Chapter 2

Chapter

Two

Citizens came from all over Amersea to attend the Lottery: from the sea towns of the Marble Shores to the Evergreen Forest, and even from the former rival nation of Imbria. Imbria was once its own territory, with its own leader. A king. They had a completely different language and customs. They ate spicy food, drank tea with herbs in it, and the men wore colorful clothing without embarrassment. It wasn't until the Great Blackout fifteen years ago that our two sides fought and Amersea won, overtaking the terrorist nation and absorbing them. Imbria was now considered a state within Amersea, all under the control of my father.

I watched from the Lottery stage as the Imbrians poured into the great hall. They clustered together as if they were one. The women wore bright colored silk wrap dresses that were their custom. The men wore long tunic shirts that hung past their knees, and tight leggings of bright colors. It was said that the Imbrian people were particularly beautiful, and I had to admit that was true. Bronzed skin, eye color that varied from chocolate brown to honey yellow, to a rare light blue. They were tall, athletic and particularly lethal. Brought up in the ways of the warrior since they could walk, I knew better than to mistake the women's polite smiles for weakness. Their culture was a hospitable one, but they would cut your throat in your sleep if they deemed it necessary.

Because they were a nation that had been taken over by force, the Imbrian people had gone from one of the richest lands to an impoverished desert overnight. I didn't pity them though, it was their own fault. They caused the Blackout on our city, they attacked in the middle of the night, killing thousands of Amerseans without cause. They became greedy and they got what they deserved.

Now they bowed to my father, they paid taxes to our household, and they spoke our language. They were lucky we allowed them into the Lottery at all. Though only a small amount of Imbrians were permitted to enroll in it. We couldn't let them get too powerful. They might try to take us over again.

My gaze locked with one particularly tall and handsome Imbrian. He was built like a bear, as if he lifted weights in his sleep. His brown skin was covered in tattoos and small scars, and his black silky hair hung across his forehead in a glossy swoop as he glared at me with piercing blue eyes.

"Kohen Badshah," Elaine whispered beside me, and my stomach dropped.

That was Kohen Badshah? Son of the former king of Imbria? It was rumored that after losing his father to the war, and his privileged life, he'd taken to the streets and started a gang to survive. Leader of the Avasan gang, he was said to do anything for money, including stealing your organs and selling them on the black market.

I swallowed hard and glanced around the room some more. When I spied Jace groveling by his best friend Tucker, I rolled my eyes. He was giving me weepy puppy dog eyes, and I wanted to run over and beg my father to take his name out of the Lottery. But if I did that, I knew he would ask questions, and it wasn't becoming of a woman of my title to do something so emotional. So I sucked it up and then looked for my best friend, my only friend, Tetra. You might think being the future empress would have gained me popularity and an amazing social life. It did not. People either avoided me for fear they would piss me off, or they were fake nice because they wanted something from me. Tetra was the realest person I ever met. She told me my hair looked bad one day in third grade and the rest was history.

When my gaze landed on my blonde bestie, she raised her cane high into the air and whooped loudly. "Go, Aisling!"

Heat rushed to my cheeks in embarrassment. I glanced at my father to see him roll his eyes. He wasn't a huge fan of Tetra. She was far too lower-middle class for him. Which was everything I loved about her. She brought a normalcy to my life that I craved.

I gave her a small wave and then used a hand sign language we'd invented in fifth grade, letting her know I needed to talk to her after, that it was important. She nodded, appearing concerned. I hadn't had time to tell her about Jace cheating on me. I'd had to go right from that back to my house to ride here with my father. I couldn't wait to hear her plans for a salacious revenge plot after the Lottery was over. When the sun set tonight, all of the candidates would go into The Wilds to claim their creature of choice, and I needed to know that if I died in there Tetra would shave Jace's head in his sleep or feed him herbs that made his balls fall off.

The Imperial Fleet song played out of the speakers and I brought my hand up in a salute as I stared at the Amersean flag. The two white stars on a black backdrop caused pride to swell within me. One star represented Amersea and the other Imbria. We'd been through a lot as a people, but were finally united under one flag after years of in-fighting—bonded by our shared common enemy to the north, Luska.

When the anthem stopped, Elaine bowed slightly to me and then took her place beside my sisters offstage.

I lowered my hand and my father stood, walking over to the podium with Zuri by his side. "Today, you will be given the chance to become heroes, future leaders of the Imperial Fleet, defenders of Amersea against the Luskin tyrants."

The crowd burst into applause, but I noticed the Imbrians gave a modest, halfhearted clap while the others were shouting and even jumping up from their chairs. It had been over a decade since we'd conquered them and wounds still needed to heal. Maybe with the next generation.

My father gave a charismatic laugh. "Now I know you're excited, but only some of you will be chosen today."

The sound of groans filled the space and he nodded. "Good luck to all. Make us proud." He saluted and everyone saluted him back.

Next was my father's assistant. Lucinda was a young, excitable little thing who spoke in a shrill voice and smiled constantly. She'd been hired about five years ago to improve his public image, and at that point she took over the Lottery ceremony announcements.

I liked her well enough, when she wasn't talking too much.

"Hello, my beautiful Amerseans!" she called in a high-pitched voice. "You must be so excited to have this opportunity." Her creature, a beautiful peacock with electric blue glowing ember lines throughout his tail feathers, pranced on stage behind her.

Most creatures had really badass powers, and they endowed their human to have powers as well. Lucinda's was no different. Her peacock, Carlyle, could camouflage himself to his surroundings so that he could listen in on conversations without being seen. He had a mental link to Lucinda to tell her everything he heard. She was basically a spy, which I think was another reason my father hired her.

"Before we start the Lottery, we have a special candidate." She looked over at me and I stood at attention. "Miss Aisling Everhart, emperor heir, who by right of birth can bypass the Lottery system, will be given the opportunity to go into The Wilds and represent her family." She glanced to my father, who nodded once, and then to my sisters off stage, who clapped excitedly with Elaine by their side. The triplets wore matching purple dresses with white heels, ever the perfect ladies in public even at fourteen years old.

The crowd erupted into applause and I moved to stand in the front of the candidate line. For some reason, in that moment, my gaze flicked to Kohen Badshah. He didn't clap for me, though he watched me with a cocked head and keen expression.

I peered straight ahead and kept a military stance. Sometimes lottery candidates had a scarcity mentality in The Wilds. Thinking that all of the good creatures would get taken, they killed the weak candidates off first. I wanted anyone watching to know that I was military trained and wouldn't take any crap from any of them.

"Alright, let's see who else gets this amazing opportunity!" Lucinda called out through the microphone as she walked over to a giant glass ball at the side of the stage. It had a big crank on the left, and she reached out and spun it, watching the little white paper names tumble inside and mix around. The Lottery was voluntary, and even though you could die in The Wilds, we still had to cap the number of entrants each year. Citizens were clamoring for the opportunity to bond with a creature which would lead to a hefty sign-on bonus and a great job within the military. This would give them a steady income for the rest of their life. We'd been at war with the Luskins for four decades. This was solid and steady work which wouldn't be going away anytime soon.

I watched the crowd as they wiggled nervously in their seats. The entire stadium was packed with over two thousand potential candidates. No family members or friends were allowed as there just wasn't enough room, but they all waited outside to hear the results. I'd barely been able to sneak Tetra in for moral support.

Lucinda pulled the first name. My gaze flicked over to the small white paper to see that it was Angeline Sawyer. I didn't know her.

"Oh, how wonderful! Riverine's very own Jace Ledger!" Lucinda trilled, smiling as she then threw Angeline's name into a small incinerator beside the glass ball. A poof of smoke destroyed the evidence.

So that's how they rigged it. I had always wondered.

The crowd clapped wildly as my lying, cheating ex-boyfriend smiled proudly and stepped onto the stage to stand beside me.

"Stand at the end," I said to him under my breath without moving my lips.

"Aisling…" he pleaded.

I turned to him with a giant smile that hopefully the crowd would think was genuine, but it was my eyes that I infused with murder vibes.

He got the message and waved at everyone as he moved ten feet away from me to stand at the end of the white dotted line of the first row.

"Okay," Lucinda laughed nervously, clearly thrown by our little display. "Next is…" She reached into the glass bowl and I had to control my reaction when I saw the name Kohen Badshah.

My gaze flicked to his. He leaned forward in his seat as if anticipating. Would Lucinda read the real name? She glanced at my father and he gave her the smallest, barely perceptible nod.

"Kohen Badshah." Her voice was flat, void of any excitement. The crowd gave a polite clap, nothing overly rambunctious like they had for Jace and I.

My father was allowing the ex-prince of Imbria to go into The Wilds and possibly bond with a creature and become more powerful? Why would he do that? My mind scrambled for a reason. My father didn't do anything without thinking it through. Making the heir of Imbria more powerful so that he could possibly one day take back his country and go against us was stupid.

I eyed the Imperial Fleet officers, dressed in their black and gold uniforms, all stationed around the edges of the room, and noticed how their bodies tensed as Kohen walked across the front of the stage and towards the stairs that would bring him up here. As he got closer, I realized that he was massive, taller than I had previously thought, and more handsome too. He stepped right up next to me and peered down at me. "Am I allowed to stand next to you or should I go be with him?" He jerked his head towards Jace.

I clenched my jaw at the question, keeping my posture straight and erect. "Do whatever you want," I growled under my breath.

He nodded, stepping up directly beside me, arms hooked behind his back in a posture that mimicked mine, and that's when it hit me. My father was letting him in The Wilds because he was going to have him killed. If the prince of Imbria got taken out on the streets, there would be hell to pay, but in The Wilds, where ninety-five percent of us would die anyway, it would be considered normal.

My father was a genius.

Lucinda called the next name, and the next. One by one, candidates made their way to the stage. Most of them were cheering and smiling, but every once in a while you got a crier. Someone who didn't want to risk their life for their country was rare, but it happened. They were the first to die in The Wilds, too weak to even fend off a dog if it tried to bond with them. Their families were usually very poor and had begged them to enter for the money they might get if they made it out and survived boot camp. It was quite sad when you thought about it.

I began to drown out Lucinda's voice. This ceremony was taking forever, and I'd been to every single one since I was six years old. It got monotonous. I was quite surprised by how many Imbrians were being called up, and I was trying and failing not to be attracted to the sandalwood and honey scent coming off of Kohen Badshah. I should have told him he couldn't stand next to me. It was affecting my thoughts. Boys who smelled good were my weakness. I just wanted to stick my nose against his throat and inhale.

"Tetra Thindrel." Lucinda's voice snapped me back to the present and a collective gasp rang throughout the crowd.

I broke my military posture and dropped my arms, taking one step forward and out of the line. I glanced at Lucinda, who'd just read the name, and then at my best friend in the crowd. Tetra was frowning in disbelief, eyes as wide as an owl's.

I then looked back at my father. You put your name in the Lottery at the door. Tetra never would have put her name in there; she was given special permission to be here today just to support me. My father appeared alarmed, like some mistake had been made. People were watching, waiting to see what would happen. If anyone found out that these lotteries were rigged, it would start a civil war. By Tetra being here, they would assume she had put her name in, as family and friends were not permitted to come just to support each other, other than my sisters of course as they were future heirs. I wondered now if there had been a mix-up at the entrance and a guard had put her name in.

My father started to clap, smiling as if he had just heard the best news in the world, and my stomach sank. He was going to let it happen. He had to go along with it now that her name had been called or the Lottery would look suspect. Everyone else mirrored my father's clapping, but in a lower tone much like they did for when the Imbrian names were called.

I peered at Tetra in fear as she struggled with her cane, trying to make her way out of the aisle. Her right foot dragged limply behind her as she slowly moved over to the stairs. Everyone fell silent as they watched her struggle to mount the steps, her shoe squeaking as it trailed behind her.

My breath came out in ragged gasps as I fought for control and slipped back into my line. Beside me, Kohen suddenly backed away and I snapped my head in his direction as he took a place at the back row of candidates, leaving the spot next to me open for Tetra to slide into.

I frowned in confusion, wondering why he would do that.

Tetra was shaking like a leaf by the time she reached me, so I slid my hand into hers and squeezed, trying to convey to her that it would be okay, that I would die in The Wilds protecting her before I let anything happen to her.

More names were read, until finally the stage was full. Four hundred of us in all, crammed like cattle in a kill pen.

Which was probably what we were now.

For tonight, we either lived or died in The Wilds. Nothing else mattered.