Chapter 30
“Strategy room. Now.” I hadn’t even noticed Hannan passing before he grabbed my arm, dragging me with him.
“Okay, okay,” I shook free from his grasp and called my goodbyes to Archie, who looked at me with equal confusion and worry.
We’d just found each other to hang out after he’d finished sword fighting practice with Lili and Felix, and I’d practiced moon magic with Jax.
Hannan was stressed. His eyes darted from the people we passed to me and then to the ground. Even though it was late evening, the base buzzed with people.
As soon as we entered the strategy room, I noticed the thick tension that fouled the air. Cannon was there, looking distressed as he sat nervously. Only the cluttered table in the middle separated him from Verena’s deadly stare.
Otieno was leaning against the wall, hands stuffed into the pockets of his coat. A slight crooked smile curled his lips as he watched his woman tear into Cannon.
Why was I here?
It seemed Verena wanted me at every uncomfortable meeting she ever held. “You can’t stop me,” she snarled, slamming her hand on the table.
“I won’t have my team do it,” Cannon’s voice carried through the room, stronger than I’d thought possible when looking at his paling face. “And they won’t do it without me.”
She leaned back to fix him with a sinister smile. “I think they will. I think they’ll see what I’m trying to do here. For the Rebellion. I know you’re not a mooncaster. You’ve never had to hide away in fear of getting killed or imprisoned, even when you lived in Erobred.”
“Yes, I was invisible to the Defenders like the rest of the people born without powers. That doesn’t mean I don’t want what’s best for the Rebellion too. But I don’t want to risk killing thousands of innocent people, Verena.”
“Unfortunately, that isn’t your choice to make.”
“Verena. Cannon. What’s going on here?” Hannan seated himself at the table and folded his hands in front of him. His voice was calm compared to the other two.
“Cannon is refusing a direct order. I’ve been the leader of this Rebellion for more than twenty years. I know what’s best.”
“She wants me to make enough bombs to destroy the entire bloody kingdom!” Cannon shouted, banging his shaking hands onto the table as he stood up. “If you insist on forcing the matter, I have no choice but to leave.”
“And risk you running to the King and telling him about our plans?” Otieno’s smooth voice sounded from the corner. He was still every bit as calm as the night, almost looking like the situation amused him. But his eyes reflected the same fire as Verena’s.
My heart drummed frantically in my chest as my eyes flickered between them. Verena narrowed her eyes at the raven-haired man in front of her, who, in turn, stared at Otieno with a look of disbelief on his paling face.
“Maybe you should leave, Prudence,” Hannan said.
“No,” Verena snarled, fixing her purple eyes on me. “I asked you to get her for me so that she can see what happens if anyone tries to compromise this mission.”
I realized why I was invited here now. She wanted me to see what would happen if I chose to defy her. She was going to imprison Cannon like she did me, only he didn’t deserve it. He only wanted to save innocent lives.
Verena was blinded by her hatred for the King. I still shuddered, remembering when Hannan had told me that Defenders had murdered her entire family.
I shifted uncomfortably in the doorway, my mind begging my feet to take me as far away from this messed-up situation as possible. Instead, they carried me to the chair Verena gestured for me to sit in. I sank slowly into the chair next to her, the cold that radiated from her body making me shiver.
“I won’t tell anyone about the Rebellion,” Cannon said, his pleading eyes finding Hannan. “You know I won’t.”
Hannan nodded dolefully. “We know. If you choose to leave, that is your decision. I’d be sad to see you go, but—”
“But nothing,” Verena cut in, folding her arms over her chest. “Cannon isn’t leaving. Is he, love?” She spoke the last words over her shoulder to Otieno, who kicked off the wall to stand behind her.
His hands clasped her shoulders, rubbing tiny, easing circles on her skin. “No, he’s not.”
What happened next went by in a blur—the sudden flick of Otieno’s wrist and the dagger lodging deeply into Cannon’s throat. I hadn’t even seen him pull out the weapon.
The gurgled noises coming from the man kneeling on the ground, clutching the gaping hole in his neck, filled the room. It echoed off the walls, drowning out the sound of my frantic heartbeat in my ears.
Crimson blood trickled from his mouth to his white shirt, forming a pool of thick liquid beneath him.
I sat frozen in the chair, barely breathing, as I watched the life leave Cannon’s vividly green eyes, wide and scared as they stared into the cold gaze of his killer.
Copper filled the air in the room until all I could see was red. All I could smell was death.
Cannon’s body sacked, and he fell backward. The hard crunch from his skull as he hit the floor made me wince. But he didn’t feel it. He was dead before his body took its final resting form on the ground.
Everyone was silent for what felt like forever until the sound of scraping chairs startled me, pulling my gaze from the horrid sight. Cannon’s crumbled, bloody body and unblinking eyes had me gasping for air. At that moment, it felt as though I was the one no longer breathing.
Hannan grabbed my arm to pull me from the chair, pushing me protectively behind him.
“Leave, Prue. Now!” he yelled, not taking his eyes off the dangerous couple. They both stood, smirking, their eyes narrowing in on Hannan in unison. As Verena’s purple eyes found mine, I’d never felt in as much danger. I’d rather have a hundred Defenders on my heels than the couple before me.
Before Verena could protest, I sprinted for the door. I barely managed to stumble out of the building before I doubled over. I heaved in rapid breaths, clutching my stomach until nothing remained inside it. Sour paste coated my mouth, and tears prickled my eyes.
Then I continued to move forward, desperate to put as much distance between myself and that room as possible.
I’d thought they’d put Cannon in that cell to rot until we got back from the mission. He’d been a part of the Rebellion for almost a decade. Yet, they’d killed him like he was nothing more than a pawn. They’d used him until it was no longer convenient.
I choked on a sob, running my hands over my wet cheeks as I hurried away. Would she have killed him if it wasn’t to send me a message?
Her threat to my life squeezed the air from my lungs until I could no longer think.
The other rebels couldn’t be okay with a leader who killed her own people. Did she expect Hannan and I to keep our mouths shut? Did she suspect that no one would believe me if I tried to expose her? Would she hurt Hannan, too?
My knees hit the cold dirt. I hadn’t even realized I’d walked to the forest, but the sting of the pine needles pressing into the soft skin of my palms grounded me.
I broke free of the hysteria building up inside me. My thumping heart slowed a fraction, the ringing in my ears subsiding. And though every instinct I had screamed for me to obey Verena’s orders, I decided I had to stop her. I had to break the curse.
And I only knew one person who could help me do it.