Cass resisted the urge to cover his hair with his hands. If something was wrong with his hairstyle, he didn’t think mussing it would help. “Why do I need a more fashionable haircut?”
“Because I want to introduce you to the ambassador to Bellamie. He’s got an amazing offer you won’t want to pass up.”
“I’m confused,” Cass said. “I thought you were the ambassador to Bellamie.”
“I’m the associate ambassador,” she said. “The actual ambassador is my boss, and he’s working on a trade deal you can help with. He’s just very into appearances. Oh, well. He knows you’re a tech.”
Chrissy’s words might have offended Cass if he didn’t know the casual insults came from a place of nervousness. She resumed dragging Cass across the ballroom, and within moments, they stopped in front of a tall, broad, dark-skinned man with a bald pate and a tuxedo even more expensive than Cass’s. “Ah, Charisma,” the man said to Chrissy. “Wonderful to see you in our home city. I do hope you are enjoying the event.”
“Of course, sir!” Chrissy said with a laugh. “And may I introduce you to my friend, Perspicacity Hughes? Cass, this is Ambassador Generosity Bankole.”
The ambassador’s smile widened as he reached out to shake Cass’s hand. “A pleasure to meet you, young man. Charisma has told me so much about you.”
“Has she now?” Cass resisted the urge to narrow his eyes at Chrissy. He couldn’t imagine why she would talk to her boss about him. He certainly didn’t talk to Tenacity about his ex-girlfriend.
“Yes, indeed!” Generosity said. “You see, we’re on the verge of brokering a new deal with Bellamie, but we need some technologically-minded people to shore up the deal. Bellamie’s high mountains create a number of issues for travel that neither we nor they have dealt with before. We’re promising our top minds will develop technology to solve the problem.”
“Interesting.” Cass’s voice was dry. I’m starting to see where this is going.
“Now isn’t the time to discuss details, but your name has floated to the top of my list,” Generosity said. “It sounds horribly boring to me, but Charisma assures me you like solving technological puzzles. What would you say to a few years of adventure in a foreign country, young man?”
“I’d say that’s a very generous offer, sir,” Cass said. “I’ll have to take time to consider it.”
The ambassador winked. “Generosity is my name. You don’t have to decide anything right now. I’m in Londigium for a few weeks, and I’ll circle back to let you know more details.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“Now, you young people go enjoy the gala. I think the dancing is about to kick off any minute.”
Chrissy linked her arm with Cass’s, and Cass let Chrissy pick their direction. He wasn’t very happy with her, but his father would kill him if he made a scene at the gala, so he kept a neutral expression on his face. He was thus surprised when Chrissy led him into an alcove at the corner of the Grand Hall and spun him around to face her. “What was that?” Her face looked as angry as he wished his did.
“I should be asking you that,” Cass said. “Why are you getting me job offers in Bellamie? I don’t want to go to Bellamie. I thought you knew that.”
Chrissy made an exasperated noise. “Why not? You said you wanted to stay in the Citadel to advance your career and be at the center of technological developments, but so far as I can tell, all you do is repair other people’s tech. Bellamie needs you to design something entirely new.”
Cass took a deep breath. She wasn’t wrong, and a few months ago, even a few weeks ago, he might have jumped at the chance she offered. He didn’t want to leave the Citadel, but the main reason he had stayed was his career. Chrissy was offering the opportunity he had been waiting for. “And I suppose the fact that you’re there has nothing to do with why you recommended me?”
“Of course that’s part of the reason! We broke up because we couldn’t do our jobs in the same places, but now we can. It’s the perfect opportunity for us!”
He looked at her and realized that as ever, she looked perfect, from her manicured fingers that matched her dress exactly to the sparkling clip in her hair. She would always be the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, but when he looked at her, he felt nothing more than friendship and a fond memory. “There isn’t an ‘us,’ Chrissy. Not anymore.”
Chrissy blinked, and for a moment, Cass wasn’t sure how she was going to react. He didn’t think she’d lose her poise, but then, he hadn’t thought she’d chastise him in the middle of the gala either. What he didn’t expect was for all her anger to melt away into a look of sadness. “This is about that warrior girl, isn’t it?”
“Clarity?” As he said her name, Cass involuntarily looked around the room for her. He found her right where he had left her, looking for all the world like she had stepped out of an old-fashioned picture book. The dress was ridiculous---he couldn’t believe she had picked out such a thing---but seeing her in it made his heart speed up.
“You love her now, don’t you?” Chrissy asked. “I’ve lost my chance.”
“I… I don’t know.” Cass had only really known Clarity for a couple of weeks. He couldn’t fall in love so quickly. At least, he didn’t think so. What he did know was that he wanted to find out, and he would never do that if he went to Bellamie. By the time he got back, she’d be married to someone like that Endurance fellow, and the thought of such a thing ate him up inside. “I’m sorry, Chrissy.”
“Yeah,” she said. “Me too.” She offered him a small, sad smile, then reached out and slapped him on the good arm, so he could feel it. “Well, what are you waiting for? You don’t want to spend the rest of the gala with me. Go get your girl.”
Cass reached out and gave her arm a light squeeze. “Thank you. I hope you find someone who makes you happier than I ever could.”
As Cass turned and headed toward Clarity, he thought he heard Chrissy say, “That’s not possible.” She might as well have reached inside his chest and squeezed his heart, but he knew he was making the right decision as he walked away.
Clarity watched as the paladins, having drunk enough to lower their inhibitions, drifted out onto the dance floor. She glanced down at her champagne flute and thought, I don’t think there’s enough of this stuff in the world to get me out there. Athletic, she might be, but graceful she was not.
Maybe I should go. She was worried what all this standing was doing to her foot. She knew the gala was supposed to be an excellent networking opportunity for paladins, but she didn’t know who to network with or even how to do it, especially when all she wanted to say to the upper echelon of paladins was “Why do you let the people in the Azure District die?” Especially when Cass is here with someone else.
She took her empty glass and set it on a tray on a side table that seemed designed for such a purpose and headed toward the door. She moved slowly, without her usual purpose, though she couldn’t have said why. She wasn’t used to even the small amount of alcohol she’d had, and she didn’t want to trod heavily on her foot, but in truth, she was waiting for someone to stop her and let her know she belonged.
Then, suddenly, someone did. She felt soft fingers lace with her own and a hard hand turn her around. “Cass,” she whispered, knowing who he was before she could see his face. She was unused to the gooey, fluttery feeling in her stomach she told herself had to be the champagne, but when she looked up into his face and felt herself floating toward him, she knew it was something else. They stared at each other for a few moments, and Clarity would have been content to do so for eternity, but eventually she had to ask, “Where’s Chrissy?”
Cass didn’t look away from her. “I don’t know. Around. Probably networking like a good paladin.”
Clarity wondered when the last time she had felt like a good paladin was. “Oh. Is that what we’re supposed to be doing?”
“So my father tells me,” Cass said. “I’m not very good at it.”
Clarity laughed, and she felt like the sound might levitate her off the ground. “Me neither.”
Cass lowered the hand that was still on her arm to her hip. “Dance with me.”
Clarity’s mouth went dry. “I’m not very good at that either.”
“It’s easy,” Cass said. “I’ll show you.” With a firm but gentle grip, Cass pulled her close enough to him that she could rest her head on his shoulder. She was momentarily grateful her ankle was still too injured for the three-inch stilettos Hope had tried to make her wear, because with another few inches, their heads would have been level, and she wouldn’t have been able to feel the hardness of his chest beneath the silk blend of his suit.
They swayed to the music, stiffly at first, then more naturally, as his arms wrapped around her back and hers found their way around his neck. The melody the band played was soft and sweet, and Clarity, never a music fan, felt like she might actually remember the tune if she heard it again. She wanted to. She wanted everything about this perfect moment to be forever emblazoned on her memory. But then one song melted into another and another, and she thought perhaps all music would remind her of what it felt like for someone she cared about to hold her as if she were the most precious thing on the planet.
“Clarity,” he said, and she looked up, worried she had done something wrong. But no, as soon as she met his gaze, she saw what was in her own heart reflected there. He leaned forward, and she knew without a doubt he was going to kiss her and turn this night, which had started off so terribly, into the most magnificent evening she could remember. She lifted her chin.
A metallic klaxon screeched through Clarity’s fog, and red lights spiraled through the hall. She pulled away from Cass and scanned the room, searching for whatever trouble had ruined the moment. Seconds later, a guard she didn’t recognize ran into the room. “Everyone to battle stations!” he yelled. “We’re under attack!”
Chapter 23
Cass had only a split second to wonder if the paladins would have time to change into their battle gear before a horde of armed individuals---mostly men but also a few women---swarmed through the doors. The bright blue badges on the arms of the intruders crushed any hopes Cass had that the paladins’ guard contingent had arrived first. He understood what Garrett meant when he’d said letting him and Clarity go didn’t matter. He had planned to attack the Citadel and kill all the paladins.
Cass whirled back to Clarity, who he discovered had, of all things, unzipped her dress and stepped out of it. Underneath, she wore a low-cut corset and pantaloons that, under other circumstances, would have had him staring. Well, he was staring, but only because he thought she’d lost her mind. “What are you doing?”
“I can’t fight in that thing,” she said with a surprising amount of calm.
“What?” Cass glanced over at hundreds of paladins in their formal wear selecting makeshift weapons from around the ballroom. Broken glasses and stiletto heels served as daggers, while candlesticks worked as clubs. All the while, more attackers flowed through the door. “We can’t fight! There are too many of them!”
Clarity shoved the dress into his arms. “You can’t fight. You have to figure out a way to get everyone out of here.” She whipped a trap off a nearby table, sending several champagne flutes shattering to the floor. “If nothing else, get yourself out of here. And protect that dress with your life!”
“Clarity, what---?” Before he could figure out what he was trying to ask, she had rushed forward into the melee. He stared dumbly after her until a laser beam whizzed past his head. Then he shook himself out of his daze and looked for somewhere to take cover. Someone had turned the buffet tables up on their sides, and he ran and dove behind one.
Able to catch his breath for a moment, he glanced to the side to see who shared his shield. Also behind the table were Chrissy’s sister Remy, Clarity’s friend Hope, and a woman he recognized from his parents’ failed setup as the governor’s daughter.
“Oh, Cass, I’m so glad to see you!” Remy said. “We need to figure out a way to get out of here! I don’t know who thought having a gala on the third floor was a good idea. We’re sitting ducks up here!”
A pained scream sounded from nearer than Cass wanted to think about, and he resisted the urge to peek above the table to see what had happened. He needed to focus on the task at hand. While warriors were the most common paladins, they still made up less than half of the order, which meant many of the people at the gala had no way to defend themselves.
Cass didn’t realize he’d spoken aloud until Hope said, “Some of the non-warriors are fighting. Zeal is out there punching people in the face like she was born to do it. But you’re right that many of us need an escape route.”
“What we need is cable line.” Cass looked around the room, knowing nothing so functional would be found in the Grand Hall. He considered tying the tablecloths together, but he didn’t think they would stretch far enough to reach the ground. His gaze fell on the frivolous velvet curtains hanging in each of the many windows and the equally ridiculous decorative tasseled ropes decorating them. “Remy, do you think those cords would hold the weight of a person?”
“Maybe if we braided them!” She bit her lip. “But how are we going to get them down. The Azurites are sure to shoot anyone trying to retrieve them.”
“I guess I can climb up there?” Cass didn’t mean to sound so dubious, but climbing really wasn’t in his skill set, and he’d need the ropes off several of those curtains to form a rope long enough to reach the ground and strong enough to carry the weight of the escapees. “If I go inside the curtains, maybe they won’t see me.”
“It’s better if I do it,” Remy said. “I’m much smaller than you. They’re less likely to notice me.”
Cass didn’t like the idea of putting a sixteen-year-old girl in danger, but she was already in danger, and she was their best shot. “Okay. If you need more cover, I can try to stand the table on end.”
Remy nodded and darted behind a nearby curtain. With barely any movement of the thick fabric, she scurried up the window and untied the first set of ropes. Satisfied, Cass turned to the other two people behind his table. “Okay, Hope and---it’s Adeline, right?” The young woman nodded. “We need to let people know the plan and get them to start braiding rope!”
The two girls nodded and crawled in their lilac and ivory ball gowns toward the next table. Cass glanced up at Remy, who was already undoing the rope from the second set of curtains, then around the room, to where another group of paladins had set up a barrier of chairs between them and the fighting. He needed to get over there. Fortunately, the laser pistol rounds were fewer than they had been, as the fighters had closed ranks and were engaging in hand-to-hand combat. He glanced down at the dress in his hands, the one Clarity had said to protect with his life. He had to hope it would be okay on the floor over here.
As he crawled out from behind the table, he resisted the urge to look for people he cared about in the throng of combatants, or worse, among the bodies littering the ground. Clarity, he knew, was fighting, and his father would be as well. His mother was no doubt tending to the wounded, and he had to hope she was doing so from a position of safety. As for Tenacity and Chrissy, he had no way of knowing where they were.
He had at least one of the questions answered when he got behind the pile of chairs. Tenacity sat on the floor, sobbing and clutching the body of a woman in a yellow dress. Cass only needed a few seconds to recognize the unseeing blue eyes of the Visionary. He swallowed down his own grief and explained the plan to the people hunkered down in the corner. A few of them gave wary looks at the idea of crawling across the battlefield, but they all went. Except for Tenacity, who didn’t seem to see Cass.
“Tenacity!” He shook her shoulders. “Ten! We need to get out of here!”
She turned to
Cass with unseeing eyes. “She’s dead. Pragmatism is dead.”
Cass needed a moment to figure out who his boss meant. He had never heard the Visionary referred to as anything but her title, but of course she had to have her own name from before she took over the role. He also hadn’t realized Tenacity knew the Visionary well enough to be this distraught over her death, but he didn’t have time to question their relationship right then.
“I know,” he said. “We have a plan to get out of here, but you need to let go of her and come with me now.”
Tenacity blinked. “What’s even the point?”
“What’s the point?” repeated Cass, aghast. “You’re not dead, Ten. You’re brilliant and badass, and you never give up! And right now, that means surviving.”
Something he said must have registered with her because she looked up at him for the first time since he’d gotten over there. “You’re right. Of course, you’re right. I just…”
“I know,” he said. “If we make it through the night, we’re all going to have to face a lot of things. But for now, let’s focus on survival.”
Tenacity nodded, a glimmer of her trademark determination manifesting in the gesture. Together they crawled across the floor to the tables, where a plethora of paladins braided decorative cords like their lives depended on it. Because they do. He was pleased to see Clarity’s dress where he left it. He didn’t know why it was so important to her---she didn’t seem like the dress-up type, honestly---but he didn’t want to disappoint her.
Remy crawled over to him. “We have another problem. These windows don’t open from the inside. Or the outside. We’re going to have to break them.”
Cass smiled for the first time since the invasion had started. “I can handle that.” He pushed himself to his feet and, hoping against hope that no Azurite stopped him, strode over to the nearest window and punched through it with his mechanical arm. The glass ripped the sleeve of his tuxedo jacket as it glistened on the way down to the ground, but he managed to avoid injury, which he knew others would not have. A few more punches, and there was an opening large enough for any of them to fit through without more than a few cuts.
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