Align Ourselves

by Adrianna Schuh

  "We can't just leave her here," Grace said, her voice coming out strained and rough.

  "We've already wasted enough time," Aria said, "We can't stay here with her."

  She grabbed the radio she'd placed in her jacket.

  "Listen up. The training area is secured. I repeat, the training area is secured. Make your way here in small groups," she said.

  "Copy that," Hunt said from the other side.

  "What if she wakes up? What if she gets away?" Adrian asked, looking at Brent's mother.

  "I'll stay here," Brent said. "You guys head out with your groups...I'll-I'll stay with her. I'll make sure she doesn't get away."

  Aria nodded; she hated to put him in that position. But they'd already lost enough time.

  She grabbed a gun and waited for Hunt, right near the door. He'd be in the first group.

  Eventually, there was a quiet knock.

  Hunt, Isla, and a few others came outside and armed themselves.

  Grace, Isla, and the others that had come left shortly after. They were the ones that had to go to the village. They should have already been halfway there by now.

  Aria put her head in her hands, trying to calm herself down.

  Their plan had just gone into effect, and already things weren't going as planned.

  "Aria," Hunt said, putting a hand on her back, "We should go."

  Aria nodded and followed Hunt out of the door.

  Chapter 47

  Warren's room was the furthest from the training area.

  Aria and Hunt quietly made their way there, stopping at every corner to check for guards. It was dark, the only light coming from the little lanterns hung about ten feet apart. But Aria was grateful for the darkness; it made it easier to blend in.

  And although her teeth chattered, she was grateful for the cold, too. It kept a lot of the guards in their rooms. There wouldn't be as many out in the open.

  They'd just turned another corner when Hunt held his hand up, silently telling Aria to stop.

  Aria stood on her tiptoes to look over his shoulder. She wanted to know why they had stopped; they were already behind as it was.

  She noticed a figure about ten feet ahead of them—a man.

  A guard.

  But luckily, he had his back turned, walking away.

  Hunt took a step backward, and Aria did the same. They had to get back behind the corner; the man could turn and see them any second.

  Aria turned; she was almost there when

  "Stop," a voice shouted.

  She heard the guard running towards them. But she was already at the corner. She turned and stood against the wall.

  Maybe she shouldn't have abandoned Hunt like that. But it would be more suspicious if they were both caught. This way, it'd only be him. Aria was sure that he'd think of something that he'd have a good excuse for being out in the open in the middle of the night.

  She held her breath, trying to listen.

  "What the hell are you doing out here?" the guard asked.

  He was close.

  "I was on my way to see Warren," Hunt said.

  He had stopped moving.

  "In the middle of the night," the guard said. Aria could hear the skepticism in his voice. She wanted to peek around the corner, but he was so close, he couldn't have been more than five feet away; he would definitely see her.

  "Yes. Something's come up," Hunt said. "Something he needs to know about."

  "And what's that?"

  "It's classified information. Nothing you need to worry yourself over."

  "Is that so?"

  Hunt had sounded confident. She wasn't sure why the guard wasn't buying it.

  "Excuse me," Hunt said, sounding as surprised as Aria felt.

  "It's kind of funny. Today we were given orders to pay close attention to you, Kieran. And here you are...in the middle of the night, sneaking through the palace? What are you up to?"

  "I'm not up to anything like I said, I've got some information that Warren needs to hear. So I'd appreciate it if you let me through," Hunt said. He sounded more nervous now.

  "I don't think so," the guard said. Aria could hear him move. "Get on your knees."

  "This is madness. Just let me through and-"

  But he didn't finish his sentence.

  Aria couldn't stop herself from peeking around the corner now.

  The guard had his gun aimed at Hunt, who was now wordlessly putting his hands up. Aria could see his gun tucked into his belt in the back.

  If the guard saw the gun...

  She didn't think twice before lifting her own gun and pointing it at the guard's head. She moved from her position behind the wall.

  "Put the gun down," she said.

  The guard looked between her and Hunt.

  Fuck. He knows now.

  "Put the gun down," she repeated.

  "Or what? You'll shoot me?" the guard sneered. His voice sounded skeptical. He knew that she wouldn't.

  Aria took a few steps forward, but the guard stayed in his position, his gun still pointed at Hunt.

  Aria stopped when her own gun was only a few inches away from the guard's head.

  "I said, put the gun down. I won't ask you again."

  "I-I don't think so," he said, but his voice shook. He wasn't so sure anymore.

  "Three seconds," she said.

  "One"

  She noticed the beads of sweat that had suddenly gathered on his forehead, despite the cold.

  "Two"

  He swallowed. The hand that was holding his gun began to shake.

  "Three"

  The guard put the gun down as soon as the word left her lips. The gun was still in his hand, but it was pointed at the ground and not Hunt

  "Get on your knees," she said, her gun still aimed at his head.

  He dropped to his knees, and Hunt took the gun out of his hands and tucked it into his belt.

  "I'm sorry about this," Aria said. She brought the gun down, using all her force to hit him in the temple, just like Edwards had done to her.

  "Funny," Hunt said afterward, searching the guard for something he could use to tie him up. "You didn't really sound that sorry."

  "That's because I'm not," Aria said, looking around, making sure they were alone.

  Hunt undid the man's belt and used it to bind his wrists together.

  "What should we do with him? Take him to the throne room? The dungeon? That's where the others are taking the guards," Hunt said.

  "We've already lost too much time. Let's just stick him in the closest room for now. We can come back for him later," she said.

  She and Hunt dragged the man's body down the corridor. Eventually, they came across a storage room full of old furniture and other random items.

  Aria found an old rope and handed it to Hunt. After he tied the man's legs together, they set out again.

  They continued on their way to Warren's room, trying to be more discreet than before.

  Eventually, they came to the hall that led to his room. Aria took a step forward. She wanted to lead.

  She had just put her hand on the doorknob when suddenly three gunshots rang in the distance.

  She froze.

  Hunt stayed as still as a statue, listening.

  Actually, using the guns they'd stolen was never part of the plan. But if it wasn't them, it was Warren's guards. Had they shot someone?

  Aria looked at Hunt; the look on his face was similar to hers. They were both thinking the same thing; their people knew that gunfire would draw attention. They'd get caught. So it couldn't have been them. But if they weren't doing the shooting...then they were the ones being shot at.

  Aria could only hope that it hadn't woken Warren up. And that everyone was okay.

  She couldn't think about the what-ifs. Not right now.

  She turned the doorknob, and just as she had anticipated, it was locked. She turned and looked at Hunt, giving him a nod. They'd discussed this.

  Aria stood to the side as Hu
nt moved to the front of the door. They had to act quickly.

  There was probably a quieter way to do this, a smarter way. But they didn't have time.

  He took the gun that was slung across his back and brought it down on the doorknob.

  Once. Twice. And the third time, the doorknob fell off. He kicked the door in, and Aria ran inside, her gun already up.

  Warren was getting out of bed. They knew the sound would wake him.

  "Stop," Aria said, aiming her gun at him.

  He was half asleep, half out of bed. But he stopped.

  "What the hell are you doing?" he asked.

  "Get on your knees," Aria said.

  Hunt came up beside her. His gun was pointed at Warren, too.

  Aria was sure that her gun was enough, that it would prevent Warren from doing anything stupid. But having Hunt there as a backup made her feel more confident.

  "Kieran? What is this?" Warren asked, looking between the two of them.

  "Do what she says, Charles," Hunt said.

  Warren scoffed. But he got on his knees.

  Aria kept her gun pointed at him as Hunt put his down and went to tie Warren up. Once his hands were bound, Hunt grabbed his arm and helped him up.

  Silently, they left the room.

  "Do you really think this will work?" Warren asked.

  "Shut up," Aria said, looking around.

  "As soon as my guards see you, they'll shoot," Warren said.

  "Then I guess I'll just have to shoot them first, huh?"

  "What is this about, anyway? Your little king? Do you really think you can take me down?"

  Aria didn't respond. He was obviously trying to be loud, hoping that someone would hear him.

  "I hope you know that you've just signed his death warrant," Warren said.

  That pissed her off. She turned to face him.

  "Yeah? And who's gonna do that? You?" she asked, raising her eyebrows. "In case you haven't noticed, you are in no position to be making threats. So who else? Your guards? That'll be a little difficult considering they're in the same position you are. Maybe worse. But keep talking, and I'll make sure that my little king gets his hands on you before I do."

  That shut him up. They made their way to the throne room in silence after that.

  Aria retook the lead. Once they were close to the throne room, she paid more attention to her surroundings. Warren's guards should have been overpowered by now, but not all of them were at their posts tonight. Some of them were sleeping in their rooms. The sounds their group alone had made were enough to wake some of them.

  She was sure that not all the guards had gone down as quickly as the one she and Hunt had encountered.

  She heard people talking in the throne room.

  But no one was yelling, no one was screaming. And it didn't sound like they were fighting.

  She felt hopeful once more.

  Aria stopped in the entryway and surveyed the scene. Martinez and Katy stood at the front of the room, another fifteen to twenty people from their groups around them.

  Warren's guards and various other people sat at the tables. Almost all of them were slumped over, passed out.

  Aria nodded to Hunt, letting him know he could bring Warren in.

  The three of them made their way to the front of the group. But stopped short when they saw so many of Warren’s guards slumped in their seats.

  "What happened? Why are they all asleep?" Aria asked, looking around.

  "Your mom had a really good idea," Martinez said, smiling at Katy.

  "What?" Aria asked.

  Katy had a satchel across her body. She opened it and took out a syringe.

  "Barbiturates. After we disabled them and brought them here, we injected them with these. They won't stay asleep for long, but we figured having them all awake in such close quarters wasn't a good idea," Katy said.

  Aria nodded. It was a great idea. She wished they'd thought of it sooner.

  What about him?" Katy asked, looking at Aria.

  "No," Aria said, "Let's keep him awake."

  Just then, another group of guards was being ushered into the throne room. One look around, and they began to panic.

  And then, everyone was yelling. Arguing.

  Hunt was distracted. He looked away for a second, but it was all Warren needed.

  He brought his bound hands up and hit Hunt; his elbow connected with Hunt's chin, sending his head flying back.

  The other guards followed their leader and began to fight back.

  Aria ran towards Warren. He had his back turned to her, barking out commands to his guards. She kicked at the backs of his knees with all her strength, and he screamed out in pain, falling forward.

  She pointed her gun at the ceiling and fired it. Just once. Then she put the gun on the back of Warren's head.

  Chapter 48

  "Everybody shut up,” she yelled, her voice echoing through the throne room. "If one more goddamn person tries to fight this, fight us, I will shoot him," Aria said. "It's over. So shut the fuck up and sit down."

  Loud. Demanding. Clear. And unwavering.

  Every single person in the room stopped talking, stopped fighting. They all looked at her.

  The guards looked to Warren, who nodded.

  They sat down in the available spots and didn't fight as Aria's people tied them up. Katy and Jackson went around and put them to sleep, one by one, telling them that it wouldn't be for long.

  After that, Aria and her people were the only ones awake. Well, them and Warren.

  Eventually, all the others returned. The throne room was overcrowded by that point. Aria had never seen it so full.

  "That's all of them," Mara said, walking up to stand beside Aria.

  "Really?"

  "Yeah, the others all radioed in. I told them to take the remaining guards to the dungeon since it's way too crowded here. We've left the others in their rooms, the people who aren't guards but possibly side with Warren. What will we do with them?" Mara asked.

  "I don't know. Have you heard from Grace?" Aria asked.

  It'd been over an hour, possibly two, since Grace and the others had left.

  Just then, the doors opened, and Grace walked through, a few people trailing behind her. Isla was one of them. She stopped to close the door.

  "Speak of the devil," Mara said, smirking.

  Grace glared at Warren on her way towards the two girls.

  "Why is he still breathing?" she asked.

  "We haven't decided what we're going to do-" Aria began.

  "Then I'll make it easy on you," Grace said, pulling her sword out.

  "Grace, no," Aria said, "We need to talk about it first. With Lex."

  "Like hell! He killed-"

  "I know," Aria said, cutting Grace off. "I know. And he will pay. But not just yet."

  "Aria, you can't-"

  "I said no," Aria said, an edge to her voice.

  There was still so much to do. She didn't have time to argue with Grace.

  "Fine," Grace said, putting her sword across her back.

  "Where's Lex?" Aria asked.

  "He's coming," Grace said.

  Aria turned and walked up the few steps to stand in front of the table she shared with Lex and Grace.

  "Listen up," she yelled, "The palace has been-"

  But she stopped talking when she saw the doors to the throne room opening.

  As soon as the doors were open, she found herself staring directly at Lex, and he was looking at her, too.

  He was in his king ensemble—the sword from their bedroom in his right hand.

  He walked through the room, and the people parted, giving him a clear path to Aria.

  She looked past him for a second, noticing Brent guiding his mother in. And Adrian, guiding a bound and very beat-up looking Ben in.

  She looked at Lex again.

  His jaw was clenched, but he walked towards her with his head held high, the look in his eye one of admiration. Like he was proud, looking
at her standing there in front of all those people. And he didn't look at anything or anyone else as he made his way to her. Not a single person. Not even Warren.

  She was pretty sure she'd never been so turned on in her life because, amidst all the chaos around them, he had eyes only for her. She couldn't look away.

  She jumped off of the elevated portion so that they could stand face to face. She didn't care if everyone was staring. She didn't care that the whole room had gone very, very quiet.

  She looked at him, thinking about her very first night here.

  He didn't stop when he was a few inches away from her like she thought he would.

  Instead, he walked right up to her and crushed his lips to hers.

  She momentarily forgot that they were in a crowded room.

  She kissed him back. In her kiss was everything she couldn't say; I'm so glad you're here. I'm so happy you're safe.

  I love you. I love you. I love you now more than ever.

  He pulled back after a few moments to take a look at her. He scanned her body, making sure that she was okay.

  "I knew it," he said, smirking at her.

  "What?" she asked, "What did you know?"

  "I knew you could do this."

  She smiled at him, feeling totally ridiculous when she realized just how happy she was, despite their situation.

  "Hate to break this up," Adrian said, walking up to stand beside them. "But we've got a few things to take care of."

  "Shut up, Adrian," Lex said, giving Aria another kiss.

  But Adrian was right. They had other things to take care of. They could kiss later.

  With that in mind, Aria pulled away and turned to face the group again.

  "The palace is surrounded. All the entrances have been secured, all the guards have been disarmed. We need to talk to the others, the ones who might not be on our side. First, we will take all of these guards to the dungeons. Leave them tied up. Those whose loyalty lies with Warren will need to be taken there, too. Search the palace for anyone we might have missed. And then go door to door, bring all the others here so we can talk to them," she said.

  People started to file out. The leaders of each group giving directions and orders.

  Eventually, the only people that remained in the throne room were Aria, Lex, Mara, Grace, Katy, Hunt, Brent, Peter, Martinez, and Adrian.