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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“—orry, sorry,” Cyrus was saying as the ringing faded. He rushed me into the hall. Trainees shouted from their cells, demanding answers and freedom. “I’ve got you, Arden. I won’t let go.” But he did let go when we reached our destination, easing me onto a gurney.

I said nothing as medics took over, busying themselves with my care, cutting off my tank and shorts. The blue set I’d worn on my first date with Shiloh. Who was now dead.

My chin quivered. I looked away from Cyrus, the medics, everyone and everything. I didn’t want to be here. Didn’t want to be anywhere. I’d killed Shiloh. Me. I’d ended his life and erased his future. Because that’s what I did. I drove people to the edge, then pushed them over.

The night Amelia died, we fought. She was older than me. She’d tried to sneak out of our bedroom, but I’d stopped her. She begged me to relent, promised to return in a few hours, but I hadn’t wanted her outside the safety of our bedroom walls, vulnerable to attack. She told me I was the worst sister ever born.

I proved her right only hours later when she broke. What if I’d let her leave? What would’ve happened? What if I’d shared with Cyrus everything about my interaction with Ember, hiding nothing? What if I’d aimed lower when I’d struck Shiloh? What if Cyrus had arrived sooner?

A soft caress against my cheek lured me from my haze of thoughts. I almost leaned into the contact, desperate for comfort, but I didn’t. I deserved to feel every emotion now plaguing me.

At my bedside, Cyrus tenderly traced his fingertips on the unbruised side of my face. “You tested negative. Arden, do you hear me?”

So I’d tested negative. So what? So had Shiloh. But I didn’t care anymore. I’d reached my limit. The cauldron of frustration had iced over, the fire beneath it snuffed out. I was too tired to bother.

“Go away,” I mumbled and closed my eyes. For once, I didn’t fight sleep. I let it whisk me into its deepest depths.

Chapter Seventeen

Guard your heart, for it steers your life.

—The Book of Soal 1.20.4.23

I awoke with a start, bolting upright. The swift movement ignited discomfort in every inch of my body and unbridled a tsunami of memories. Shiloh. The Madness. Pain. Blood.

Death.

A groan rumbled in my throat, trapped. The shock of what had happened was wearing off, taking my precious numbness with it. Shiloh was dead. Because of me.

White-hot tears welled, searing my corneas. I sat atop a plush bed rather than the gurney I’d fallen asleep on. The room I now occupied was twice the size of my cell, with iridescent crystals growing over the walls and medical equipment throughout. An open doorway revealed a bathroom with a private toilet and shower stall. A small planting pot and a reader sat atop a wheelable table.

I was alone with a barrage of tormenting questions. When did Shiloh become infected? He’d tested negative only hours before. What infected him? Not the Rock. There wasn’t a section nearby. Or if there was, I didn’t know about it. Shiloh could have found one. He’d probably been on the hunt, desperate to investigate his theories about the cure. Though why not use the non-Rock Rock Mykal used for study?

Fatigue bubbled from a never-ending well. I curled into a ball, barely resisting the urge to pull the covers over my head. Had Ember learned of her brother’s death? If she didn’t know, she needed to learn. Maybe I could find a way to message her.

I patted for the reader and pulled it to my face. As soon as the device switched on, the glower consumed my screen, her eyes red rimmed.

“Hello, Arden.”

She knew. Every muscle in my body tensed. Live feed. I flopped to my back, breathing out, “I’m so sorry.”

“I warned you, but you refused to believe.” Ember’s lids fluttered shut for a moment. A tear rolled down her cheek. “They killed him.”

My calm frayed, denying my tears no longer an option. She must not have the full story. “I was the one who wielded the weapon, not Cured. Me.”

Anger flashed over her features. Her irises blazed. “You were the weapon, not the wielder.”

That . . . no. It made no sense.

“He joined us, you know.” She leveled me with a brutal stare. “While you were in Theirland, he accepted an invitation into the Tome Society.”

I absorbed her confession and reeled. “He told me he’d figured out his future.” To learn he’d signed on with the Soalians, to recall how he’d exhibited the same peace as the glowers—puzzle pieces clicked into place.

“You infected him,” I snarled. The worst of the worst? Yes! I should have spilled everything to Cyrus. He’d given me plenty of opportunities.

“I freed him,” Ember snarled back.


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