45

Alayna

Wednesday 30th September, Year 828

The commotion was dying down along the corridor. We didn't have long. Blondie screeched for her fiancé and he seemed to remember where he was. I glanced down at her in the sewer, itching to put a bullet between her golden-blue eyes. How had I not realised it was her? I had thought of nothing but her perfect face for weeks. She certainly didn't look as pristine in the flesh, especially with black bruises mottling her pretty eyes. I should have shot her immediately. Fuck Ben's need for hostages.

Facing the man who stood in front of me silently, I took him in. Tiv was bigger than I remembered, taller and more muscular but somehow looked too skinny. His cold eyes were no longer black like they had been on the television, though they were still mottled by heavy bags as if he hadn't slept for days. One of his eyes was swollen and bloodshot, a purple bruise staining his once perfect copper skin. I had done that to him. I had hurt him. But there was no time to fixate on the fact I'd mangled his face; Blondie kept screaming for him, trying in vain to get back up through the grate as he just stood, staring at me.

"Are you broken?" I hissed. "Go or Ben will kill you. Really kill you—not like when I used to say it."

His lips twitched upwards and briefly, my insides turned to mush. What was wrong with me? There would have been a time I would have given a limb to see that smile again, but now that he stood in front of me all I felt was anger and regret.

Until he touched me.

He brought a hand to my cheek with a gentleness I wasn't expecting. I reluctantly pushed my face into his palm, pathetically drinking him in as I used to before rebellion and war. Before we were put on enemy teams.

As much as it felt like our encounter had lasted decades, in reality, it had only been a minute. Blondie continued to scream, reminding me the seconds were ticking down.

"Go with your… fiance," the words felt like acid on my tongue.

He stepped away from me at the last word and spoke coldly, "I can't leave my people here."

"Your people?" I spat.

He pressed his lips into a hard line. "My people."

His response enraged me more but before I could retort, the Blonde's screams went up an octave and she began throwing rocks up the hole at Tiv. I couldn’t understand what she was saying but her words definitely didn’t sound like declarations of love.

“What a joy she is,” I muttered sarcastically, raising an eyebrow as I peered down into the hole.

“Apple of my fucking eye,” Tiv sighed deeply with just as much sarcasm.

Somehow I laughed. The sound brightened Tiv’s face for a second before more of Blondie’s jarring screams pierced the silence.

Silence.

Whatever battle was happening beyond the door had stopped. We were out of time.

"Listen to me, what you need to get through your thick skull is the fact that we have won and you and whoever else is caught here will be killed or tortured until you give Ben—us—the information we need. I'm going to guess you have less than a minute before you're outnumbered and then I cannot help you. I can't stop Ben. So leave. Please."

"Alayna-"

"The second you reach the river, get in and walk down it. That way, nobody can follow your footprints. If they find you, it will not be pleasant for you or Blondie. Don't be an idiot."

He opened his mouth to argue but shouting from the other end of the corridor warned him against it.

"Aly?" Ben yelled.

In that instant, Tiv pulled me close. My breath hitched as his warmth enveloped me and, for a beautiful second, I allowed myself to melt into his arms. It was a quick, perfect moment. And then he was gone, lowering himself into the sewer. Grabbing Blondie's hand, he limped quickly away.

I'm going to be sick.

"Alayna, where in the hells are you?" Uncharacteristic panic now laced Ben's voice.

I fumbled with the metal grate, sliding it back over the void with shaking hands before rushing toward Ben's calls. My feet were bloodied and raw, sticking to the floor as I moved. My head throbbed from Tiv's attack and I still had a small dagger stuck in my leg, slowing my pace.

Rounding the corner, I found Ben hunched over Leesa's motionless form. With frantic movements, he clawed through debris blanketing her body.

"Is she alive?" I asked feebly, propping against the wall.

His head jerked up and he swore. Something in him snapped as he swooped forward to engulf me in a hug that reeked of desperation rather than tenderness.

"Marco Hawes was here. He got away," he said, moving me back against the wall. His eyes flitted over me—probing my injuries. "Aaron said you were chased. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, they also got away," I responded robotically.

Ben's eyes narrowed down the hallway I had just emerged from. I knew what he was thinking: there was no way anyone could have escaped unless they'd passed him. Unless they already knew the way out… I should have thought of a better lie. He gave me a long, appraising look and I gazed back, my face like stone as I pretended my heart wasn't trying to beat out of my chest.

"Is Leesa alive?" I asked again.

His face hardened and I wished we weren't close. I wished he didn't know me—that he couldn't read my face like a book.

"Yeah," he ground out through clenched teeth. "Where's Tiv?"

"I have no idea," I somehow breathed out evenly.

Then he did something he had never done in my entire life. Seizing both of my arms, he shoved me back with enough force that my head bounced off the wall behind me. Pain lanced down my spine.

"Cut the shit, Alayna," he snarled inches from my face. "What did he do to you?"

His fingertips gripped me harder until I thought my skin would split. He was aiming to hurt. To bruise. Tears filled my eyes but I couldn't wipe them away as he held me in place.

It was Aaron's voice that shattered our standoff—a growl filled with disbelief, "What the fuck is wrong with you?"

Ben's grip loosened as we both looked at Paul supported on one side by Aaron's sturdy frame. Without missing a beat, Aaron released his dad and lunged forward to wrench Ben away from me.

If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

I looked at Ben's face, contorted in anger, and knew he would keep no secrets for me; the gloves were off.

"She was screwing Tiv Hawes before he left. She's let him escape tonight," Ben shrieked, throwing Aaron off him and storming away.

"Nothing he just said is true. He's just angry," I whispered immediately.

Aaron looked at me wide-eyed before following Ben. It took him less than two seconds to choose his side.

Breathing deeply, I shoved the tears away and forced the tangle of emotions into a tight knot, pushing them down into the depression box. This was no time for vulnerability; the box would have to contain every shred of weakness, at least for now. Leaning against the cool wall for support, I focused on the rhythm of my breath, trying to make my heart beat slower. Bodies were scattered through the blood-smeared hallway. A faint sense of relief washed over me, not so much happiness but a nasty realisation that these bodies weren't ours.

Alex and Lucas were ahead, they strained to haul a struggling Lambentian soldier into the old security room—the room we used to torture. Their clothes were stained with scarlet. Determined to find out why the fuck Tiv and Marco had come for us, I approached them with effort; each step sending ripples of pain up my leg. When I noticed Charlotte lying just metres from me, unmoving with her wrists tied behind her back, I halted abruptly and changed tact. Dropping to my knees beside her, I pressed an ear to her chest—a musical drummer's beat sounded—steady and strong. Relief coursed through me. My gaze slid to the knife jutting from my leg; for a second I debated using it to slice through her bonds but dismissed the thought as quickly as it came. It wasn't worth adding to the blood on the floor.

Everything was too silent—that was what made the gasping near me loud. I turned slowly from Charlotte, and the sight behind me made my breath catch. Louise was collapsed over Riley's body, her shoulders shaking with each strained breath. Riley's face was white, contrasting sharply with the crimson pooling under him. His chest was still and his eyes stared blankly up at nothing. Louise's hands shook as she pressed them against his chest, trying to bring him back. Her sobs were jagged, tearing through the silence like shards of broken glass.

"Riley..." Her voice broke, trailing off into a whisper.

I could feel the agony pouring out of her. She leaned over him, fingers tracing his face one more time, trying to burn it into her memory. Apparently losing a Fated lover was like losing a part of your soul. It was hard not to agree at that second. She looked just as dead behind the eyes as he did.

I couldn't move, feeling like I was intruding on her raw grief. Seeing her fall apart cut into me in a way I hadn't expected. I had to look away, but everywhere I looked was more ruin.

Further down the adjacent corridor, I could see Yalma was also unmoving. Sidney lay dead in the doorway of the first dormitory, half his face blown away. My chest tightened like someone had my lungs in a vice.

Even more adrenaline surged as arms wrapped around me. I thrashed, aiming to destroy the threat… before I realised the threat was Luke.

"Fuck, look at you," he grimaced, holding me still by the shoulders.

I couldn't stop the words pouring out, "Ben is going to kill me."

It wasn't figurative. It wasn't dramatic. My brother was going to kill me.

Lucas stilled. He knew what I meant. He always knew what I meant.

His voice was low and disbelieving, lips barely moving as he breathed, "Aly, please don't tell me you let anyone leave."

Even Luke thought I'd done the wrong thing. Shit.

But like a broken record, I whispered, "Ben is going to kill me."

"Where the hells were you?" Aaron's voice sliced through the silence from behind.

Ben had sent his good boy to get answers out of me.

"I was getting a nose job just outside the training room," I somehow managed to quip, touching my tender nose.

A palpable tension hung between us. It was weird. We didn't fight. We never had. We just laughed and joked about bad stuff until it went away and told each other when we'd pissed each other off when it didn't go away. So the anger that rolled off both of us felt entirely foreign. I couldn't help it… Until I looked down at Sydney's mangled corpse and the lid of my depression box started to shudder.

Standing, I wrapped my arms around Aaron, hoping for his calming effect. For the first time, it didn't work.

I sighed roughly, "I'm glad you're okay."

Stiffly, he moved his arms around me, "Lucas, give us a second."

Luke didn't move, looking at me for instruction.

"For fuck sake, mate. She doesn't need a guard dog; give us a second," Aaron snapped in a way I had never heard before.

"What's your problem?" I growled.

"You know exactly what my problem is," he replied darkly.

My throat constricted. I flicked my head to the side, and Lucas stepped away, heading back to the room where he'd taken the Lambentian hostage.

He was barely out of earshot when Aaron spoke, "What did Tiv Hawes do to you?"

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

I will be calm. I will hold myself together. I will survive.

"Why don't you just give me the long list of questions Ben has rather than pretending you're not doing his dirty work?"

His eyes sharpened like flint striking steel, "You have a dagger sticking out of your leg and your face is mangled. Asking what he did is a pretty logical question I think!"

"I didn't even see him, Aaron." The lie slipped out smooth as silk from between my lips. "Ben has lost his damn mind."

"You can't blame him for thinking that! It sounds like you and Tiv Hawes knew each other well," he growled.

"I spent about a week hanging out with him over three years ago. I did not screw him. He left the country soon after I met him. I've not heard from him since," I said.

"You did not even mention him," he probed.

"Why in hells would I?" I barked.

"Because he's Tiv Hawes," he snarled back.

Before I could muster a reply, Ben moved into view carrying a corpse over his shoulder. The sight hit me like a sledgehammer to the chest—Michael.

No no no.

I watched as Ben wordlessly placed his childhood friend at the entrance. Ben had known Michael so long I had never known my life without him in it. He stopped only for a heartbeat but it was enough for our eyes to lock. In that brief second, there was no grief on his part—only hate etched across his features. Hate aimed at me. At Tiv. At the Lambentian bastards who had destroyed us. A sob escaped my throat. Then another. Then another. They wouldn't stop coming, despite my best effort to lock the thoughts in the depression box, until I was gasping for air.

Aaron swore and pulled me to him, "We'll find them and kill them."

The warmth of him died with his words making me feel sick as even more tears spilt from my eyes. I took a deep breath, trying to clear my mind. I needed to get rid of the crazy feelings beginning to seep into the corners of my thoughts like black ink before they consumed everything again.

"We need to get the corpses out of here before it attracts something worse. I've called Dad and Connor. They're on their way to get the injured," Ben said emotionlessly like his mate wasn't dead at his feet. His cold eyes fell on me and Aaron as he glanced me up and down. "Aaron, take her to the hospital with Leesa. Alex and Louise are okay. They can clean things up here and get the rest to the hospital when Dad gets here."

Louise was still draped over Riley's dead body, hyperventilating. She didn't react at all to Ben's orders. The tendons in her neck stood out under the skin, her fingers digging into Riley's limp form.

"Louise, we need help here," Ben repeated.

Electricity crackled in the air around her, static lifting fine strands of her hair. Jagged blue veins popped under her ghostly white skin as tiny lightning bolts zig-zagged up her arms. Slowly, she raised her head, locking eyes with Ben. The look in them was haunting—a hurricane of grief and rage.

"We'll hunt them down. We'll slaughter every last one of those fuckers for this," Ben promised quietly, holding her gaze steadily.

Louise's jaw clenched so hard a muscle twitched in her cheek. She sucked in a deep breath through her nose and took one final look at Riley. Then she forced herself to her feet, ready to unleash hell. Louise wasn't there anymore. Whatever she was died with Riley. Now her eyes were hollow. Ben watched her for a second before turning his attention back to me. He glared at me coldly as he walked over, debris crunching under his boots.

"Tell me what happened, now," he growled at me.

I instinctively gripped Aaron harder but he just let me limply hang at his side.

"Ben, I did not see Tiv," I tried again.

He ground his teeth together, "It's odd that you came from the only room where we have an escape into the sewers that only one of us would know about… And please explain why you unloaded an enemy gun during a gunfight."

He gestured to the gun in my back pocket and Aaron pulled a magazine from it, giving me a wary look.

"We need all the ammo we can get. I stole it," I said quickly.

"Do you think I'm an idiot?" Ben barked. "I'm going to have a look in the sewers. I swear Alayna, if I find even a footprint-"

"What? You'll hurt me again?" I barked, signalling to the purple bruises spreading across my arms. "Am I going to be the next one you hang in The Grange?"

He looked at the marks mottling my body. I had hoped to get a reaction; to stop him from following Tiv, terrified he would find a lot more than footprints. But he said absolutely fucking nothing. He just stared at what he had done to me, his features blank. If I'd thought my brother changed after Hayley died, it was worse now. Ben was dead.

After a few wordless seconds, he stalked towards the room where I had let Tiv go ten minutes earlier, not bothering to glance back at me or Michael.