After about another hour, the sun made an appearance through the clouds.
Cassian turned to the group and held up his fist in a ‘hold’ motion as they neared the bend leading to the entrance. The footsteps began to slow as the message got passed down the line.
It was getting brighter and they wouldn’t have cover for long. Cassian peered around the corner, eyeing the entrance.
“What’s taking them so long?” said the same enforcer that had questioned them.
“I don’t know but I’m not going in when no one else has come out. I didn’t sign up to be slaughtered.”
“Well, if you want to go home, be my guest, but I’m not leaving without my cut.”
Cassian jumped as Salem appeared at his side.
“I’ll take the ones on the truck. You stay back and cover me.”
She was ridiculously agile. She turned and motioned some people forward. Four girls and three guys. Cassian frowned as she started giving them orders. These were teenagers. Kids.
“Understand?” They all nodded. “Take them out but don’t kill them if you don’t have to. Her Majesty will want them alive.”
They broke apart and took their places.
As soon as Salem whisper-shouted “Go!”, one of the girls closed her eyes and tilted her head to the sky. The sun that was peeking from the horizon darkened as a gray-tinted bubble encased everything in a hundred-foot radius. It looked like it was night again, but the sun was still up, just darker.
Taking the cue, Salem rounded the corner with the others and chaos erupted. Some fell to the ground. A few went flying into the wall.
One of the girls stared down at an enforcer with a smile on her face as he picked his gun up. Cassian tensed, but then the enforcer’s eyes went white and he backed away screaming, running from whatever he was seeing in his head.
Cassian was so entranced by the show that he almost didn’t notice the enforcer dragging himself across the ground, one of his legs bent in the wrong direction. As he wheezed, he picked up his gun and pointed it at one of the girls who had her back to him.
No, not one of the girls.
Salem.
She was caught in the arms of one enforcer as another struck her across the face.
Cassian almost choked as he lifted his gun and fired a shot in the direction of the one on the floor. The man went limp. Swinging the gun back to the two on Salem, he tried to get a shot but they were moving too fast.
All of a sudden, she freed an arm and grabbed the head of the guy holding her. He went still, dropping her in the process. She didn’t just fall though. She dropped and rolled, picking up his gun on her way. The second she was on one knee, she faced the second guy and sent two shots into each of his legs. He cried out in agony as Salem stood and walked to him, muttering something before he fell to the ground.
Cassian blew out a breath as the chaos began to cease. The surrounding area went quiet; light returned to the sky and the young girl opened her eyes.
Salem walked back to the group, using the back of her glove to wipe the blood off her brow.
“Don’t lower your guard now that we’re in. There could be a few in the building.”
Cassian stayed in line with Hewn as they crept through the palace. They hadn’t said a word to each other the whole journey and Cassian preferred it that way. His whole presence was just a reminder of the reason he was here. He thought about how much worse that night at the lodge could’ve gone if he’d owned up. He would’ve been dead by now, but he still couldn’t help but regret his decision. He could practically feel Hewn judging him.
They hadn’t run into any enforcers yet but he still stayed alert. The civilians had significantly calmed since they arrived at the palace but they still had a long way to go before they made it to safety. Safety was the sub-level until they could clear out the rest of the intruders.
The east stairwell would have been the most secure way down but it didn’t stop at the ground floor. The quickest way down was up the grand staircase and back down at the other end of the first floor, so they started heading into the ballroom.
As their shoes tapped across the glossy marble floors of the dark ballroom, Cassian caught something moving in the corner of his eye. Turning his gaze, he looked closer and saw a shadowy figure retreat out of the side exit.
He quickly turned to Hewn to see if he had noticed, but he didn’t appear disturbed. There was something about the way that it moved, it was so familiar. It wasn’t a warm familiar feeling though. It was a feeling that made his hairs stand on end.
“Hewn,” Cassian whispered. “I’m gonna go check on Salem,” he lied.
Hewn looked suspicious but he nodded anyway.
Cassian carefully distanced himself from the group. There were enough of them for him to sneak away unnoticed. Making sure to stay out of Salem’s eyeline, he walked backwards through the exit.
It led to the service stairwell and he knew that it didn’t go to the sub-level. Whoever was there went up.
Cassian kept his breaths shallow as he took the steps two at a time, listening out for anything. As he reached the second floor, he noticed that the door was slightly ajar before it slowly drifted shut.
There.
Putting his gun strap back over his shoulder, he pulled his handgun out of his belt. He opened the door very slowly and pressed through the gap, both hands on his gun.
Cassian looked left and right before he crept through the hall. They could’ve been in any room. The second floor was mostly offices but there were still several doors.
Dum, dum. Dum, dum. Dum, dum.
At first, he thought he was hearing his own heartbeat in his head but as he walked further, the sound quietened.
Cassian furrowed his brows. He turned back around and walked a few steps.
Dum, dum. Dum, dum. Dum, dum.
He kept in that direction and as he drew closer to the supply closet at the end of the hall, the sound got louder.
There was someone in there. And he could hear them. It was only then that Cassian started to second-guess himself. Salem was right. He wasn’t trained. The first time he’d shot a gun, he killed four innocent men and now he thought he could handle a solo mission? What exactly was he going to do when he found them? He didn’t know, but the door was calling to him. He needed to go in. Standing outside, he opted to press his ear against the door first.
Dum, dum! Dum, dum! Dum, dum!
There was definitely someone in there. Cassian stood back, hand on the knob, and took a deep breath.
Three, two, one…
He swung the door open and stood back, gun pointed into the room. And he stopped dead in his tracks.
“Cassian, thank the Gods.”
Dad.
“Cassian,” he called, holding his right arm to his chest.
He didn’t respond.
“Cassian, it’s me.”
No, it wasn’t.
Cassian barely recognized the man that stood before him. His appearance hadn’t changed, neither had his voice, but something was different about him. Darker.
The last thing Cassian wanted to do was speak to him but he had to ask.
“Why?” His voice was barely above a whisper.
“What do you mean why?” Drake looked utterly confused.
“Why?” he repeated. There was nothing else he could say.
“Cassian, I did this for you. For us.” His eyes darkened. “I thought you were dead when that girl dragged you away in the middle of the night, but you were living here. With them.” He shook his head. “It’s okay, son, I forgive you. You made the best of a bad situation and…”
“That wasn’t what I asked.” Cassian spoke over him, gun still raised. Nerves crept in. “Why did you d-do that to him?” he stuttered.
Drake’s mask slipped for a fraction of a second before he gave Cassian a sad look.
“To who? Cade? Cassian, he’s sleeping with her. The Queen,” he said quietly like he was telling him a dirty secret. “I did what I had to do. He’s not on our side anymore.” He shook his head, feigning disbelief. “I don’t think he ever was.”
Cassian grimaced. How had he not seen it?
He knew that Drake wasn’t the best father but he’d always told himself that no one was perfect, that he had their best interests at heart in his own twisted way. But now? Cassian only felt shame for his oblivion.
“He’s your son,” he whispered. “He’s my brother.”
Drake shook his head grimly.
“No, Cassian. Not any more. Look what he’s done,” he said, holding up his arm. Cassian couldn’t hold back his wince. His hand hung off his wrist at an awkward angle. “Look what he’s got you doing. You’re pointing a gun at your own father. He’s trying to tear us apart.”
A thought occurred to Cassian. A very dangerous one. One that would tell him if his father was any bit of the man that he thought he was.
“Did you know I was still inside?” he whispered.
It might have been selfish to ask about himself when Cade was the one wronged, but Cassian needed to know just how far Drake had gone.
Drake’s mouth opened and closed multiple times before he sputtered a response.
“W-what are you talking about?”
Cassian steeled his spine, even as his voice shook.
“I’m talking about how you blew up the side of the palace and sent fake enforcers in here to shoot on sight.” He felt the sting of tears behind his eyes, but he scrunched his nose and forced them down. When Drake didn’t respond, he went on. “Do you know how many times I almost died today?”
“Cassian, I would never…”
“ANSWER THE QUESTION!” he roared manically. Drake flinched and took a step back. He lowered his voice as he tried to swallow down the painful lump in his throat. “Did you know I was still inside?”
“Cassian this is ridiculous, of course, I was gonna look for…”
“When?!”
Drake was silent.
“You were gonna look for my dead body, dad, is that it?”
Drake stared at Cassian before frowning, his face anguished.
“What did he do to you?” he asked, shaking his head. “What did he put in your hea…”
“Stop blaming everything on Cade!” he bellowed as his breaths came quicker. He felt like he was going crazy. “What did you do to him?” he breathed with disgust. “I saw the cuts…the burns.”
“Cassian, I did what I had to do. I’d do it again for you,” he said solemnly.
He was so convincing. Maybe, if Cassian hadn’t witnessed what he had in the last few hours, he would’ve believed him. But he had witnessed it, and he didn’t believe him.
Staring dead into Drake’s eyes, Cassian lowered the gun a fraction. “You did what you had to do,” he murmured.
Drake’s face split into a sad smile.
“Yes. You get it. This is why we always stick together. Because you and I do what it takes. We’re the same.” His stance relaxed. “Let’s go home, son. We’ll come up with a new plan and hit them back twice as hard next time.”
Cassian nodded, resolving his decision in his mind.
“You did what you had to do,” he repeated softly.
“Exactly.” Drake smiled warmly.
Cassian released a pent-up breath, guiltily relishing in the relief.
“So did I.”
He saw the moment his father’s face fell. The minute he realized that Cassian wouldn’t be coming home with him. The second he knew that he wouldn’t be going home either.
BANG!
Cassian didn’t move for a good minute as a single stream of smoke rose from the barrel of his gun. He just held it up, shaking from head to toe.
Drake was dead.
Gone.
Cassian would’ve done anything at that moment to be able to say that he hated his father. That he didn’t regret it at all because he was an evil man. But he couldn’t. He couldn’t erase the good memories from his mind; he couldn’t taint the image that his father had created for him. He knew that it was an act, a mask; but try as he might, he couldn’t forget the Drake Alden that raised him.
The Drake Alden that lay slumped on the floor, a big red hole through his forehead.
Pulling himself out of his trance, Cassian finally looked down and let the tears fall.
It’s not over yet, a voice whispered in the back of his mind. His chest heaved and his hands shook as he reached down and grabbed the back of Drake’s jacket. With a silenced sob, he tugged. He dragged and pulled. Cassian didn’t stop as he made his way through the palace and headed in the direction of the kitchen. It didn’t take him much time to find the last thing on his list and before long, he was approaching the main entrance of the palace.
As he stepped out into the light, he immediately spotted the tens of enforcers gathered outside. They must have been the ones in the building that came up empty, or they were the units from the arena. Cassian didn’t care, it didn’t make much of a difference now.
It took them a while to notice him. Really notice him. He still wore his enforcer gear, but he’d removed his helmet.
Silently, guns raised all around the gardens. Maybe it was because a few of them recognized him from the western sector, or it had something to do with the two bodies that he dragged behind him.
Cassian wordlessly walked down the steps, feeling nothing as the bodies bumped on the concrete. Once on the grass, he stopped and released them.
He was mildly surprised that no one had taken a shot at him yet. He didn’t want to die, but he wouldn’t have made an effort to move if they did decide to open fire.
He took a step back and motioned to Drake and Jude’s lifeless bodies.
“It’s over,” he announced.
A few faces fell, but most just stared at him, not knowing what to do. That was expected. These were clueless young men who were promised a better future and manipulated into doing a job that they couldn’t handle, and now their leaders were dead. They hadn’t planned for this.
That was the only reason Cassian extended them a small mercy. The ones that had been incapacitated earlier were still down, but the remaining had a chance.
Cassian knew what would happen if Deianira got her hands on them, and she would’ve been justified. But he could just as easily have been one of them and now he stood with his hand on the radio in his belt.
He didn’t pick it up.
“Run,” he told them. “While you can.”
