The people had already gathered by the time Deianira made her entrance. Those who feared her, revered her, and those who were required in the city center.
Ignoring the murmurs, she sauntered down the stone walkway, head held high, to the platform in the middle of the square where her throne sat. Her sentinel stood behind it, her face impassive.
Lifting her hand, Deianira summoned a shadow beneath her feet and propelled herself onto the platform to take her seat. She heard the loud whispers of shock and awe. Her people had seen her do things like that before but it didn’t take away from the spectacle.
She knew her kind was rare. Azraels, beside herself, hadn’t been seen for hundreds of years. It was believed that their power was too great, too dangerous for one to wield. The power to give and take life.
It was only her sharp mind and discretion that allowed her to make it past the age of ten, when she presented, without bringing attention to her gift. Even as a child, she knew what would’ve become of her if anyone had found out. It meant death, a swift and humane one, but a death all the same. That didn’t matter anymore. She was Queen now. No one could do anything about it.
Taking her throne and crossing one leg over the other, she receded her shadow and looked out into the crowds. Silence had fallen and everyone waited for her cue.
“Bring them,” she said, not needing to raise her voice to be heard.
Murmurs grew again as the crowd began to ripple. Deianira spotted Hewn and his unit walking through those gathered, unabashed by the looks, with the three men in tow. They were chained at the arms with bags over their heads.
After being marched to the front of the platform and brought to their knees, she waited for silence again. At her look of impatience, the sound ceased and she turned to Hewn. “Take off the hoods.”
One by one Hewn removed the hoods from the three young men. The first man was quite small. Small and angry by the looks of it. The way he glared at her held pure detestation. Deianira had seen men like him before. Wrong and strong. Uncompromising, but not in a good way. She instantly decided that he would be the first to die.
The next man was slightly bigger, but this one was shaking from head to toe. Though not from regret or remorse, from fear. Like all the ones before him who only regretted being caught but would commit the same crime again in a heartbeat. Coward. Snake. He would be the second to die.
The third was the largest of the three. At least a head and a half taller than the second with taut muscles lining his arms. Not buff from lifting weights but defined. Defined enough for his biceps to stand out under his dark shirt. She knew a hard worker when she saw one.
It seemed as if time slowed down as the third hood was removed.
The first thing she noticed was his skin. A warm ivory hue, clashing against the icy air around him.
Next were his lips, a pale shade of pink, full but pressed firmly together. As the hood lifted further, her interest grew until it reached his eyes.
His eyes were closed.
Everything else forgotten, she was swept by a refreshing wave of anger. He’d stolen from her and killed four of her people. She recognized that he was the one holding the gun that night on the footage from the blonde hair just touching his shoulders. And he dared to close his eyes when brought before her? He would learn.
She stood abruptly, her stance menacing.
“Open your eyes!” Deianira bellowed, her voice laced with icy rage, causing many in the large crowd to startle.
Slowly, as if defiant, the third male opened his eyes and she was hit with the most alluring shade of green. Better yet, shades. Even from a distance, she could make out the emerald from the spring green with a small turquoise ring around the iris.
Despite his defeated expression, his eyes held all the vibrance of a thriving forest in the springtime. Lively and bold. But as her gaze explored the rest of his face, that vibrance warred with pain and anguish. That much was expected considering his circumstances.
A throat cleared to her right causing her to stop her perusal and look to Salem. Her sentinel raised an eyebrow at her.
Everyone had seen her staring at him.
Averting her gaze, Deianira took her seat again, letting her eyes drift over the three men once more. With a single nod to Hewn, their day of reckoning began.
Cade
“Open your eyes!”
Cade thought that he might have had more time. After riding in this morning and only a few hours of being in his cell, the enforcers were back, dragging him through hallways again, but this time, with Theo and Bron in front. He didn’t know why they bothered to cover his head though; he’d seen it all yesterday. Maybe it was something to keep the criminals on edge. A scare tactic.
If so, it didn’t work. Cade had already accepted his fate.
But as he opened his eyes and met the gaze of the Queen, his judge, something shifted. It was strange. As if something inside of him fixed itself, something he didn’t know was broken. From the sharp leather bodice of her corset down to her tight leather pants, she was encased in deep crimson. A red deeper than blood. The only thing that contrasted it was the silver cuff snaking up her right arm.
Her hair was so dark, the color black didn’t sum it up. It seemed more like it was absent of color altogether, beautifully complementing her smooth pale skin. And her eyes. Staring into those dark orbs, he almost thought he could see his reflection. Like looking into a dark lake only lit by the moon.
At the last second, she broke eye contact, looking over to the head enforcer and giving him an almost imperceptible nod.
One of the men from Hewn’s unit started towards them and Cade couldn’t help the way his heart began thumping as he took his place in front of Theo. He didn’t want to go last, to watch Theo and Bron die, only to share their fate. It wasn’t as if he liked either of them but he couldn’t think of anything more disheartening at that moment.
The executioner just stared at Theo and it didn’t take Cade long to realize what he was doing. He was reading him. Shit. Just his luck. The enforcer was an empath. He was the true judge. Not the Queen.
The man turned to look back at the Queen and inclined his head, silently telling her something that Cade couldn’t understand until she stood. With all the gracefulness and agility of a cat, she stepped off the platform and drifted over to Theo.
Cade blinked. He’d gotten it all wrong. The enforcer was not the executioner. She was. A shiver ran through him, and it wasn’t because of the cold. He was well aware that the Queen was not merciful, but he’d always thought of the monarchs of the Dome as figureheads.
He couldn’t have been more incorrect. The dark look in her eyes told him everything he needed to know. Queen Deianira, evidently, didn’t mind doing her own dirty work.
Theo, on his knees, stared straight at her the whole time she advanced on him with hatred and disgust in his eyes. Only seconds later, that hate and disgust were washed away and replaced with fear. His eyes widened as he realized that she wasn’t slowing down. Cade stopped breathing as he watched the beguiling woman, whom he had just been perusing, smile as she placed one hand behind Theo’s head, and the other just under his jaw.
Twist.
She didn’t even hesitate. The distinct snap could be heard miles away as Theo’s limp figure slumped to the ground, his head facing up while his body lay forward.
Without realizing it, Cade had honed in on Theo. Excruciating pain. That was all that he could feel. Oh, Gods. He was still alive. Not for long though. Cade’s mind pulsed as he felt the life leave Theo seconds later.
Manically looking around, Cade watched some of the civilians’ reactions in the crowd. Some looked at the spectacle in horror, some excited, but he couldn’t hear anything over the ringing in his ears.
Theo was dead.
By the time Cade had tried to wrap his mind around it, the enforcer had already taken his place in front of Bron. He was shaking almost violently now, a glossy sheen of tears in his eyes.
“Please,” Bron whispered harshly. “Please!”
Cade whipped his head in the direction of the Queen, searching deeply for any sign of sympathy or pity. He found none.
It was as if Bron hadn’t even spoken because once again, the enforcer looked back at her and nodded.
As much as Cade wanted to close his eyes, to look away, he couldn’t bring himself to as he watched shadows emerge out of thin air and encase Bron’s limbs, holding him in place. And again, without hesitation, the Queen stepped closer, putting a steadying hand on his shoulder. Pulling her arm back, she thrust it forward, sticking her hand into his chest. It was a fluid, effortless movement executed as if it had been done many times before.
Cade wanted to be sick as he watched her wrench her hand back.
In the cold winter air, he could see the steam rising from Bron’s beating heart as she let it roll from her fingers and onto the concrete, landing at the same time as his lifeless body.
Cade’s heart was beating in his head. He absently saw mist coming from his mouth and realized that he was hyperventilating. But that didn’t deter his executioner from moving to stand in front of him now.
Everything was happening so quickly.
Just yesterday he’d been at home, in his sector, with Lia. Now, he was about to meet his end, and in a horrifying way at that, if Theo and Bron were anything to go off of. Cade had been expecting a clean death. A bullet in his head or even a hanging, but this was barbaric.
Despite his fear and rising sense of dread, he lifted his head and met her eyes once again, kneeling still, simply waiting for the enforcer to sentence him. She looked right back at him too. The smile that had been dancing on her lips only seconds ago was gone. Her gaze wasn’t as cold anymore. It was deep and assessing.
Her head tilt was almost unnoticeable but Cade saw it. He saw it and held her gaze unrelentingly, examining her just as she was examining him. Cade had never liked the attention being on him. It should have made him uncomfortable, but it didn’t. Her eyes weren’t judgmental, they were curious.
Seconds passed that felt like hours before the enforcer looked back at the Queen and Cade knew it was his time.
But the enforcer didn’t nod at her. He leaned over and whispered something into her ear. She cocked her head to the side, staring at Cade for a moment longer before jerking her head to where Officer Hewn was standing without taking her eyes off him. The enforcer walked over and said something to Hewn in a low voice.
Cade didn’t know whether to be relieved or disappointed. He didn’t want his death to be anything like Theo’s or Bron’s, but he certainly didn’t want to draw it out either.
After the short interaction with Hewn, the Queen waited as the enforcer came back with a handkerchief. Holding Cade’s gaze, she wiped her hands, her face betraying no emotion, before turning and making her exit back into the building, quickly followed by the sentinel.
Cade was so focused on her, he didn’t notice the guards behind him before they dragged him up off the ground and began marching him back the way he came. His eyes darted everywhere. At the civilians shouting, making their displeasure known. At the lifeless bodies on the floor, mere meters away.
His heart fell again. No one deserved a death like that.
As he was hauled back inside, Cade had so many questions but kept quiet. It wouldn’t be smart to push his luck. He didn’t know whether his life had been saved or extended so he didn’t say a word for fear that they might take him back outside as they guided him to where he assumed he would be thrown back in his cell.
That was until they took a wrong turn. Alarm bells instantly started going off in his head. Were they going to kill him in private?
As they walked down the unfamiliar hallway and stopped at a door, Cade noted that Hewn didn’t use his gift to open this door but instead, he used the thin bracelet on his wrist. The same one that had projected his family crest the night before.
The door slid open and Cade wondered whether his fate had just improved or worsened. The long rectangular room with dull gray walls had bunk beds lining both sides, most of them occupied. As the whoosh of the door sounded, all the chatter and shuffling stopped for a second. Then, making Cade flinch, all the men in the room quickly hopped out of their beds, away from the corners, dropping everything that they were doing, and stood in front of each bed in pairs, facing each other along the aisle.
With that, Hewn resumed walking with Cade while the other enforcers stayed back, guns up. He followed Hewn until they reached an unoccupied bed where he removed Cade’s chains and simply turned around without a word. As he left, the other enforcers retreated from the room, still on guard, walking backward.
As soon as the door shut, the men broke formation and everyone in the room looked at Cade in unison. Some looked at him warily, while some looked downright predatory. He didn’t know whether to ignore them or introduce himself but he’d never been much of a speaker, so he went with the former. Assuming he was going to be here for a while, he turned around and scanned the unoccupied bed behind him before inspecting the folded uniform at the foot of the bed. Just before he removed the sheets, he heard a voice call from behind him.
“Hey.” He might not have been addressing him in particular, so Cade didn’t bother to turn around. “You’re one of the outsiders.”
Cade half-turned and flicked his eyes over to him but didn’t respond. Apparently, word traveled fast in here.
“You were on the big screen in the cafeteria. In the city center.”
Cade had no idea what he was talking about so resumed his task, removing the blankets from the bed before preparing to take a seat. The one who had spoken stepped up beside him. He was tall and built, with an ugly snarl on his face.
“Hey! I was talking to you, you know.”
Murmurs began to rise around the room when Cade still remained silent. He didn’t know what the guy wanted from him. It was obvious that he knew who Cade was and he didn’t exactly ask him a question. He was just stating the obvious. That only seemed to aggravate the man more as he took two steps forward causing Cade to stand up straighter, instantly on defense.
“Where are your friends? Why are you here, outsider?” He spat the last word like it was an insult, his face inches from Cade’s.
What was his problem? Cade didn’t bite. Just held his gaze. He was tired of people asking him questions he didn’t even know the answers to.
“What, are you deaf or something? Can’t talk?”
Cade held his ground and ignored the fact that his questions didn’t even make sense. It was nothing he hadn’t heard before.
“You know what?” The man leaned down and grasped the bedsheets, stripping them from Cade’s bed, then proceeded to pick up his pillow, and then his thin mattress. With a cruel smirk he turned and walked leisurely back to his bunk, Cade’s belongings held lazily in his arms. Cade stared at the back of his head for a moment, his anger rising. He wondered if he should do something but thought better of it and opted to take a seat next to his bunk with only a metal frame left on it.
Cade was no stranger to men like him. He’d lived with one.
A bully.
Escalating was more Lia’s thing, not his. Besides, he still didn’t know where he was or why he was here so he didn’t think it would be smart to let this guy get a rise out of him.
He took the time to observe the room as the others gradually went about their business. Through the small arch at the back of the room, Cade could see tiled floors and what looked like showerheads attached to the walls. That was a relief. He’d grown up in a home with running water but the small house that he shared with Lia didn’t have such a luxury. He spent the better part of an hour taking note of where the showers were, the toilets, and the times in which they were empty and most busy. Midway through his observation, a small “Hey,” from somewhere near him had his head whipping around.
No one was there. Shaking his head, he went back to his observation.
“Hey, new guy.”
Okay, he definitely heard that. Looking in all directions, he was sure he had gone mad until something soft hit his head.
“Up here.”
Cade looked up, and in the bed directly above his was a grinning man, or boy, because he couldn’t have been more than eighteen, sitting cross-legged with a pillow dangling from his hand and an amused smile on his face.
“I’m Devin.” He awkwardly held his hand out.
Cade stood from the ground and stared at him, eyebrows furrowed. He wasn’t sure what to make of him. The kid took his hand back.
“You could at least tell me your name.” He tried to offer an encouraging smile. Cade debated in his mind whether it was wise to give his name to him when Devin gasped, hands coming up to his mouth. “Oh my Gods! You actually can’t speak. I am so sorry. I just thought…”
“Cade,” he said, cutting him off.
Relief flooded his features. “Oh. Cade. Cool, well, I’m Devin and…” He shook his head. “Anyway,” His words became hushed as he leaned in to speak to Cade out of anybody else’s earshot. “Um, you need to go get your stuff back.”
Cade huffed, pushing down the annoyance that had reared its head earlier. “It’s not that big of a deal.”
Devin’s face scrunched sympathetically. “No, it kinda is. It’s your first night and that guy over there, Crew, basically just called you a bitch. Trust me, you do not want to start your sentence like that.”
The hairs rose on the back of his neck. “Sentence?”
Devin frowned. “Uh, yeah. This is a disciplinary program. Did they not tell you how long you’d be here?”
Cade shook his head. So he wasn’t going to be executed?
“Ah, that sucks.” He shrugged. “But my point still stands. You’re just asking for trouble if you let that slide.”
Cade could feel Devin’s concern for him, but also a hint of trepidation. He wondered if Devin was speaking from experience. Cade looked over at Crew and saw him standing with his back turned, talking to another inmate.
Devin cleared his throat. “Listen, it’s probably not gonna be pretty but trust me when I tell you that it’s worse if you don’t. It’s almost lights out so if you’re gonna go, now’s your chance.”
He pondered on that for a moment. The kid seemed genuine and he had nothing to gain from him confronting Crew. If anything, he was looking out for Cade so his advice didn’t go unheard. Safe for now or safe later?
Mind made up, Cade gave Devin an appreciative nod and started walking toward Crew’s bunk. His footsteps must have caught Crew’s attention because he was soon turning around to face Cade. Instantly, his face lit up like a dog given a new toy.
“What can I do for you, outsider?” he smirked, eyes flicking to his company for validation.
Cade didn’t speak as he bent down and began to gather his things, but he was stopped by a firm push to his shoulder.
“Whoa. I don’t think so, new guy. If you wanna sleep with your blankie tonight, you can always share my bed. You’re pretty enough.” His laugh echoed around the room as others joined him in mocking Cade.
Cade turned and gave Devin an irritated look. Devin rolled his eyes and gestured for him to continue. He sighed. If he was going to make a statement, now was as good a time as any. Still watching Devin, he took a deep breath and discreetly made a fist with his right hand.
Quick as lightning, Cade spun around and sent his fist into the Crew’s nose. He instantly fell to the hard floor, unmoving. It took a few seconds for Crew’s friends in the surrounding area to catch up with what just happened, but as soon as they had recovered, they were on Cade like bees to honey.
Cade could take a hit. He’d taken many in his time, so as fists started coming, he didn’t stop swinging and kicking. There were a lot of them, but he did his best to keep up until the blows seemed to slow down.
Taking a breath, he took a quick look around him and saw that there were three still standing. He may have been on a roll but even Cade had his limits. He was growing tired and didn’t have much left in him.
The first one came at him with a punch to the gut causing Cade to double over. Using his low position, he tackled him to the ground before throwing fists at his head repeatedly until he stopped fighting back. Cade didn’t have time to stand and turn around before the second guy was dragging him off and sending a hard blow to Cade’s eye. He fell to the ground, dizzy, but he could just about make out the figure approaching him and rolled before his attacker could get on top of him, tripping him up in the process. They fought and rolled on the ground, throwing punches until Cade managed to hold him down.
Though Cade had taken a fair amount of beatings, he’d never been one to fight back. He often preferred to contain his anger, to take the hits. In a weird way, it made him feel more in control, but letting the anger take over was exhilarating. The pain and the adrenaline mixed together felt surprisingly…cathartic. It was as if he was finally free of some imaginary restraints, finally able to let go. He wasn’t falling; he was flying.
Feeling slightly unhinged, his knuckles bruised, Cade dropped onto his attacker and wrapped his hands around his throat. He squeezed and squeezed and when he felt his muscles about to give out, he pulled up and forced the man’s head down into the ground. The man looked somewhat dazed but he was still moving. So Cade did it again, and again. Three more times, Cade bashed his head into the floor and the man went still.
Cade rolled off of him and laid back on the floor exhausted, still riding the high. Even knowing that the last guy was probably going to descend on him at any second, he couldn’t find the strength in himself to move.
Lying there, bloodied, bruised, shirt torn and half hanging off his body, Cade watched a blurry figure approach. At least I tried…he thought.
“Cade. Hey, you good?”
Devin?
Cade let out a sigh of relief at the voice as his vision started to clear. Head lolling to the side, he managed to make out the third guy lying on the floor with a bloody book next to his head. He looked back up at Devin with questioning eyes.
Devin gave him a toothy grin, holding a hand out to help him up. “Yeah, that was me. You’re welcome, by the way.”
Cade didn’t know whether to laugh or enlighten him to the fact that one guy wasn’t that much work considering what he’d just had to do, but he was grateful all the same. So taking the hand that Devin offered him and wincing as every muscle in his body burned, he got up.
Crossing the short distance back to Crew’s bed, he slowly bent down and retrieved his things. Devin came up beside him and offered him an arm as he limped over back to their bunk. After Devin helped him remake his bed, Cade carefully settled in and looked around to see many others doing the same thing just before the lights went out.
So this was his future.
Despite what had just happened, Cade thought it was merciful. His mind was struggling to catch up with the recent events but a disciplinary program was very low on the list of his worries, so, thankful for the peaceful silence, he rested his head back. Approximately two seconds after Cade closed his eyes, Devin’s voice whispered out into the air.
“Hey, Cade?”
Cade sighed and mentally kicked himself for not ignoring him. “What?”
“Not to fangirl or anything, but you were kind of badass back there.”
“Thanks,” he smirked. He always thought of himself as a pacifist but a strange sense of pride at his actions settled over him. He’d fought back, and quite well.
After a few seconds, Cade closed his eyes again, ready for some much-needed sleep. But of course, Devin spoke up again making Cade wish he’d been given a different bunk.
“So, are you like a cage fighter or something?”
“No.”
“Ninja?”
“No,” he whined.
“What ab…”
“Devin?”
“Yeah?” Devin responded gleefully.
“Go to sleep,” Cade said dryly.
“Oh, of course. Yeah, cool…night.”
The kid was beyond annoying, but Cade still found himself responding quietly into the darkness. “Night.”
