Reap (The Harvest Saga Book 1) Read Online Free Page A

account. Any protests, even now, would fall upon deaf ears and invite nothing but trouble into his life.
    I looked at him. “Doesn’t matter. You have to deal with it.”
    “I don’t love her.” He pinned me with his stare.
    “I know. But, you might as well learn to.” I hated this. I hated that we had no control. From infancy we were taught two things. Work hard and obey. Any deviation at all and a swift, harsh punishment would immediately be handed down. Beat into submission. Ruled by fear. It wasn’t just Norris, either. It was our parents and guardians, the village council, but most of all the Greaters in their grand cities.
    Control was paramount to maintain order and peace. But, right now, I felt anything but peaceful. I felt mutinous, rebellious. I wanted to lash out, fight back, jump up and down, and scream. But, it would do no good. I’d be whipped, again—beaten within an inch of my life, again. The lashes on my back would look like child’s play when they were through with me.
    “I don’t love her, Abby Blue. I love—”
    My eyes stopped him before my words did. “Ky. Don’t go there. Whatever you’re about to say, just...don’t. It won’t change anything.” He recoiled and stood abruptly, before marching out the door, slamming the rickety wood into the wall behind it. I blinked at the sound. Does Ky love me?
     

 
     
     
     
     
    Morning came way too soon . Lulu woke me up and helped me get ready. There was no way I could possibly wear a bra, so she cut an old sheet and made a wide strip of fabric with. She carefully wrapped my torso like a mummy, effectively binding my chest and the wounds on my back at the same time. It had relieved some of the pressure and I asked her to bind me again tonight after she slopped the goopy herbal concoction on me. She was happy to have given me some relief and chastised me for even asking for her help this evening.
    She helped me shrug on one of Ky’s button-down shirts. The hem tickled my knees, but I didn’t care. I wanted and needed something loose, especially since I had to report for work at the Preston’s today. The thought made me cringe. Every movement of my arms, every step, reminded me of my punishment—not just the wounds on my back, but the punishment of coming into contact with Zander Preston.
    I hated Zander Preston with a fierce passion. He had always bullied and belittled me. Not only me, but anyone he felt was beneath him or could be a threat to him. His father held a position on the village council, contributing to this unhealthy obsession with entitlement. An obsession that allowed him to believe he had the right to treat everyone around him as if they were beneath him.
    Every villager in Orchard was born a Lesser, deemed by those in the cities, to be something subhuman and only good for one thing–work. The citizens of those magnificent streets, with buildings rumored to scrap the sky were the Greaters. They believed themselves to be born better in every way than Lessers, the workers they controlled. We were fit to produce and prepare their food and the raw materials that the cities required to keep running, but for little else. So how Zander, a Lesser just like everyone else in Orchard, could somehow consider himself more, I did not understand. Maybe by putting everyone else down, he managed to somehow make himself feel better.
    I didn’t know. And, right now, as I gingerly slid my legs into my jeans, my feet into my socks and shoes, I didn’t care. I just hoped that I would get there after Zander left for the orchards. In the kitchen, Lulu hugged me softly and kissed my cheek, handing me a small burlap bag with my lunch packed inside. “Behave, Abigail. I know how you feel about that Zander boy, but for God’s sake, behave. You’re in no shape to take another lashing.”
    “I will, Lulu. I promise.” I squeezed her a bit tighter and appreciated her sweet, comforting scent. She had always smelled of fresh grass and morning