he roared.

She shook her head.

He stepped up to her, a challenge present in his dark eyes. “Are you resisting?”

“If refusing to get up is resisting, then yes.” She met his cold stare with a determined one of her own, tears dripping off her chin.

He scowled then barked, “Take her away.”

Two guards stepped around him, flanking the now-sobbing woman. Each grabbed one of her elbows and began trying to get her to stand up. She refused. So, they dragged her away. Her boots dug into the earth, dust billowing up behind her. She didn’t cry or scream, just refused to go quietly. She refused to cooperate. She resisted.

Most people on the team continued to paint, watching from the corners of their eyes as the entire thing unfolded. I was shocked. I stood, frozen in my own thoughts at the building’s corner. Where were they taking her? What did they mean by resisting?

“Why aren’t you painting, Lesser. You should mind your own business before you get what she’s getting.”

A lanky guard who stood nearby noticed my still paintbrush. He looked a little older than me after he pushed his stringy black hair out of his eyes. They were mostly gold, but showed a little green along the edge. It looked as if he hadn’t shaven in days. He scowled and stepped closer, now clutching his gun.

I averted my eyes and began moving my paintbrush back and forth against the wood. Eventually, he moved back with his friends, but I could tell he was keeping his eye on me. So much for not drawing attention to myself.

Nightfall came far too soon
. I was dressed in the suit that my father insisted that I wear, sitting in the seat that he demanded I occupy, waiting for the woman he was ordering me to marry in three days. There was no way I would marry her. Unfortunately, I had not been able to find a way out of the situation yet. I would have to find a way to delay the ceremony.

I sipped from the curvy glass of water, the ice tinkling happily along the side. Even it mocked my predicament. The door to the small dining room opened and a young lady, my new intended, stepped inside. She was dressed in a light pink gown that delicately grazed the floor.

Father had mentioned that she looked like Abigail. Cocking my head to the side, I watched her walk toward me, graceful step after graceful step. I suppose in a way, she did look like Abby. Her hair was dark brown with reddish streaks. But it wasn’t as intense and richly colored like Abby’s. This girl’s was more muted, washed out. Her body was lithe like Abby’s but not from hard work. It had been engineered that way; it was manufactured. It was fake. Abby was real.

“Hello. I am Marian.” A slight smile stretched over her soft lips.

I stood, meeting her outstretched hand with my own. “Hello, Marian. I am Crew.”

“It is very nice to meet you, Prince Crew.”

She bowed her head slightly. I returned the gesture. This dance was already getting old. Over dinner, we exchanged superficial question after superficial question. She was two years younger than I, an only child, had excelled in all of her secondary education courses and was eager to marry. She and her mother had begun all of the “important” wedding preparations, but she still hadn’t found “the” dress.

When we were finally finished eating, I escorted her out of the palace.

“Prince Crew, would you like to go for a stroll. I know it is cold, but my home is not far from here. The fresh evening air would be lovely.”

I nodded once. “Sure. I suppose it would be nice to get out for a few moments.”

I offered her my arm. She accepted without hesitation. We strolled through the intricate gardens that now lay dormant, seemingly dead and brown with vibrancy lurking just beneath the surface. It was nature’s greatest illusion. It was amazing how alive they would become in a few short months, hiding behind a facade of death for the winter.

Once we exited the palace gate and strolled along the road, she tugged me across the street quickly and into a darkened alleyway. I followed the clacking of her heels into the dark abyss that swallowed us both whole. “What is going on Marian?”

“Look, I know you do not want to marry me. I do not want to marry you either, but you have to do it. I do not have long to explain. I know everything. I know what happened with the Lesser girls, with everything.”

I was taken aback. “What? How do you know such things?”

Marian took a deep breath and began talking quickly. “My mother is a nurse. She knows what your father is trying to do. It is wrong, Crew, and we have to stop him. I will help you, but I can help you better if we’re together. Marriage is the perfect disguise.”

I swallowed thickly and asked, “How can I trust you?”

She leaned into me, “Senn said you might ask me that. He also said to give you this.”

She held out a piece of folded up paper and I quickly tucked it into my inner jacket pocket. I blew out a breath.

“We only have a moment, but please trust me Crew. I want to help. I promise. If we can help those girls and somehow stop your father from causing any more damage, a short marriage, in name only, is the least we can do. You have to stop him. I can help you. Let me help you.”

I nodded. “Fine. I suppose I will have to trust you until you give me a reason not to. Please do not let that happen, Marian.”

She fixed her eyes on mine. They were wide and innocent. “I will not betray you, Prince Crew.” She was either telling the truth, or was a very skillful liar.

“You know you are scheduled for the procedure, right?”

“Yes. My mother was notified today.”

“How are you going to stop it?”

“I’m not.”

Raking my hands through my hair, I paced in front of her as she leaned against the building. “What do you mean you are not going to stop it?”

“I want a child. This is the only way I might get the opportunity to have one and I will not pass it up. Don’t ask me to do that. Just know that I will help you. I promise.” Tears blurred her eyes.

“I understand. I am sorry for being callous. I do not know what it would be like to be barren.”

She sniffed and said, “It is okay. I have accepted it. I am actually happy to have the procedure, and I only hope that it is successful.”

Offering her my arm again, we walked out of the dark alleyway and down the sidewalk toward her home. Trust was not something that came easily to me, but something in Marian’s eyes told me that she would not betray me.