Aveline by Lizzy Ford Read Free Book Online Page B

pose the greatest threat.”
    “We are at peace with them, are we not?”
    “Meat is scarce in winter, and any truce we
form with them during a time of plenty is gone when we are both
trying to feed our people,” he explained. “Those to the north,
where the buffalo herds are, have never agreed to our treaties
anyway.”
    “I would love to meet the natives in the
villages near the city and see buffalos!”
    “You are safe here.”
    “Am I?” She allowed the soft question to
escape.
    His jaw tightened to the point the muscles
snapped in his cheek. “I know,” he said. “I found someone to guard
you while I am away for these two weeks.”
    “Matilda will not approve.”
    “Matilda will not know.”
    “You can take me with you,” she said
wistfully. “I want to witness snow fall upon the prairies and walk
across the frozen lakes!”
    “Someday.”
    It was all he ever said when she expressed
an interest in leaving the city. Tiana’s cheeks warmed at the
reminder even her dear brother believed her deformities casted an
egregious shame upon the family, one that had to be kept hidden
from everyone forever. She would never leave her room, aside from
obligatory events, let alone venture from the city to the world
beyond.
    “I heard the slaves talking about the Free
Lands to the north,” she continued and then held her breath,
waiting to hear what her brother said on the matter. Slaves often
spoke of nonsense, according to Matilda. Tiana, confined her entire
life, had no real experience or basis to help her determine what
was true and what was not.
    “Tiana, if I knew somewhere you could go,
where you would be safe, do you not think I would do everything in
my power to send you there?” Arthur replied.
    “You would,” she said. She hid her
disappointment, aware of how much her brother cared yet suspecting
he either did not know about the Free Lands or did not wish to
encourage her in her desire to eventually leave the city.
    They fell into comfortable silence as they
joined their stepmother’s party. Trailed by her train of slaves,
Matilda went first down the elevator from the top of the pyramid to
the indoor village contained within its base, where their father
and other members of the privileged awaited them. The massive
structure, guarded by a sphinx and obelisk, had survived the
destruction of the Old World, the period five hundred years before
when Lost Vegas had existed as a city of luxury before it became a
refuge for the few that survived the demise of the Old World. The
wealthiest survivors had gathered here, and since then, only the
most powerful families in the city were permitted to live in the
great pyramid.
    From the apartment at the
tip of the pyramid, the word, Luxor, could be seen written across the floor far below.
Tiana had often gazed at it and wondered what it meant, why someone
had named the exotic building this.
    She and Arthur followed in the second lift,
lowered from the height of two hundred feet by electricity –
existing only in the elite outer city – and by a team of mules at
the bottom when the electricity was not working, which was half the
time.
    She kept hold of her brother’s arm as they
left the elevator and were immediately surrounded by throngs of the
wealthiest members of the city. People always stopped to stare at
her, curious about the elusive daughter of their leader. None of
them had ever seen her face, and the slaves often spoke about how
various men and women would try to bribe those working for the
family for information about the mysterious Hanover daughter.
    For her part, Tiana did not mind the
excessive attention, as long as she was safe behind her veil and at
her brother’s side. She had eyes only for what lay beyond the
confines of her home.
    She and Arthur moved into place behind their
father and stepmother, who led the small parade from the pyramid,
outside into the outer city and onward to the top of the
commemorative wall, where they would watch the