The Ravaged World (Book 2 of the Exiles Series)

Five: Magnus

I don't feel anything at all until I trudge up the stairs, burst through my bedroom door and fall on to my bed. As I stare up at the ceiling, I allow the feelings to surface. Anger for Avalon. Horror at my new life. Longing. But I know that here is my new life, and I have to live it.

A sudden thought crosses my mind. I could run away. I contemplate the idea for a brief moment, but push it away almost instantly. If I ran away, I would be found and killed. And that would completely set off what my true goal is: to find Talia, and make peace after all the stupid stuff I did back on the island.

At some point a few minutes later, I recover and shuffle over to my desk in the corner of the room. I sit down, and immediately notice the sleek, slightly dusty black surface of a telescreen. The one material thing that can relieve me from my isolation. I flick the dust bunnies off the tablet screen and hold down the power button. The screen glows to life, a neon blue, and says, "Hello, Magnus," in a crisp electronic monotone. I smile at its familiarness and lean back in my chair, knowing exactly what I need to do.

I click on the icon in the top right corner that looks like a blue bar with an envelope in the middle and wait for it to load. My contacts flash in front of me on the small screen. I scroll down the long list, searching for someone to talk to. The list is so lengthy that I couldn't count all the people, not even if I wanted to. The list has been added onto since I last checked, looking to be much, much longer.

The cursor scrolls boredly past the A's, B's and C's, before my eyes catch the D's and my hand stops moving. An old friend remains at the top of the section, even after all these years. We met in school when I was eight and he was eleven. His name is Max, Max Drake. He is related to someone still on the island, cousins to, actually--a blonde, tough-as-nails chick named Sasha.

I tap the icon beside his name and skim his contact information. Lucky for me, my telescreen is so advanced that if his number had happened to change while I was away the contact info would have updated automatically. To my relief, it has. I take a deep breath. Inhale, exhale. I bring my finger down to push 'call.' But before I can, a loud knock sounds at my bedroom door.

I swear under my breath and turn off the tablet. I rise from my seat and answer the door. Standing in the hallway is, lo and behold, my arch nemesis Avalon, looking as displeased as a person can possibly look. "What do you want?" I growl, upset at being interrupted, especially by her.

"I don't want to be up here, either," Avalon says spitefully, placing her hands on my door frame like she thinks I'm going to try to escape, "but I forgot to tell you, downstairs, that the government meeting is at seven o'clock sharp and it's at my house. I'll have someone accompany you there. Now, a lot of important people are going to be there, so I'd at least try to look presentable. And don't even think of skipping out." She turns to leave, her lips set in a hard line.

"Hey, is Arina coming?" I ask just as Avalon is about to shut the door. She turns around quickly, looking irritated.

"Yes, she is," Avalon clarifies. My heart swells with relief. I actually smile. If my beautiful, polite, talkative sister comes along, maybe some of the attention will be shifted away from my hostility and to her.

"You're aware of your position, aren't you Magnus?" Avalon asks me, one eyebrow raised. I don't move a muscle, afraid that even a nod or shake of the head will set her off.

"Everyone knows about you," Avalon explains. "Not only are you the youngest president of Silver ever, but nobody has seen you for five years. You--excuse me, you and Arina--are the new muses of this country. Once you make your first public appearance, a.k.a. tonight, the country and the world will be hanging on your every thought, word, and opinion. I'm sure you know this."