10. Chapter Ten - Wilder
As we trudge back into the Blade Precinct, the sun is just beginning to peek over the horizon.
Our bodies are heavy with exhaustion.
I’ve been breaking up fights, putting out fires, and ensuring the blackout didn’t cause any irreparable damage.
Most places have backup generators, but areas like the Burned-Over District remain shrouded in darkness.
Smoke clings to our clothes, and the gritty feeling of tiredness burns in our eyes.
But I still need to tell my team I am going to Aurora.
We need to come up with a plan for while I am gone.
I collapse into a chair at the large, oval table in the debriefing room.
Scattered pens and notepads litter the surface.
Soter sits across from me while Isolde leans against the wall, her arms crossed tightly, as she stays as far away from Soter as possible.
The whiteboard behind us is a blank canvas, wiped clean of the chaotic scribbles and diagrams that once mapped out our latest case.
“I go to Aurora in two days,” I announce, and Soter narrows his eyes.
“You can’t fucking leave,” Isolde says.
“It’s already been decided,” I say.
Leigh sent me a message about her time spent with the Lua representative, who happened not to be a wolf but a witch.
She mentioned that the witch, Ravi, said he was her distant cousin, but she didn’t believe him, given his ties to Alden.
It seems too quick to dismiss his claims, but I understand her hesitancy.
Trust doesn’t come easily to her.
But when I pressed her for details, her texts stopped.
She probably fell asleep.
At least, I hope that’s the case.
I wanted to stay with her during the visit, but a prison breach required my attention.
The power outage had left jail cells unlocked, with prisoners wandering the halls—we nearly had a full mutiny on our hands.
“You are needed here,” Soter says.
I blink between them.
There was a chance they would gripe about my departure, but I didn’t think they would outright refute it.
“Soter, you’re in charge,” I announce.
Isolde balks.
“Are you kidding?”
I groan.
“Soter is Domna.”
She shakes her head, her blue hair catching in the morning sun.
“I refuse to answer to him .”
“Excuse you, I have a name!” Soter yells.
Isolde laughs.
“Yeah, Satan. ”
“Is that so?” Soter grins.
“Well, honey, if this is Hell, I am dragging you down with me.”
I trail a hand down my face.
Neither of them has that little voice inside their head—the one that keeps people from saying things they shouldn’t.
I’m too tired for them both to have a tantrum.
“I learned my lesson the first time. I’m not going anywhere with you, ever,” Isolde growls.
Soter rises to his feet, fingers clawing at the table.
“I happen to remember it being more than onc?—”
“Shut up! Both of you! You are Blades. Start acting like professionals, or get the fuck out of my precinct,” I yell.
They both fall silent, gaping at me.
Isolde yanks out a chair to sit.
“We’re up to our necks in shit here, and you’re just going to take off?”
“Look, I know the timing sucks, but I volunteered to go. We need the power back online, and someone needs to talk to Stellan. I know Aurora. My friends are there, and I know the power station’s owner. I can make a difference and help ease the situation.”
Soter raises an eyebrow.
“Friends? Wilder, when did you last speak to anyone in Aurora?”
I brush off his question.
It’s been months since I responded to texts and emails, but they know I am overworked.
They’ll understand.
“Soter, I need you to contact Commander Eddo to arrange my arrival with the Aurora precinct.”
Soter nods, his jaw tight.
“I’ll take care of it. But, Wilder, are you sure?—”
The door to the debrief room bursts open, and Jaxson stumbles in with an exhausted expression.
“Janus is safe,” he shares before collapsing into the chair beside me.
“But she’s not talking. She says she can’t tell anyone where she’s been. Has anyone made coffee?”
A knot tightens in my gut.
“Janus is the president, Jaxson. She can’t just disappear and then refuse to explain herself.”
“Coffee’s brewing, but you can have this.” Isolde slides a power bar toward Jax.
Jaxson tears the wrapper, saying, “I tried to get her to talk. But she says it’s classified. I can’t exactly force her.”
I sink my teeth into my bottom lip.
Leigh is going to think the worst about Janus.
Fucking perfect.
Jax clears his throat.
When I turn to him, his expression is uneasy.
“There’s something else, Wilder. Pallas and I spoke on my way here. He mentioned that Prince Alden Lupas is visiting Leigh the day you leave for Aurora. Leigh invited him to stay at the palace.”
During Nyx’s trial, Pallas has been bunking with me at Desiree’s old loft.
He testified last week, ensuring Chiron remains a permanent resident in his little cell beneath the sea.
The trial has been hard on him, but now that it’s over, I guess I have my answer to what he will do to keep busy.
“I know that Alden is coming to discuss an alliance with Leigh, but how the hell does Pallas know that?” Alden coming to stay with Leigh while I am away doesn’t sit well with me.
I trust her, but his reputation precedes him.
He’s about as moral as an alley cat.
I hold up a hand when Jaxson opens his mouth.
“Don’t tell me because then I will have to do something about it.”
“Wilder, I think you should reconsider Aurora. With Alden visiting and Janus going silent, Leigh needs trustworthy people. She needs you,” Isolde says.
“And what about Marlowe?” Soter asks.
A chill spreads over me at the thought of leaving when issues keep piling up.
But at the same time, I know I can’t turn my back on Aurora; everything happening there affects us here.
“I hear you both.” I sigh.
“But, Soter, I trust you’ll keep an eye out for Marlowe and run the show.” My attention moves to Isolde.
“You’re right. Leigh needs trustworthy people around her, so I’m sending you to the palace to keep an eye on her.”
Isolde fists her hands atop the table.
“You want me to play chaperone for your girlfriend?”
“Is there a problem?”
Sol clenches her jaw but doesn’t fight back.
Soter takes a breath.
“So, Isolde gets to play princess while I have to do all the work?”
“Soter, you have a team of Blades at your disposal, which includes Jaxson.” Jaxson’s smile fades at this.
“He’s to be your second-in-command while I’m gone. He can search for Marlowe while you run things.”
“My week just got a lot worse,” Jax grumbles with a look at Soter.
Soter glares back.
I swallow to force down my annoyance.
Jax never wants to take on more responsibility.
He had the chance to compete in the upcoming Domna Trials in Glaucus, but he refused to put himself out there, content to coast instead.
I thought that with me as commander, he would take more initiative, but I was wrong.
I still trust him more than anyone and need him at the center of things while I’m gone.
I roll back my chair to stand.
“I need to go to the palace. Jaxson, you’re with me. Isolde, go pack, and meet us there when you are done. Soter, do something productive. And please, try not to burn the place down while I’m away.”
Soter folds his arms.
“Why does Jaxson get to go with you? I’m your Domna.”
I frown.
“Because he told me about Janus.”
“Idiot,” Isolde mumbles.
As Jaxson and I leave the precinct, an overwhelming weight tugs at my heart, pulling me in a thousand different directions.
Leaving Borealis and Leigh is a painful separation, the hardest thing I have ever faced.
Yet, the chance to create a real difference in Aurora sparks a determination within me.
I know I must embrace this opportunity, even if it requires temporarily sacrificing my happiness.
I just hope that when I come back, there will still be a city left to protect and a woman waiting for me.