The Emperor's Daughter

by H M Angues

  “I'm managing. The Overseer keeps me busy.” I sit next to her and she rests her head on my shoulder.

  “How's Rysen?” she asks. Despite the nature of the question, it sounds forced. Calla doesn't really concern herself with Rysen, it seems.

  “What did Ryse do, Calla? The way you've iced him out came as a surprise. I don't want to make the same mistake he did.”

  She takes my chin in her hands, tilting my head down to look at her. The gesture takes me off guard. “You would never do to me what he has done. I trust that. I trust you.”

  Calla pauses for a moment. “He yelled again. This time, he said some pretty awful things. I won't tolerate it anymore.”

  “I've yelled,” I admit, eyes falling to her chin. I don't feel as if I deserve to meet her gaze as the memories of that day in Drakonis come flooding back. And the intense remorse.

  “You were emotional. Upset and concerned. That doesn't excuse it, but that was the first time in the nineteen years we had known each other that you ever so much as raised your voice with me. You never did it again, and I trust that you never will.”

  I lift my eyes to hers again. “I care far too much about you to ever do something like that again. It was an act of a stupid, immature boy.

  “Speaking of stupid,” I continue, remembering our reunion, “you said something just outside of Ragnar, about you being a stupid girl. I never got the chance to ask, but what was that all about?”

  Calla shakes her head, her fingers falling from their place on my chin. She returns to resting her head on my shoulder. “It took me being away for a year to realize what I wanted, and to learn to demand it.”

  “And what is it that you want?” I ask her.

  “The same thing I've always wanted,” she murmurs, sleepiness already seeping into her voice.

  Before I can ask her to elaborate, she has already drifted off. I kiss the top of her head and whisper, “Whatever it is, I'll do everything I can to make sure you have what makes you happy.”

  ∞∞∞

  Rysen finds us the next morning, sitting in the commissary with Talon and Bellamy, chatting about meaningless things. We fall silent when he sits across from us, awkwardness settling in.

  “You know, Ryse,” Talon says, the first to interrupt the silence, “you really need to cut the shit. Blade and Cal told me what happened the other day and I’m not too happy about how you’re treating her.”

  “What happened this time?" Bellamy drones, rolling her eyes as she casts an accusative glare Rysen's way.

  Talon narrows his gray eyes at Bell. “This time?”

  “Yeah,” Bellamy shrugs as if it should be obvious. “Did she not tell you about Drakonis, when Rysen called her a shitty emperor?”

  I remain silent, staring awkwardly at my plate of food.

  The oldest Renald points his fork at the youngest Dane. “My sister is a grown woman, Rysen, and she can sure as hell take care of herself, but that doesn’t mean I won’t kick your ass if I hear about you mistreating her. She’s too nice to throw you to the curb. Seriously, man, you were my best friend in Roran. This isn’t you.”

  “I guess you could blame the traitorous bastard she had in her apartment that day in Drakonis,” he grumbles. “I swear, that stupid fucking mating bond is the only reason he’s still alive. If it weren’t there, she wouldn’t be acting so delusional.”

  Talon laughs quietly, but no one else finds amusement in his statement. “I know a Primori girl—Gruyere—who found out her mate was a man named Rinnow. He killed her sister and her father in the Arena, and then her two brothers during a brawl in the Village. That’s them over there,” he says, pointing his fork at a space a few tables down.

  A small but muscular-looking girl with jet black hair is sitting intimately close to a very large and dark-skinned Primori. He has one thick arm around her shoulders, the other shoveling food into his mouth. When some falls on his shirt, the pale girl smiles, and she must say something witty and teasing, because her companion starts to laugh as he wipes his mess away.

  I turn back to the altercation at hand. I know him, and I think I know where Talon is going with this.

  “I’ve met him before,” I tell them between bites of my lunch. “The guy’s nuts. The Underground has him on a tight leash—they hardly take their eyes off him.”

  “All it takes is one conversation to realize Rinnow has his issues. I’m surprised you haven’t seen him in the training center, Ryse—he’s a Lectric. And a bloody good one, at that. He was one of the Primori that helped Calla learn the ability back in Helkyn,” Talon continues.

  Rysen narros his eyes at him. “You let him near her?”

  I fight the urge to send my fist into Rysen's jaw. No one lets Calla do anything; she's a woman and an emperor, and she can make her own decisions. But I keep my hands steady and my mouth shut as Talon continues.

  “All that cruel and violent stuff? That’s just the Arena fucking with his head. There’s a lot more Primori like him than you’d realize, because believe it or not, being forced to kill people for someone's entertainment leads to some serious mental issues. But he’s also loyal and a damn good man to have on your side. Calla saved him from one of Ramsey’s patrols in the Arena District. He owes her his life, and he won’t forget that. He’s the same with Gruyere. Rinnow is quite possibly the most dangerous Primori I’ve ever encountered, but he’s one hell of an ally, and a good leader, too.”

  “So, the moral of the Rinnow and Gruyere story is that, despite all of Kainan’s fatal flaws, Calla should still trust him, even after he got her killed?” Rysen asks, raising an eyebrow.

  Talon shakes his head. “Look, Ryse, I think I’m speaking for all three of us when I say you’re really turning into a dick when it comes to Calla. She thought she wanted you, realized she didn’t, and rejected you—get over it. She hasn't just spent the last year learning abilities, but also figuring out what she wants. What she wants isn't you, and you should honestly just be grateful she’s still putting up with you after all the things you’ve said to her. Before you ask how I know, Blade filled me in on everything that went down while I was gone.”

  He pauses to swallow another forkful of the traditional Mordan pasta that we’re served almost every day in Jurynn. “There’s a lot going on that none of you know about.” He points his fork at Bellamy and Rysen. “A lot that you can’t know about. But you need to trust your emperor—and me. Kainan never has and never will do anything against Calla. She’s his Flame, and that bond creates a loyalty that runs deeper than blood.”

  Talon and I share a knowing glance. Things that Calla will only tell us about, it says. The only two she can trust. Rysen leans back in his chair, the furniture creaking, and folds his hands in his lap. “I still don’t like it,” he murmurs.

  I finally open my mouth to tell him off, but a loud rumbling sounds from overhead. The ceiling groans and dust rains down on our hair.

  Again. The second time, it’s much louder; closer. A crack splits down the ceiling, and the lights flicker out, plunging us all into darkness. Red begins to flash to the sound of an alarm, the concrete bunker illuminated in an eerie crimson glow, and everyone in the commissary begins to panic.

  Bellamy is closest. I grab her wrist, pulling her along with me as I navigate through the mob to reach the hall. I can hear Rysen yelling and Talon shouting commands at people behind me.

  The hallways are worse than the cafeteria. I don’t loosen my grip on Bellamy’s wrist as we’re herded along the evacuation route. To the left from the commissary doors, then right. We merge into the crowd moving down one of Jurynn’s main corridors until we reach a massive metal stairwell and begin our descent.

  It feels like Bellamy and I walk down those stairs for an eternity before we reach the bomb shelter deep below Jurynn’s lowest level. The massive metal door is open, and guards usher everybody inside in an orderly manner. As we enter, we’re handed a card with a floor number, a letter, and the words left or right printe
d on it.

  The bomb shelter has five levels below the top one. Jurynn runs deep, I think to myself as I take the card, glancing at the small map printed on the back of it. Every level contains fifty-two apartments, twenty-six along either side. Each has the room and supplies to care for ten people for up to a year and six months. The Underground really has thought of everything.

  “Level four, apartment G, left side,” I yell over the commotion to Bellamy.

  As we shuffle along, rumbling still to be heard over our heads, she glances down at the paper in her hand. “Same here.”

  Four massive industrial elevators are at the end of the wide hallway, one for each level. Already the crowd has thinned as people stationed on level one disappear into their designated living areas. Bellamy and I squeeze onto the elevator that has a giant 4 painted above it just as the doors close. Anyone behind us will have to wait until it returns.

  It moves quickly, and the doors glide open to reveal a much less crowded concrete space. The explosions overhead can barely be heard down here, though the lights occasionally flicker.

  Bellamy and I scan our cards on the keypad next to the left side door with 4G painted on its metal surface. It slides open with a quiet hiss. Fayette is the only person inside, lounging lazily on one of the bunk beds built into the wall.

  “It’ll probably just be us in here. They fill the lower levels last. There are 1,963 people living in Jurynn—this bunker is designed to house 2,600,” the blonde says, leaping to the ground from the bunk she claimed.

  “Wouldn’t the lowest levels be safer, though?” Bellamy asks, sitting down at the metal table on the far side of the apartment.

  “Not necessarily. Level one has the only access to the surface. If there was an emergency and we needed to evacuate the shelter, we’d probably be screwed.”

  “Where’s Calla going to be?” I ask.

  “She’s supposed to go to a separate bunker with my father, but I doubt she actually will. She was on her way to visit Jed, last I saw her. It’s likely she’s on level five with Kainan, though. She would've gone back and made sure he got out.”

  I get up to leave, but a small hand firmly grabs my wrist. “You can’t leave your designated apartment until they’ve shut off the alarm,” Fayette states. The alarm still blares through the speakers dispersed throughout, but there are no red flashing lights down here.

  To test the truth behind her words, I try the door, typing in the code printed above the keypad to open it. A red light pops up, and the door doesn’t budge.

  I slam my fist against the metal. “Damn it,” I mutter.

  “She’s fine,” Bellamy says. “She held up a whole fucking building, once. Not to mention, she came back from the dead—I think she can figure out how to follow an evacuation order.”

  I decide something else. Calla, I scream over and over in my mind. She is a Sanguinus, too, isn't she? Perhaps loud thoughts work the same as loud voices.

  I'm all right, she assures. And yes, they do work the same, but only if I'm paying attention. You're lucky I'm always paying attention to you, Blade. Try 6398, it's the emergency code that will open the door. I'll see you soon.

  Sure enough, it works, and before Fayette and Bellamy can say a word, I slip out the door.

  Chapter 36

  Kainan

  “He must have known this was coming, Calla,” Blade whispers harshly. They’re bickering in the small kitchen while Talon spreads himself out on a bunk near me. We had been in the bunker all of five minutes before Blade came to the rescue, rushing to his emperor's side.

  “He would have told me.”

  “You don’t know that! You can’t trust him.”

  Calla takes Blade's face in her hands. “Trust me, Blade. Whatever fears you have are unfounded. He isn't hiding anything from us. Trust me.”

  “I trust you. I'm sorry,” he murmurs, leaning into her touch. The whole episode twists my heart in its cavity. Despite how much she claims to care for me, Calla and I will never share the connection she has with Blade, mating bond be damned.

  “This is exactly what we fucking needed,” the older Renald groans, massive hands covering his bearded face. “No one is going to trust Kainan after this, and Jurynn is one of the last Underground strongholds large enough to house everyone. Just when you think things are taking a turn...”

  “You realize that turn is in the wrong direction,” Calla finishes, folding her arms across her chest. Her brother wraps an arm around her shoulders.

  “We'll get through this. We always do,” he says, mostly just to his sister and Blade.

  “And we'll get through it together,” the latter adds, still not including me.

  “I’m literally right here,” I say, waving my arms at them. Calla glances my way. “I'd like to get through this too, you know.”

  Cal opens her mouth to say something, but I turn away from her, shutting her out before she has the chance.

  Annoyed, I walk toward the door. The alarm had stopped a couple minutes ago, as well as the bombs. It slides open, and I make my way to level one. With all the chaos of the attack and the evacuation, no one in the bunker notices my presence much.

  When I reach the topmost level, I find one of the guards who was giving out apartment cards.

  “Where’s Rysen Dane located at?” I ask. The Underground guard—decked out in tactical armor with a rifle slung over his back—types the name into his tablet, hardly looking up at my face.

  “Level four, apartment G, left side,” he says.

  I nod and thank him for the information, jogging back to the elevators at the far end. It takes me down to level four, rattling the whole way. I step out and amble down the hall.

  A, B, C, D… G.

  I knock on the metal door to my left. It slides open to reveal a tall blonde leaning against the frame.

  “What the hell are you doing wandering around like a free man?” She puts a hand on her hip and the other against the doorway, blocking my entrance.

  “Who are you again?”

  She scoffs at me. “Fayette. The Overseer’s daughter.”

  I look her up and down. “You look a little too... well, white to be the daughter of a Mordan. I'd guess you to be Rorani, maybe Gaithan.”

  “Funny,” Fayette sneers. “It’s called adoption.” She squints her eyes at me and finally lowers her arm, letting me through. “Ryse is in the bathroom. I’m assuming he’s why you’re here. Oh, and I’m only part Gaithan, thank you very much.”

  A half-Mordan girl with amber eyes glares at me from the kitchen. “Kainan.”

  “Bellamy,” I reply, her gaze making me uneasy. We were friends, in the loosest sense of the word. Mostly, the youngest Renald sibling just tolerates me. But now she crosses the small room, brushing her fingers against my wrist. Compared to everyone else, Bellamy is incredibly tall, nearly matching my own height.

  “I missed you, you know,” she murmurs. “I’m glad you’re all right. And, if I’m being honest, I think you're a good man for my sister to have on her side. How is she?”

  Her kind words surprise me, but a smile warms my face. “Thanks, Bell. She's doing all right; she's with your brother and Blade. Sure wish Rysen and them shared your sentiments, though.”

  She shrugs. “Blade will come around, but I doubt your brother will. You know him better than I do, though.”

  Finally, Ryse appears from the bathroom, wiping his hands on his jeans. When his eyes land on me, they smolder with rage.

  “We need to talk,” is all I say. I turn and walk back the way I came, knowing he’ll follow.

  “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t kick your teeth in,” he grumbles once we're outside the apartment, leaning against the concrete wall, thick arms folded across his chest. I scan the hall, ensuring that no one else is within earshot.

  “First, I’d like to see you try. I lived with Primori for years, I can handle myself in a fight, especially when the guy I’d be fighting is overconfident in himself. Seco
nd, I didn’t know Ramsey was going to bomb Jurynn. I didn’t even know she knew where it was. Third, you know Calla would be pretty fucking pissed off if you killed me.”

  I suck in a deep breath. “Fourth,” I say. “Ramsey didn’t know Drakonis existed, but somehow she found it and overtook it. I didn’t know about it until you dragged me there, and Calla was in my head all the time. If I was communicating with Ramsey and sending her information about Underground locations, she would’ve known.

  “And now Jurynn. You know it couldn’t have been me—I’ve been monitored almost every second for the last few weeks. The only contact I have with anyone is through my guards or when Calla visits. That’s it. Oh, and I don’t even know where we are. How could I? I was unconscious when they brought me here.”

  “What are you getting at, Kainan?” he growls.

  “Someone is feeding Ramsey information about the Underground. Someone on the inside, who has access to everything you do.” I scratch the back of my head, remembering. “Shit. Ragnar, too.”

  “What?”

  “Ragnar Prison,” I elaborate. “Ramsey had gotten a tip that you’d be attacking Ragnar to get your men out. I don’t know who sent it, but she received it from someone in the Underground. It even included a detailed description of the plans you’d gotten from Valek. That’s how she was able to stage her counterattack, how she knew to send me in. She’d ordered me to kill you and Blade.”

  “Well, you almost did.”

  I glare at my younger brother. “I wasn’t actually going to kill you guys. I just had to make it look convincing in case Ramsey got a hold of me before the Underground did.”

  “You were about to hack off my head with a sword!” he shouts.

  “Because I knew Calla was coming!” I yell back. Ryse recoils, narrowing his blue eyes.

  “You what?”

  I rub my face with my hands. “Don’t act like you didn’t already know. She told me you do, and I heard about your shitty reaction. Of course I knew. How else could I have warned her to begin with? I swear, you’re a fucking idiot sometimes, Ry.”