“But why does he care about her so much?”
“He cares what she says to you.”
Alina blinked her eyes. “I don’t understand.”
Rex got up and peeked through the curtains again. He rubbed the back of his neck as he turned to Alina and spoke in a harsh, urgent whisper. “You are the biggest threat Sampson has ever known. You pose such a danger to his ‘perfect’ world, that for seventeen years he has made your case top priority in his laboratories. Surveillance was the only way to keep Jade silent.”
“What?” Alina exclaimed. “I’m a threat?”
“More than you realize.”
Alina stared at him. “And Jade knows all this?”
“Everything. Sampson doesn’t want her revealing it.”
“That explains why she doesn’t talk to me,” Alina whispered.
Rex’s face softened. “I can’t imagine how difficult it’s been for her. I don’t talk to her, either, but I see the pain in her eyes. She’s not naturally aloof, you know. She has a gift with people. I know she wants to be close to you.”
Alina bit her lip. “Did she ask to be my caretaker?”
“Sampson wanted to keep you at Gordian but didn’t know how to care for you. Jade knew about you, which should have sent her straight to Carthem, but she made herself useful by volunteering to be your caretaker. She had other reasons for raising you though, not just to avoid banishment. In fact, she would’ve preferred Carthem, had her desire to protect you not been stronger.”
Tears came to Alina’s eyes. She wasn’t a punishment, or an insult. Jade wanted her.
Rex started pacing the room. “Sampson agreed to let Jade raise you only because there was no other option at the time. He made one condition: she be put under surveillance to keep her in check. The device is very effective—it does everything short of reading her thoughts, so her words must always be convincing. There’s no better actress in all of Pria because she knows the more proficient she plays her part, the longer you stay out of Sampson’s laboratories.”
“His laboratories!” exclaimed Alina. “But—what can he do to me there? I’ve been to those laboratories and there’s not much to them—”
“Oh, honey,” Rex cut in, shaking his head sadly. “There’s so much of Gordian Palace you don’t see on school field trips.”
“So, why doesn’t he put something in my brain, if he’s so concerned about what I think?”
Rex held up his hand. “Take a breath. This is a lot of information to soak in. The perfect world you’ve known your whole life has just turned upside down.”
“Oh, believe me, I haven’t thought too highly of Pria lately.”
“Yes, well, it’s worse than you think.” He sat down next to her and tapped his fingers on the arm of the sofa. “To answer your questions, not many people have the device—very few, in fact. It’s difficult to make, and implant, so Sampson uses other means to monitor people. If someone is chosen for surveillance, it’s because they’re of great interest to him—usually an enemy or threat. It keeps them in line, you see. Surveillance wasn’t an option for you because the procedure would kill you, and your death would ruin him. So, he’s searching for a way to keep you alive indefinitely, in some kind of comatose state.”
“What’s that?”
“Permanent sleep. Forever.”
Alina gasped. “But—but why does it matter if I die?”
Rex put his hands on her shoulders, his eyes twinkling. “Alina, you don’t have the slightest clue who you are! Your existence has penetrated the immortal spell of Pria. If you die, all of Pria will collapse, and Sampson with it. Everyone will be subjected to mortality if you succumb to it.”
Alina couldn’t believe his words. “But—why?”
“Let’s just say there are many things about Pria you don’t learn in school. Pria is beautiful on the surface; underneath, it’s ugly and corrupt. Sampson is not as dear to his people as you think. There’s been a secret resistance growing for over two hundred years. My caretaker, Camden, helped organize it.”
“A secret resistance! Does Father Sampson know about it?”
“Oh, he knows it exists, but so far we’ve been pretty good at keeping our identities hidden. Occasionally he discovers a participant, who is then banished. Fortunately, because no one feels pain, there is little he can do to force information. Torture wouldn’t work anyway—we’re too strong. Strong enough to pull off the biggest conspiracy Pria has ever known.” He looked straight into her eyes. “You.”
Alina stared at him. “Me?”
Rex nodded, and grinned.
“But—”
“Try not to feel overwhelmed, or frightened. There are many powerful people protecting you.”
“You speak as if you’re part of this secret resistance,” she noted.
He winked.
“But wouldn’t Father Sampson suspect you, being raised by a traitor? Why did Jade send me to you? Won’t he suspect—well, the truth?” Alina asked.
“Don’t worry, I have fooled him,” Rex said with a sly smile.
“How?”
“I underwent his indoctrination process when I was thirteen, after he sent Camden away. It’s how he handles these special cases—when a young one is exposed to dissent. Sampson has a law, which he more or less follows, that children and youth can’t be sent to Carthem. He’d become unpopular very fast. Children can’t be expected to always behave themselves. Learning to control one’s temper is a process, so the young are allowed to make mistakes. With adults he plays his cards carefully, using banishment to create a margin of fear, but not to cause unrest. If he must expel more, he does so secretly. Camden was a tricky case for him. As one of the original founders of Pria, everyone knew and revered him, so Sampson couldn’t secretly dispose of him.”
“What did he do, then?’
“He exposed Camden as a law breaker, and with enough evidence, it worked. Of course, he twisted things to make Camden appear power hungry and selfish. People respected Sampson all the more when
