Free The Essence by Kimberly Derting Page A

Your Majesty.” The inflection he put behind those two words—words I generally despised—gave them a whole new meaning. They sounded fresh and new, like a breaking dawn might sound. Like a pledge. Goose bumps shivered over my arms, but I didn’t move to rub them away. I held his gaze. “You,” he said, bowing all the way to the ground before me, “are becoming a true queen.”

vi
     
    The vehicle came to a sudden stop in front of the large, polished school building and my fingers edged up to the glass that separated me from the real world. I told myself I could do this, even as my hands trembled.
    “I never thought I’d be here again,” I said breathlessly, more to myself than to anyone else. I was surprised, standing there now, to realize that so little had changed in the past months, despite the fact that everything was different now. The school looked exactly as it had before. Even the name was the same: the Academy.
    Except that starting today there were no more restrictions on who could attend. Everyone would be allowed. Children born of all classes, who’d once been segregated by birthright, now clustered and converged on the smooth marbled steps, making their way toward the entrance.
    I’d gazed upon this particular building so many times before, and even though it had once conjured feelings of disgust and envy in me, a sudden, inexplicable wave of nostalgia flashed through me as I stared out at it.
    Crowds were already gathered in front, squeezed together on the sprawling lawns and spilling out into the streets, body against body as far as I could see. I knew they weren’t here to see the doors of the school opened. They were all awaiting their first glimpse of their queen.
    “You’re ready,” Brooklynn assured me, her fingers finding my shoulder. I ignored the quiver in her voice and wondered if she felt what I had, the same sense that we still didn’t belong here.
    I simply nodded and reaching down to release the door. Zafir was already on the other side of it, waiting to shield me as much as to escort me up the steps.
    Brooklynn remained behind me. I suddenly wished I hadn’t insisted that Max stay behind with Xander to work on preparations for the summit. I wished, too, that my parents were here just to hold my hand and comfort me.
    “Stay close, Your Majesty. Not everyone is happy about what’s happening,” Zafir insisted as he leaned down to help me out, slipping his arm protectively through mine.
    I stood slowly. All around me everything went still. Silent.
    Every person there was watching me. I could feel their eyes boring into me, through me.
    And then I reached up and pulled back my hood.
    The first gasp was nearby, followed immediately by another and another, and still another, until it was one unified sound.
    I waited, lifting my chin and staring straight ahead, too afraid to focus on anyone or anything. Too afraid to breathe.
    Only when the initial shock had worn off, when the people in attendance had grown accustomed to my appearance, and conversations had started—murmurs that rippled through the crowd—did I allow myself to look around. I nodded at one of the soldiers, a woman who stood beside us. Her uniform was similar to Brook’s, and she held a military rifle across her chest. There were other soldiers positioned at similar intervals lining the pathway ahead of us that led up to the steps of the Academy, and presumably surrounding the entire building. There was nothing discreet about their presence.
    “Charlie!” A girl’s voice came from just ahead of us, and I caught a glimpse of a golden-blond girl with flushed cheeks waving frantically. “Over here!”
    “Look, it’s Sydney!” I called over my shoulder to Brooklynn. “Sydney!” I shouted just as eagerly as she had, signaling for her to join us. Then I turned to the soldiers who were keeping the crowd at bay. “Let her through.”
    Zafir scowled as he stepped closer to me, just as Sydney was squeezing through