Free Elected (The Elected Series Book 1) by Rori Shay

in a mere two months. Countries utilizing the sea’s natural resources for the basis of their economy were ruined. Starvation was rampant.”
    I look out into the crowd and back at my parents. They give me another nod of approval, so I continue.
    “Countries depending on oil for their economies were vanquished. People rioted. Not one country offered to clean up the oil. Resources were slim everywhere. Unmanned airrides landed, trying to steal other countries’ natural resources. No one knows which country inflicted the first nuclear air strike. But, in a matter of days, warfare broke out worldwide, reducing our already thinning population by millions. And then the leaders of all countries congregated somewhere in an area called Europe. This was the start of the Accords. The Elected Accord. The Fertility Accord. The Ship Accord. And the Technology Accord. If it were not for these four Accords and the ensuing isolation of our countries, human life would have been completely extinguished.”
    I pause for effect. My people are listening to the story, mesmerized.
    “Even one small deviation from these Accords would begin a cycle that, without check, would lead us right back into the eco-crisis and demise of our civilization!”
    Cheers erupt. I nod my head vehemently, empowered now by the widespread agreement.
    It’s so loud I don’t hear the slight whoosh of air as it passes by my leg. But suddenly, there’s an arrow embedded in the floor in back of me. The crowd has seen it too now, and there are screams and cries of surprise.
    I don’t even have time to react as I see another long arrow slicing through the air toward me. Its aim is perfect. Even as I see the shine of its metallic tip coming swiftly onward, I know I won’t have time to move. My guards, who were on opposite sides of the stage won’t have time to get to me now. I squeeze my eyes closed in fright since this motion is the only thing I can do fast enough.
    My muscles tense and I know the arrow will find its mark in the next half second.
    And then I’m on the ground. It’s like a boulder just crashed into me. My eyes are still squeezed shut. I’m mentally screaming, trying to register the spot on my body that’s hurting. Am I dying? Is this what it feels like to go? Not to be able to move? No longer having feeling in my arms or legs?
    Through the screaming and pandemonium, I slowly let myself open my eyes. I tell myself I need to see the sun streaming through the clouds one more time before I die.
    But instead of seeing blue sky and creamy white clouds above me, I see a different sight.
    Griffin.

6
    He’s on top of me, encasing my body with his own. He’s what knocked me over onto my back. Not the arrow at all. He’s pinned me down with his own weight, shielding me, as I see a few morearrows fly over our heads onto the floor in back of us.
    “Stop struggling and stay down,” he says in frustration.
    I obey, but only because I’m stunned and don’t know what else to do. All I can do is move my head, so I look left and right, seeing my guards surrounding both me and Griffin. There’s pandemonium in the amphitheater as people either run from the ensuing arrows or try to find the source.
    I hear my father command the guards. “Take him out of here!”
    Does he mean me? Or is the “him” Griffin? For a split second I wonder—did Griffin just save me or is he part of the onslaught? Are they taking him away because he’s a threat to me?
    Before I can ponder this or look fully into Griffin’s face to glean an answer, his body is roughly pushed off mine, and I’m hustled away up the stairs of the amphitheater.
    My foggy head suddenly becomes clear. My people can’t see me like this—weak with shock and running away.
    “Stop!” I yell. But the guard doesn’t hear. I resort to digging my hands into the collar of his jacket, scratching the skin of his neck. “Now!”
    He finally looks down at me in disbelief and then does what I command without