by Stock, L. J.
I gave Damon a kiss on his lips and spoke through my smile. “Let's get this show on the road.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Grigori stayed out of sight during the walk around. He’d been moving around in the shadows since the latros had arrived in the forest. We didn't want anyone to realize he'd switched sides if we could help it. As far as they knew, he was either dead or being held hostage in our dungeons. It was a situation we were keeping control of for as long as humanly possible. So it was Damon and I walking the route, with Rasmus, Shannon and Alexa following.
It felt strange to be walking around a half empty palace as though things were normal. It felt like we were on a set, where the walls were hollow and empty on the other side. Of course, Alexa was pretty much the only one who understood that reference when I voiced it. I was constantly conscious of my audience watching and waiting for their moment to attack. They were biding their time until they believed they could catch us off guard again, just like those of us within the walls of the palace were watching and waiting for them to advance and attack. We held the element of surprise this time, but there was always a chance they'd figured out we were expecting them, especially as this was a repeat performance.
It was funny how both sides were working on assumptions now. I just hoped that we really knew what we were doing, because there were lives on the line. Lives of people I loved and trusted, and of the people who trusted us to protect them.
We had discovered a couple of vis liberi from the other side who could play instruments, and they had been pulled together to form the band that was to play for us. When I’d heard them practice, I'd been surprised how quickly they'd managed to pull it together and sound as though they'd been playing together for years. The music swelled and filled the almost empty room with the magic of my accession. Damon pulled me close to him with one tug of my arm and twirled me across the empty dance floor with a smile and a chaste kiss brushed against my lips, knowing that the latros and veneficus were watching through the floor to ceiling windows that surrounded us in the south-facing ballroom.
When the armed guests started to arrive, I finally felt my first wave of trepidation as the reality of what was about to happen sank in. It was like a nightmare version of déja vu, and the memories from the night of my last ball assaulted me relentlessly.
Damon and I were removed from public view and held in the castra as everything was pulled into place and arranged for the worst-case scenario. The situation worked because it was customary for the engaged couple to be announced after the arrival of the guests, and though our holding location was unusual, the grand entrance was just another case of following tradition. There was a purpose to the area we were swept into. Still having the earpieces from Zander's shopping trip from my ball, we were given one each, as was Grigori. It was imperative that the plan was executed with precision, which meant constant vigilance and open communication. If something went wrong, it would mean lost lives. We were taking too much of a risk as it was, and to me, it felt like it was for all the wrong reasons.
Thánatos needed to know that we would continue to fight. I got that, but at the same time, was it worth risking all of the lives now filtering into the palace? The latros and veneficus who would be left to burn within the walls of the palace would be a hit on their numbers, but would it ultimately be worth it if we lost someone in the process? Especially when we could evacuate before they moved in and a fight broke out.
“Testing. Princess, do you hear me?” a voice said in my ear. I could hear the guard on the other side of the room, but the crackle in my ear with the tinny version of the voice was just as discernible. I gave him the thumbs up and turned away to double check the dagger that was hidden in my dress. The folds of material were meticulously placed to cover my legs and any weapons, and I would have to remember to mention to Melody how well it worked out.
“Are you alright?” Damon asked, his hand rubbing the satin on my back gently, creating a warm spot. It wasn't just from the friction either. The usual sensation his touch brought me seemed to fan out from the area and ignite in my veins, chasing the chill of fear from me. It seemed like an inappropriate time to react, but my body did what it wanted when it wanted and I couldn't have controlled it if my life depended on it.
“I'm okay. Nervous as hell, but okay. You?”
“Happier now I can communicate with the guards and know what the hell is going on. Just promise me you'll stay close,” he said, brushing some tendrils of hair over my shoulder, before dropping a chaste kiss on the bare skin there.
I shivered, running my finger over his cheek as he lifted his head and caught my eyes. I wanted so much to protect him from all of this, from the anticipation and fear I knew were running through him. I wanted to protect them all, but it was impossible to do that when we were so scattered.
“I will,” I whispered with a small smile. “But the same goes for you.”
“You couldn't shake me if you tried.”
“I'm counting on it.” I winked up at him and grinned.
Without a second of hesitation, he leaned in and pressed his lips to mine, his index finger running along the line of my jaw as he did. It was such a quiet and private moment between the two of us that it was hard to believe what was waiting for us outside of the last doors in the main rooms of the palace.
“I see you,” Rasmus said over the earpiece in his deep drawl. I closed my eyes and shook my head with a stifled laugh. At least some things never changed.
“Stop spying on us, you pervert,” I responded with a grin.
“That's hard to do when you're stood right in front of me.”
I rolled my eyes and curtsied for him, making his laughter fill my ears.
“Come on, the last of the guests are showing up.” Damon chuckled, offering me his hand.
We headed toward the console with the screens and watched the pavilion as the carriages pulled up to release the well-dressed and disguised soldiers. I could see the latros in their dark uniforms on the other screens, hidden amongst the trees, but there was only one monitor that caught my attention as being out of the ordinary. With my free hand, I pointed to the screen in question and looked to Damon with wide eyes.
“What the hell is he doing?” he growled, as the image of Baron Sideris riding toward the palace at full speed became clearer. “Trust that asshole to screw everything up.”
“Alec, have one of the door staff bring him directly in here,” I said quietly, shaking my head in amazement. It was just like the baron to take his rejection personally rather than the warning it was supposed to be. He had a propensity for ignoring the glaringly obvious and making it all about himself. Not that any of us should have been surprised. He'd done the same thing when his invitation to the last ball had been revoked for offensive behavior. It had ended up working out for me at the time, though. He’d helped me escape, but the fool was going to get himself killed, or worse, one of us killed for his stupidity.
Alec radioed one of the few vis liberi who had an earpiece and the cameras reflected his orders springing into action at the arrival of the baron under the pavilion.
“Why do you continue to tolerate this fool?” Damon asked, his hand rubbing my back gently. I could hear the frustration in his voice.
I was beginning to wonder that myself, and actually hoped that the new palace was much further away so he couldn't visit quite so often. I’d learned so many lessons since I’d last seen him and my life had come into shocking focus. It didn’t take a genius to see his motives. All the baron wanted from me was to worm his way into the palace without having to do any work to earn his keep.
It was at this point the king decided to join us to check in on things. My father swept into the room looking worried and more tired than I could ever remember him being in the past. The moment he saw us gathered around the small area where the screens reflected the oncoming army, his concern grew enough to furrow his brow even deeper.
“What is it? What has changed?”
he asked, sweeping toward us. He was worried about his people, worried that something was going wrong or that we were in danger, and it shone in his eyes as he approached us.
“Your Highness,” Damon said in a calming tone from his place beside me. “Nothing new on the latros front, but we have another problem.”
“Something we can handle?” My father asked.
“Oh, definitely something I can handle,” Damon replied, causing me to jab him in the ribs with my elbow. We had enough problems without the two of them getting into a pissing contest.
It wasn't as if the baron didn't deserve the reprimand, but we didn't have time to mess around with him and make a scene. We couldn't even imprison the idiot for what he'd pulled. If we left him in a cell, he would die in the fire, and that wasn't something I could ever agree to.
“It's the baron.” I sighed. “He decided he wasn't going to be shut out from another ball, apparently.”
The king's eyes widened before he visibly relaxed. I could see his take on the baron was much the same as Damon's. Both of them thought he was an idiot, and I now agreed. The man had no idea how much damage he could have done. His pride was once again in the way of his safety, as well as ours.
“Where is he?”
“On his way in here, Sire. The princess requested he be escorted here,” Alec responded for us. “How would you like us to handle this, Your Highness?”
“Send him back to his manor by translocation. Tell him nothing more than this: If he shows up here again, he will be stripped of his title and estate. If he defies my orders again, he will be tried for treason.”
Alec nodded deeply and made his way past us to the door. He was going to head him off at the pass. It was a pointless exercise. I already knew that the baron wouldn't listen to him. He was a fool, and though it would cause problems, he preferred his orders to come directly from the king. Baron Sideris was arrogant enough to think himself above the order of the Regius Custos. As much as I would rather not have to face him, he would cause a scene until he got what he wanted. The last thing we needed was for him to goad the guards and take their attention from their jobs.
“Alec, wait. It's not going to be enough. Have them bring him here. He needs to know the king stands behind this order. You know how arrogant he is. His self-entitlement knows no bounds and he needs to hear it in the king’s presence.”
Alec looked to the king for guidance, and my father nodded his assent. He understood what I was trying to convey. He'd dealt with the baron's father constantly, a man who had apparently had much the same ignorance and entitlement. There were also things I needed to say to Sideris. He needed to understand what he'd done by coming here, and just how much damage could have rested on his shoulders had he been any later.
When the door finally opened, Baron Sideris was escorted into the quiet room, barely acknowledging the glares of reproach aimed directly at him. I was surprised by who chose to approach him in the end. The hulking figure of Grigori stepped forward from his position behind the screens and towered over him with every ounce of intimidating brute force that he possessed. Even the guard who had escorted the baron moved away.
“May the Gods help us all,” Baron Sideris murmured, his eyes rising to catch Grigori's glare.
“You risked the life of everyone in the palace by coming here against the king’s advisement,” Gori growled, his brown eyes narrowing until they looked flat black. He was terrifying like that, and his anger rolled off him in waves that filled the space left in the small room. “What do you have to say for yourself, fool?”
The baron floundered, his mouth opening and closing with no sound escaping. I could see how intimidated he was by the way his eyes widened, and his silence was held. Grigori was our best-kept secret and as far as the baron knew, we'd been overthrown and were being held prisoner. He hadn't been included in the plans for a reason; no really trusted him at all.
“Well?” Gori pressed, leaning closer to the baron and baring his teeth in a threat.
“There are... There are latros on my land. I... I came to warn the princess.”
The air in the room became oppressive with the admission. If there were troops on the baron's land, there were more than we could have accounted for. I could see this was also news to Grigori, and his eyes widened as he stepped back from the baron and looked directly at me.
“You're in danger. You have to leave. Now.” The urgency in his voice made fear curl up in a chilled ball in the center of my stomach. Reaching out to touch his arm in acknowledgement, I turned my head to glare at the man looking up at him with wide, fearful eyes.
“Sideris,” I said, dropping his title like I always did when I was pissed off at him. He enjoyed having the prefix added to his name too much. He wore it like a badge of honor, so ignoring it was the quickest way to get his attention. “As much as we appreciate the warning, we're aware our palace is surrounded by the enemy. I know you were trying to keep me safe, but we told you to stay away for a reason.”
“You knew?” the baron cried out. “You knew and didn't warn any of us?”
Grigori slammed his forearm to stop the baron advancing on me, then leaned over him a little more, making the smaller man shrink back from him. “Do not talk to the princess in that manner again. The less who knew the truth, the easier it was to act as though nothing was wrong. They don't want any of you. You mean nothing to them. They want her.”
Grigori pointed at me, but the gesture didn't stick. Within a breath, everything around us changed.
“They're moving in,” Galen said with urgency from the console. “The baron was a diversion.”
Before any of us could react, Grigori had the baron by the neck and pressed up against the wall. His large hands had managed to cover most of the flesh around his neck, and with each passing second there was more distance between the baron's feet and the floor below him.
“You have endangered us all,” he growled. “You played your part. They were waiting for confirmation that we were anticipating them and you were the one who gave it to them.”
“I. Didn't. Know,” the baron choked out between gasps for air. When Grigori released him, he slid to the floor like a rag doll, coughing as he dragged in wheezing breaths. Without a falter in his step, Grigori made his way to the console, his hands landing on the table and making it crack under his weight. We were all frozen in place, our eyes following him as he studied the screen.
Shannon was the first to react and gather her wits about her. She glared at the baron and made her way to Grigori, her hand landing gently on his back as she stared at the screens with him.
“What are you looking for, plemyannik?”
Grigori continued his silent vigilance over the screens, his eyes moving between them as though he were looking for something. Once the initial shock was over, we gravitated toward him, all of us in the small room looking over his shoulders, eyes jumping from screen to screen. It took him a while, but his finger finally hit the one showing the image closest to the back doors of the palace. The closest to the ballroom.
“I should have known. Sentarka.”
“No,” Shannon said quietly, her hand reaching for her throat as she stumbled back.
We all stared at the two of them as their eyes met. I knew I'd heard that name before. It was only once, but the memory assaulted me. Grigori had threatened Harker with it when he'd been in the dungeons. It was the only thing that seemed to catch Harker's attention. By Shannon's reaction, I knew his appearance couldn't be good. Whoever he was, he seemed to be a threat to the two of them.
“Cassandra, you must leave. Now,” Grigori said, dragging his eyes from Shannon so he could see me. “There’s no time to waste now. You’re in grave danger. You must leave immediately.”
“Who is Sentarka to you?” Damon asked the two of them, his arm sliding around my waist and pulling me close. “What does this mean?”
“There is no time to talk. He knows magic only Thánatos knows, and he will use it to get to us.
If the king and princess are here, he will stop at nothing to reach them and end this now. I still feel confident the plan would work if we locked them in, but I'm not certain my magic can stand against his. He's older and a lot more powerful, and he's the only son Thánatos recognizes as his.”
“What?”
“They're closing in on the doors. You have to go. I'm not sure we could bring back the water should he breach the walls of the palace.”
“Why didn't you tell us this before?” the king asked, his face guarded and devoid of emotion.
“He never leads the attacks. It's rare that he even attends battles. He thinks himself above it all. This is unprecedented. Had I known he would lead the attack, I would never have suggested anyone stay. We have to get as many out as we can while we still have time.”
It scared me to see Grigori so nervous. He'd always been so strong. Anything he came up against, he stood tall and proud and knocked it down like the brick wall he was. Him asking me to get out just proved how dire the situation had become.
I wasn't a masochist. I didn't want to die, but I also didn't want to run away with my tail between my legs while these people fought for me. They were going to be caught off guard worse than we’d ever anticipated, and I wasn't alright with that. We had too much at stake. We had to get them all out.
“Well? Initiate the evacuation plan,” the king bellowed, looking between us. A quick nod at Damon had his arms circling around me and pulling me to his body. All eyes were on us as the breeze filtered through the room and around our closely pressed bodies.
Before I could even change my mind, the scene of the room around us changed into a forest, and even in the darkness of night, I could see the towers of the new palace looming over us and stretching high into the starry night above. Damon released me and gripped my hand in his, pulling me toward a long, stone staircase that led up to a courtyard. There were guards in various places of alert around the flat stone, and I knew they were the landing spots for the rest of the guards and vis liberi who used earth and air as their elements.