Kingdom of Tomorrow (Book of Arden #1) Read Online Gena Showalter

Categories Genre: Alpha Male, Fantasy/Sci-fi, Paranormal Tags Authors: Series: Book of Arden Series by Gena Showalter
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Total pages in book: 124
Estimated words: 117246 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 586(@200wpm)___ 469(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
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Wires in my brain connected, welcoming a free flow of hurt. Cyrus and I weren’t friends, and there was no connection between us. He merely contended for a prize. Ouch. I shoved my hands into my pocket, my fingers bumping into the vial. Motivation for the hopeless kid, no doubt.

“Something wrong?” Titus asked.

I pasted a smile on my face. “Why do you require extra credit? You’re strong and fearless. Leadership material.”

“Apparently isolating myself is”—lips pursed, he performed air quotes—“‘unacceptable.’”

“Ah.” We entered an underwhelming room with square tables and cushionless chairs. Shelves lined the walls, each scattered with printed textbooks I’d read in school. Manuals that listed Cured’s accomplishments, the symptoms of the Madness, the atrocities committed by Soalians, and the slaughters instigated by feeders. Nothing about valuable resources here on Theirland. No history of the people or the world itself or descriptions of their war with the maddened. There was nothing about Soal either. There wasn’t even an article about Theirland foliage.

I scrubbed a palm over my face, once again homesick for my plants and my mother. While my companions dove into an edition about the most decorated warriors in Cured history, I wandered down the hall and came upon a gym, where I used a treadmill to clear my head, running and running and running, shedding uncertainty and disappointment I wasn’t ready to face.

Afterward, I visited the locker room and lingered in a private shower stall. Yawns came more rapidly, and the sandpaper sensation in my eyes returned and intensified. I nearly dozed off while standing, leaning against the wall, warmish water raining over me. Once dressed in clean fatigues I found folded in a small square cubby, I searched for a spot to hide. Alas. Every room, shadowed corner, and alcove was occupied. I paced the rest of the night.

Before POD patrol the next morning, I grabbed a meal bar and ate it on the go. Dread eclipsed every other emotion as I sealed myself inside a POD and suited up. What would I say to Cy—the HP when we linked up? He was an instructor, nothing more, nothing less.

Except, I wasn’t paired with the HP but a soldier who did nothing but stand guard at the entrance of a pritis mine. Hours passed without action, covered mine carts self-wheeling along a track located within a metal building. And that was fine. Great actually. From the beginning, this was the kind of job I’d hoped to score.

Only problem was, my fatigue continued to demand its due, and once again I nearly fell asleep on my feet. Once my shift ended, I shed the equipment, determined. If I didn’t find a spot to rest, I might collapse.

Exiting my POD, I found an unfamiliar soldier waiting for me. She confiscated my key card and motioned for me to follow her. I gulped. Maybe one of the captured glowers had mentioned my name. I could be on my way to an interrogation.

Dread resurged, but follow her I did. We wound through the building, eventually entering a hallway with multiple metal doors. She stopped, waving me into a small closet-size room with a bed, nightstand, mirror, and toilet.

A private cell? A prison? Frowning, I stepped inside for a better look. Maybe there was a note?

Without a word, she closed the door, sealing me inside.

“Wait!” I lunged and pulled on the handle. The entrance remained locked. Don’t panic. No big deal.

A digital note flashed over the mirror. Get some sleep. My son tells me you need it. You’re safe, you have my word, and the time is my treat. King Tagin Dolion.

A thousand different thoughts swirled, but I had no idea which ones to boot. Not that this was the time to think. Moaning, I threw myself across the bed. The mattress was firm, but I didn’t care. My heavy eyelids drifted shut.

I dreamed of Cyrus.

Chapter Sixteen

Our enemy has a sole purpose: to steal what’s ours, kill us, and destroy those we love, but I have restored all.

—The Book of Soal 2.4.10.10

I didn’t see High Prince Dolion in Theirland again, not even when we lined up to return home. And I was glad. I had yet to shed residual images of him from my dreams. Images of him smiling and laughing, utterly carefree and looking at me in ways I shouldn’t like. I’d made a big mistake, letting myself get too comfortable with him. Had opened up a little too much and revealed vulnerabilities best left hidden.

Mistaking someone’s personal goal as friendship was a rookie’s blunder I wouldn’t make again. The HP’s concern centered on his own personal victory, not my well-being. And that was fine. His prerogative. But still it hurt. Now, at least, I knew my place. From here on out, I’d be all academy all the time, as promised. Well, except for my investigation into Cured, Theirland, Soalians, and the Tome Society. I’d also be a better friend to Shiloh. How was he?


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