Chapter 145

I take Caleb’s worries to heart, but at the same time, I don’t let them stop me from increasing my investigation into Caleb and Evan’s past. Now that I have a name of the mysterious omega, Summer Robins, I can follow the strings that provides.

Since the omega proved to be a bust, and I still suspected Hector might be watching the library with the newspaper archive, I must find a different avenue to elicit information.

The knowledge of a surname helps my situation somewhat. Perhaps Summer’s family, if not Summer herself, still live in town.

With Bethany as my companion, so I am not wandering the hallways alone as Caleb warned again, we find out way to the registrar’s office. Here, every subject of the kingdom has been documented. Where before, starting her would have given us too many options, now that we have the family name, this is the perfect place to turn.

Written records make up a massive library, with stacks upon stacks of books and files of documents. But those tactile records were historical. Now, as Bethany explained, “Everything is digital.”

The workers in the registrar’s office glance at Bethany and I with curious interest, though they do not approach us. Nor do they focus on us more than their actual work.

They give us such a wide berth that I wonder if Tristan has been here before us to instruct them to leave us alone, and let us have the run of the place. I can’t imagine why else they’d let a pair of stranger peruse the shelves.

We find an open desk and sit down. In the record database, I find the search bar and then type in Summer Robins. After hitting enter, I’m greeted with an error message.

No name exists. Check spelling and try again.

Tristan hadn’t told me how to spell it, so I tried a few different ways. The results were always the same.

While I sat at the computer chair, watching the monitor, Bethany stood behind me, leaning on the back of my chair.

“Maybe they erased her here, too,” Bethany said.

Just like they ripped the pages with her name out of the omega registry, so too, did they delete her existence out of the census records.

“Let’s try this,” I said, and simply typed in the last name, as well as setting the location as the capital.

This time, after hitting enter, I was gifted with an address. If the names and dates lined up correctly, Summer’s mother lived there. She also, it seemed, had a younger brother.

I quickly scrawled the information down on a note. Then, after glancing at Bethany, I closed the application, stood, and together, we made our way from the registrar’s office.

Out in the hallway, as we walked back toward my chambers, I turned to Bethany and showed her the note.

“Do you know where this is?” I asked. “Is it far?”

“It’s in the underground city,” Bethany says. “This family must be servants or other employees of the palace.”

“Not slaves?” I asked.

“Slaves wouldn’t be able to leave the palace. Only servants or others could purchase or rent their own accommodations outside of it. Only those who work for the palace would choose to live in the underground, else they’d live within the walls above ground.”

It seemed, only the wealthy or the well-connected could afford to see regular sunlight.

This worked to our advantage in this case, however. Among the wealthy and nobility, either I would be recognized, or Bethany and I would stuck out in the crowd.

Among servants, with an outfit change, we’d be more likely to fit in.

Bethany must be able to discern my plan just from looking at my face. “You can’t go there.”

“It’s not fair. In the underground, we wouldn’t be recognized.”

“There’s a rebellion being formed, Harper. Didn’t Caleb tell you that you are in danger?”

He did, and I have good reason to believe it. After the last uprising, I don’t want to be caught too far from the guards and the palace. Not just for my own sake, but Caleb might need me.

His mate-sickness has been rapidly growing worse.

But that’s all the more reason why this little risk is necessary. Though I have no proof, I feel like the guilt of Caleb’s past is only amplifying his present paranoia. If I can discover the truth of what happened back then to Caleb and his brother, maybe I can help delay the mate-sickness in Caleb, at least for a time.

There’s only a handful of people alive who have the answers I need, and of those people, only one might actually talk to me. I’d find no answers with Hector or Kira. Summer and her family, however… maybe they would be more open-minded. Or at least, less likely to tear my throat out.

Hopefully.

This outing would still be dangerous, though. I couldn’t discount that. I agreed that, with Caleb’s fondness for me, I’d be prime pickings for the rebellion members. Kidnapping or killing me would hurt Caleb’s already fragile psyche even more.

If the rebellion wants more people to join their cause, having Caleb be even more outrageous and extreme was a good way to go about it.

“If we’re careful and quick,” I insist, “No one will even know we were gone.”

Bethany shakes her head. “Caleb will be furious when he eventually finds out. Even if he doesn’t discover your absence instantly, which I would be shocked, he will learn of it at some point.”

“Let me take care of Caleb,” I said. Hopefully, we could help cure Caleb’s mate-sickness before he finds out about this endeavor.

Bethany’s right, I do anticipate him finding out about it eventually. I just hope it’s father out in the future than anytime sooner.

“I still think it’s a bad idea,” Bethany says. “Anything could happen. I know you’ve done the warrior training, but I haven’t. In a fight, I’d only be able to scream and run.”

Considering her words, I can see the reason behind her worry and fear. It was kind of her to give me credit with the warrior training, but I was a far cry away from being an actual warrior. If we ran into a warrior – especially one with a gun – I’d be mostly helpless.

Perhaps it wouldn’t be a terrible idea to bring someone else along for protection. While I was loathe to include someone I didn’t fully trust into this scheme, not wanting to risk Summer, we had to move quickly.

“Do we trust any of the guards?” I asked. Bethany would likely know them better than me, but even she seems unsure.

Softly, in a whisper, she tells me, “There’s been a lot of unhappy talk lately. It’s difficult to know who is just venting and who is tempted by the other side.”

Thinking on it, I tried to consider the guards that I had become acquainted with. My ideal guard would be the Pitmaster, but she had many duties that likely kept her busy. Also, her loyalty to the crown would insist she receive direct permission from Caleb before escorting me anywhere.

No, I needed a guard who was trustworthy but also not as by-the-book.

Thinking of the warrior training, I remembered someone.

“I think I know someone who would help,” I said.