Chapter Sixty-Nine
Saphyra
I walked from the brig into the guard station, with Shadow watching over me. The room was full of men and women in plain clothes holding farm tools like weapons. Where I expected to find hollow eyed resignation, instead I found hope peering back at me from all those dirty, bedraggled faces.
Albion rummaged through cages where extra weaponry was stored, and handed out rifles to anyone that could claim a reasonable competence. The other alphas were already fully loaded up with armor and gear that I assumed had been salvaged from the same source.
The outer door was open, and more people milled in the wide corridor that led to the central hub of the level. branches split off into more holding areas, but they were all empty. This floor was just a half-finished prison. Considering the population, this seemed like wasted resources.
As I made my way further down the hall, citizens bowed with reverence when I passed. My stomach churned with nerves, and a cold sweat dampened my brow. This wasn’t a game. These people were counting on me to save them. I didn’t know if I could do that. The other pressing thought that hung over my head was that it was no longer an if, but a when, that I’d have to confront my mother’s murderer and any other traitors that backed her.
This was bigger than just me and it felt like more than I could handle alone. All these people were my responsibility now, and I wouldn’t stand by while they were being abused by the leadership that was meant to care for them.
I was the rightful queen by blood, but more than that. There was something in me that was driven to right the wrongs that had been done here, regardless of who my mother was. The planet chose me, and I chose it back.
But Stars… how was I going to do that? One step at a time, I supposed.
I caught up with Jared at the end of the plain-walled corridor. He had a small army of helpers gathered around him, holding electric torches and passing him tools. He was elbow deep in an open access panel in the wall next to a massive blast door.
“I’m sorry for the delay, Your Majesty. These doors are not designed to be opened once they’ve been sealed,” he said with a grimace.
I looked closer at what he was doing, but couldn’t make any sense of it. “But you know a way?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. I do.” He smiled as something clunked, and gears groaned and rattled in the wall. “There’s a failsafe for emergencies. All you have to do is unlock the counter-weight and it should…”
The door creaked and popped open an inch.
Shadow shouldered the solid block of metal wide, the hinges protesting the whole way. “We may have a problem.”
My shoulders slumped. One step forward, two steps back. “What is it?”
“I contacted Maddox. Lex and Axion are dealing with stragglers on the top levels, but have been met with some resistance. Their entrance wasn’t quiet, and troops were sent to deal with them. They’re fine but delayed. It’s taking longer than expected to fight through. Also, as we know, our location is likely compromised now that we’ve used comms.” Shadow sounded very calm about all of this.
If he was right, and everything was fine, then I had no reason to panic. “Well, then, we need to move, obviously. Can they just meet us there?”
“That’s probably the best plan. But it’s not the only issue. We have a single team of trained alphas and maybe one hundred farmers. We have twenty plasma rifles divided among the group and a whole lot of pitchforks. There are a shit ton of soldiers between here and the throne room and not all of them are friendly,” he replied.
Most of that I knew already, but I hadn’t worried about it because there was a solid steel door blocking the way. Now there wasn’t. We had to actually go out there.
“Okay, but they were all called back to the noble sector to guard the throne room, right?” I asked.
Albion and the rest of the alphas joined us near the open exit and were nodding in agreement.
“So we shouldn’t have any trouble until we’re on that level, assuming we can get through all the locked doors?”
More nods.
Albion stepped forward. “But once there, we need a plan because while we are good at our jobs, ten trained soldiers, two medics, and, respectfully, a bunch of farmers, aren’t going to make it far in a sector packed with troops whose loyalties are unknown.”
“Violet?” I looked around for my friend, finding her hurrying down the corridor toward me.
“Yes, ma’am, I’m right here.”
“Remember that time we snuck into the administration wing and there were all the servants’ halls? Do they have that in the noble sector?” I figured they must. Edeth didn’t seem like the type who’d want to see menial workers going about their business.
“Of course, ma’am. Most of the upper floors have them.”
“I assume there are passages to service the throne room, then?”
“Yes, there are. There’s actually a few.” As soon as she said it, her big blue eyes widened with understanding.
“Easy. We use those. It’ll give us the advantage of surprise.” I had some other ideas that we could discuss on the way.
We divided into three teams with the trained alphas leading each, and someone that understood how the fail safes on the doors worked with a little instruction from Jared, and headed out as quietly as a large group of farmers could.
The servants’ halls were quiet and dim, with floors carpeted in a thin shag to muffle the sound of footsteps. The nobles must not have wanted to be bothered with sounds of the household staff going about their duties. I would imagine that even the smallest noise would have been an annoyance not worth bearing. It benefited us, though. Because with the thirty or so people I had with me, we were silent.
My pulse thundered with anticipation. Shadow was a steady, calming influence by my side. He was completely in his element if the quiet focus through the bond was anything to go by. In fact, all my alpha mates felt similarly focused. Grey was projecting tightly leashed anxiety. I appreciated the effort, but he and I were not trained for this, and some panic was to be expected.
Jared moved through the group to the front and went to work on the door that was barring the way. It would let us out directly into the throne room next to the main entrance. The other two teams would be entering through side doors to secure the exits.
My heart throbbed in my throat and I tried to swallow it down, but the panic was like a flood through my veins. Shadow and Grey came up beside me and each put a hand on either shoulder. My stomach was uncomfortably tight and my mind was fuzzy. Silently, I chanted, you can do this while my hands shook.
Jared stood from his crouched position next to the maintenance panel with a nod. He’d done it. It was unlocked. Shadow checked his comms unit and held up five fingers, slowly lowering them one at a time. The only thing I could hear was my panicked breathing as the last finger dropped and Jared pulled the door open, and I stepped into the light.