Chapter 25
Chapter Twenty-Five
We stop, staring at Stella’s projection. Considering what she’s trained to do and the number of things she has seen, she doesn’t use the words ‘we have a problem’ lightly.
‘What happened?’ I ask.
‘Central Command has been watching footage of your contribution to the mission,’ she says slowly. ‘Of what your magic is capable of.’
This titbit of information doesn’t seem so bad in itself, but it’s the tone in which Stella tells me this that makes me fear the worst. ‘And this isn’t good because…’
‘The Commanders don’t think your magic is suitable for the Warriors’ Quarter, but that potentially, your offspring might be powerful in the field. They’ve selected a partner for you. I’m sorry, Ellie. They’ll force you into a partnership as soon as you arrive.’
I’m not even processing that information properly, and my legs buckle from underneath me. Mace bands an arm around my waist to steady me, and I lean on him. ‘What?’
Mace lets out a string of curses and Allen whistles, rubbing his eyes.
This is bad. This is more than awful.
‘They can’t force her,’ Xandra scoffs. ‘She isn’t even a Warrior.’
‘Central Command traditionally selects partners for the Warriors who are of particular interest,’ Stella replies.
Of course. This was what Xandra was on about, when she said that she’s destined for Mace.
That she always will be. ‘But this extends to all citizens. Central Command just happened not to show any interest in people from other Quarters for a long time.’
‘The fuck they’ll force this on her,’ Mace answers.
I cling to Mace as hard as I can. I thought I was ready for this, but how wrong I was.
Nothing could have ever prepared me for the feeling of having my heart ripped out of my chest. My stomach revolts at the mere thought of being intimate with anyone else but Mace, at Central Command’s behest. ‘I won’t do it, Mace,’ I whisper. ‘I won’t.’
Mace’s grip is fierce on my arm. ‘And I won’t allow this to happen.’
‘Stella, what are our options?’ Allen asks, turning to her. ‘How can we get Ellie out of this?’
‘Central Command has just given the order to prepare the paperwork, so I didn’t have the time to go through our options,’ Stella replies.
‘So, we need more time,’ Julian says.
‘We’ll think of something. We have to,’ Xandra adds. The fierce protectiveness in her tone makes me look up. ‘This isn’t right, Ellie. This is the essence of what’s wrong with The Citadel. This isn’t what our lives should be.’
‘Ellie.’ Mace turns me around to face him, his hand on my cheek. There’s so much heartbreak in his gaze that I can’t even look at him without tears gathering in my eyes. ‘You need to run. You need to leave us.’
‘If you do,’ Stella says, ‘it will have to be now. Before your team is delayed too much and Central Command starts wondering why that is. You know I have to answer to them, Ellie, if they ask.’
‘But…’ But if I do, if they reach the finish line without all its members, Team Gold will lose so many points. They’ll be ranked low, and they won’t receive a good position in the Warriors’ Quarters.
My escape could cost them their entire futures.
Don’t they realise what they’re signing up for?
‘But if I run, then it’ll all have been for nothing.’ The weeks in the wilderness, the tests we were put through. I could have just as well turned back to my tiny room in the Outer Circle the moment that Stella spat me through that chute from the party.
Like Mace had wanted me to.
Mace draws soft circles with his thumb on my cheekbone. ‘It wasn’t for nothing, Ellie. Never.’
‘I can’t let you pay the price,’ I say. A tear slides down my cheek and Mace brushes it away.
‘This will cost you everything.’ Their ranking.
Their positions after the end of their Apprenticeship.
Their ticket towards securing more support, more popularity.
‘I can go back with you. Finish the Test Mission and then see if I can make my escape.’
‘Their eyes will be on you, love,’ Allen says. ‘I don’t think you’ll be able to.’
‘How about afterwards? For how long do you think Stella will be able to keep my position from them? If they ask, she’ll have to tell them where I’m hiding,’ I say. ‘Isn’t that so?’
‘There are a few scenarios in which that won’t be necessary. But I need time to analyse them,’ Stella says.
Mace and Allen exchange a look and I’m about to ask what they intend to do, when Xandra says, ‘You need to go, Ellie. Now.’
Then Mace is pushing me away. ‘Stella. Open a path for Ellie to go somewhere safe. And don’t let her come back to us, no matter what.’
I’m scratching at Mace’s forearms, trying to hold on to him. ‘No. No. I won’t.’
Mace flexes his jaw, still shoving me away from him.
‘Things might get nasty. And I don’t want to put you in a position where you need to hurt someone.
I’ve seen what it does to you, and I’ll protect you from that, no matter what it takes.
These are my orders as Team Captain. You will not finish this mission with us.
Stella, open an escape route for her and make sure she complies.
I forbid you to give her our coordinates or help her find her way back to us. ’
‘No!’ I shout.
‘It’s for the best,’ Mace says as the metal sheets in the wall at my back rearrange to form a door. ‘Do it, Stella. Follow my orders.’
The man I adore more than anyone in this world, shoves me through the opening so hard that I stumble.
Before I catch myself, the door snaps shut in front of me and I’m left to pound at sheer, thick, unmovable metal.
‘Stella! Open the door! Right this instant!’ I can’t hear a single thing on the other side, and I assume they can’t hear me, either.
For the first time in weeks, I’ve lost connection to my team. I’ve lost sight of the man I love.
It’s happening, all over again. My worst nightmare: Central Command is tearing me and Mace apart. And it’s breaking me in two.
I scream and pound at the metal, but there is no way back for me. Stella refuses to comply with my demands. I sink to the metal floor, feeling more alone than I’ve ever felt in my entire life.
I need less than ten minutes to get my bearings and decide on what to do next.
Fight.
The Ellie who started this mission would have given up.
She would have curled up somewhere she thought was safe and waited for whatever was coming for her.
She would have made peace with it. And she would have waited for the blow, thinking of ways to get over whatever shit Central Command was about to throw at her.
But if Team Gold has taught me something, it’s how to fight. I need to get back to my friends. I need to stand by their side throughout what’s coming.
Fight.
I get up, scanning the surroundings. I’m in a rectangular room, with a closed door at the other end.
‘Are you calm?’ Stella asks.
‘Uh-huh.’
‘You might feel better once you’ve eaten something and taken a shower,’ she says.
I consider her words. ‘Sure,’ I say. I’m right at the entrance to The Citadel. I need Stella to take me somewhere closer to the city. And then to find a way to get back to my team.
I can sense that Mace is on the verge of doing something colossally stupid.
And it’s not like I have delusions of grandeur and want to be a part of the new Central Command.
If Team Gold issues a Challenge, I would be a laughing stock, and a liability to them and their credibility, since I was always the runt of whichever Quarter I was stuck into.
But I know that I can help.
I’m not useless. I’ve learned that if nothing else during the past few weeks.
In the end, the enemy Warriors were running away from me.
‘Let me guide you to a nice, quiet room,’ Stella says.
‘Lead the way,’ I say in a sugary voice.
Stella opens the door at the back of the chamber. I rush through it, before she changes her mind. A tunnel opens, leading upwards. It will be good enough. I need to get closer to the heart of The Citadel.
I rush through the tunnel, checking my ART. Every single function has been disabled. Of course. I pull at my ear, trying to call Allen through the bean, but he must have done something to it, because my bean is inactive.
I stalk through the endless tunnel, cursing through my teeth. Did they think they could shut me out?
They should think again.
‘Where are you taking me?’ I ask Stella.
‘To a safe chamber,’ she says.
‘Do you know what’s safe? My room at The Citadel. I could take a shower there.’
‘Your room is currently being monitored closely by Central Command,’ Stella says. ‘It’s the least safe location I can send you to.’
Anger makes my blood boil. ‘And for how long will that chamber be safe? If Central Command catches on that you’re hiding me, they’ll force you to give up my location,’ I say.
Stella says, ‘That might happen. But my parameters show that the top priority now is to gain everyone a bit of time.’
I grind my teeth. Time for what? A door opens to my right, leading to another long tunnel. I step right through it. ‘And which parameters do you mean? Your basic ones? Or the ones who make you think like Franka?’
There’s a long pause, and then Stella says, ‘Allen is currently uploading the last block of information, the one you recovered three days ago.’
‘Where are they? Where’s my team?’ I want to take down every single metal door that’s keeping me away from them, but I remind myself, Not yet.
‘You know I can’t tell you that,’ she says. ‘But I finally know what you are, Ellie. I’m starting to rearrange the training protocols that you need for your Apprenticeship. When I have all the information that I need, I’ll be able to set up a Quarter that will accommodate you.’
I take in a sharp breath. A Quarter? A Quarter where I belong? With training protocols suited to my powers?
I throw out a hand to steady myself. ‘Training protocols? Suited for me? What am I?’
‘You’re a Shield.’
This isn’t the first time I’ve heard this. About the Shields. What did the Pikenian Captain say, when he called the retreat?