Resist (The Harvest Saga Book 2) by Casey L. Bond Page B

the viper’s den. But I was thankful that that crown did not grace Abby’s head. I was thankful she was spared this scene, for now.
    My father needed her. Well, the Greater scientists needed her eggs in case the first round of implantations failed. I had overheard more this morning. She was being held in an abandoned prison several miles south of the village. My father ordered that she be given food and water regularly and that no hair on her head and no part of her body was to be harmed. He had laughed, calling her the “goose with the golden eggs.”
    No one in Olympus was laughing today. A tension hung heavy in the air, even despite the giggling children and excited energy that charged the atmosphere just before the commencement of the beheadings. The first order of business was to literally chop the head off of the leaders of the resistance along with those belonging to anyone who aided the movement. My father would remove the heads of the snakes with one fell swoop. Literally.
    The night of our wedding, the night that Abby’s story was broadcast to all of the Greater cities and Lesser Villages, a communication went out into the night. That communication from Orchard, which I assumed was sent by Kyan, had been sent directly to Senn. It did not take long for my father’s technologists to trace the comm. That message led them to check Senn’s personal computer.
    There, they found the information he had hacked and stolen, some of it for me. They found Abby’s medical records. They found communications with a few key members of the resistance in Olympus, including names. And they found that he had helped to hack the feed that let Abby tell her secret to the world.
    Four others, whom I did not realize were personally involved in the resistance movement, had been rounded up last night and in the early morning hours today. They would receive no trial. There would be no jury or hearing at which they could assert their innocence or plead for their lives. There would be no mercy. There would only be swift and exact punishment.
    Treason was something my father did not and would never tolerate. His actions were absolute in dealing with the matter and for a long time, those actions had been an effective deterrent to those who might think to stand against our city or its leaders. Things now, though, seemed on the cusp of change. There was no way he could stop the resistance. It was too large and well-organized, cut into small groups that weren’t related or interconnected in any other way.
    My father stood and straightened his suit. A large microphone hung down from the ceiling of the box we occupied. “Citizens of the great city of Olympus,” he addressed. The crowd quietened down, giving him the respect that he so absolutely commanded.
    “Lies have been spoken. I realize that many of you are upset by the malicious rumors spread by a small group of lowly cowards. We have located some of those cowards, those who would hide behind the screen of a computer and hope to tear down a great nation. Treason has never been tolerated. Olympus will not stand for or behind traitors. The five people brought before you today, have been found guilty of such an offense, against Olympus, against you, its citizens. I order them beheaded.”
    Murmurs flooded through the crowd, filling the air with fear and blood thirst.
    Father continued, “Let their punishment serve as a warning to anyone who might seek to harm our great city. You will not succeed.”
    Customarily, cheers would have erupted from all levels of the amphitheater. Some did cheer, but those were sparse, few and far between. My father cleared his throat and nodded to the guards on the ground. Senn was dragged onto the dusty floor below, a thick metal collar around his neck that joined to the chains that bound his hands. He was dirty and blood smeared his skin in various places. His eyes were swollen closed.
    He gasped as they jerked him forward, kicking the backs of his knees until