Lia’s height had always set her apart growing up, but she quite liked it. It suited her. However, she’d never been more grateful for it than she was right now.
After changing into the lone enforcer’s gear and hog-tying him behind an armored truck, she’d manage to slip into a group that was just heading into the palace. She didn’t recognize any of the men as people from her sector, but she knew that they must’ve been from the outside. They were untrained and disorganized. It made her job of fitting in so much easier. All she had left to do was to separate from her group without drawing any attention.
Heading through corridors, Lia’s anxiety rose. The palace looked deserted. She just hoped that Cade and Cassian had managed to hide somewhere.
As they turned right to ascend the service stairwell, Lia saw her opportunity and began slowly to lag in order to fall to the back of the group. Just as the last enforcer passed through into the stairwell, she turned out of the way of the door as it closed behind them. She waited a few seconds to see if anyone would come back before she made a break for it, running towards the north stairwell. The enforcers were moving quite fast but if she could make it up to the floor of the guest wing before them, she might be able to find someone.
Pumping her arms as fast as she could, her gun bobbing at her hip, Lia sprinted up the stairwell.
On arrival, she practically flung the door open. Cade’s room was the first she went to. She shoved at the door and tumbled in.
No one was in the room. The bed was perfectly made. Stepping outside momentarily, she checked to make sure that she was in the right room. She was.
Heart rate rising, Lia jogged across the hall to Cassian’s room and her heart almost stopped as she saw the door standing open. Lia immediately raised her gun. Coming up to the doorway, she looked inside cautiously. Again, it was empty.
After sweeping the room as thoroughly as she could, she began rummaging through his room. She didn’t know where else to look. She ran to the closet, then the bathroom, only to find nothing. She was spinning in circles, looking for some hint of where they might have gone.
Noise on the other side of the floor told her that the enforcers had arrived. She might’ve gotten up quicker but they wouldn’t be far behind.
Her search grew more frantic as she looked for anything: a hint, a message, even blood. Cassian was the one she was meant to check in with when she got back. Why wouldn’t he leave her a note or something? Heading out of the room, she ran towards the stairwell exit, only to trip on something.
Ruffled, Lia picked herself up and was stopped dead at the sight.
The enforcers, the whole group that she had come in with. They were all on the floor. She couldn’t tell if they were dead or unconscious, but she didn’t want to find out. Who did this? If there was someone in the palace that was still on their side, Lia needed to find them.
Scrambling back, she made a quick mental list of all the places she had checked. Maybe Cade was on the top floor.
Lia had seen the signs. She knew he had feelings for Deianira. Thinking about it, Deianira would probably be the first person he’d look for.
Decided, Lia headed to the east stairs. Pulling the handlebar, she tiptoed into the stairwell and paused to listen. Incoming.
Backing up to the wall she waited to see if they would exit on the floor below. They didn’t. Lia grasped her gun. Leaning over the railing, she aimed at the wall on the lower flight of stairs and waited for the first person to come into view. She felt the sweat dripping down her forehead, her palms clamming up. All she could do was hold her breath and wait as a familiar blonde head staggered into her eyeline. Cassian?
She let her gun lower, lightly tapping against the railing, and let out a sigh of relief. That was all it took for Cassian to look up and see her. Lia smiled down at him before she realized that he was lifting his gun and aiming at her.
Belatedly, Lia remembered what she looked like and ducked, throwing herself backward, just before the first of many bullets hit the wall behind her.
“CASSIAN, STOP! DON’T SHOOT! IT’S ME!” she screamed at the top of her lungs.
The bullets stopped. “Eulalia?!” Cassian shouted up.
Lia slumped as she huffed. “Yes, you idiot! You almost took my fucking head off!”
“Shit!” Several footsteps pelted up the stairs.
Lia scooted back on her bottom as Cassian, Devin and a girl she’d never seen before came up the steps.
“Sorry about that.” Cassian offered her a hand to help her up.
She smacked his hand. “Yeah, you should be, asshole.”
“What was I supposed to do when you’re dressed like that? Why are you dressed like that?” He tilted his head.
“It was the only way I could get in. The whole lockdown was a ruse, they wanted us to come out of the front entrance. They’re waiting for us. Something’s going on,” Lia panted.
“Told you, dumbass.” Devin smiled smugly as he squeezed the hand of the girl next to him.
Cassian rolled his eyes but Lia’s attention turned to her.
“Who’s this?” she asked Cassian.
Devin answered for him. “Emori.”
Lia watched them all for a second. Deciding that she didn’t care enough to ask any more questions, she shrugged and turned back to the others.
“They’re sending more in every thirty minutes to flush us out. We need to find Cade and find another way out. Fast.”
At their nods, Lia took off, leading them up to the top floor.
Cade
Cade stared at his father as he twisted his wrists behind his back, the rope digging into his skin. He hadn’t said a word since he’d been dragged into the kitchen and tied to a small wooden chair. His father, however, wouldn’t stop talking.
“As you can see, my son here isn’t a big talker,” he said, laughing with the three other enforcers in the room.
Drake Alden was a narcissist. The worst kind, too. He thought the world of himself, needed others to see how great he was. Unfortunately for young Cade though, the front only lasted so long. He knew what happened when the mask came off.
If he wasn’t hellbent on getting out and finding Deianira, he would’ve taken the opportunity to embarrass his father, to see how he liked being tested. But that wasn’t the goal. So Cade sat in his chair and waited for the real conversation to start.
“I just want to know where she is. I’ll even let you go after. This doesn’t need to be hard.” Drake almost seemed genuine.
Even if Cade knew where she was, there wasn’t a chance he’d tell his father.
“Why do you even care what happens to her?”
Cade recognized that tone. He was goading him. He’d done it a million times before but it never worked. Now though, his father was entering dangerous territory.
Drake let out a huffy laugh. “You know, when my little birdie told me that you were kicking it with the Evil Queen, I didn’t believe it.” He shook his head. “There was no way my boy was getting some action like that. With the Queen of the Dome, no less.”
Cade cringed at the way his father said ‘my boy’. On multiple occasions, Drake had accused Cade’s mother of infidelity. He said that he couldn’t have produced an invalid, a child who couldn’t speak. But now he was his son?
“I’ll admit, you did well. But you can stop playing Kings and Queens now.” His tone deepened. “Tell me where she is.”
Cade said nothing.
Drake nodded. “Expected as much.” He then inclined his head at one of the enforcers.
On cue, the enforcer stepped up to the stove and grasped the handle of a cleaver. Cade sucked in a breath.
They were going to cut him. As he handed it to Drake, Cade noticed that what used to be a shiny silver was now a glowing red. No, they were going to burn him.
Drake advanced on him slowly, menacingly. Cade didn’t move, only tensed as his father got closer. He leaned back as far as he could, trying to keep his distance from him.
Drake tilted his head thoughtfully as he bent down in front of Cade. “Are you actually going to make me do this?” he asked, feigning
hurt. “Over some girl?”
Cade’s chest rose and fell faster as he glared at his father. He stepped back at Cade’s expression.
“Oh, son. Don’t tell me you have feelings for her.”
Cade cast his eyes to the ground. He couldn’t look at him any longer.
“That’s disappointing, Cade. That is really disappointing.” Drake gave him a sad head shake before turning to one of the enforcers. “Take his shirt off.”
