Chapter One
Oblivion
“Death awaits, all things shall end,
The sands of time prove no man’s friend.
Fret, resist with all thine might,
Still the Reaper gleans at night.
Soulless rulers place their bid,
Tears and weakness soothe their Id.
When the bell doth toll for thee,
God rest your soul, sleep in peace.”
A passage from ‘Red Prose: A Collection of Cautionary Children’s Folksongs’
Origin: Postbellum North America
Year of publication: Unknown
Author: Unknown
Status: Banned from publication and distribution
***
Julian
“You took her where?”
I felt my temperature soar with every second that passed, having just heard the most ridiculous words leave Silas’ mouth.
“She knows the layout of the Tine Facility,” he explained, as if that were a valid excuse for endangering her life. “She’s breached their security several times before tonight.”
Fury seeped into my gaze when I finally glanced up toward Silas.
The idea that he’d take Corina on this … mission without so much as a word of warning to Levi and I, so we would have at least had some sort of idea of their whereabouts, was incomprehensible.
“Not only did you put her wellbeing in jeopardy, but mine and Levi’s as well. Have you forgotten that our lives are linked?” I pointed out. “What were you thinking? Or is that it? You weren’t thinking?”
Silas lowered his gaze then, seeming to only now consider the full scale of how royally he screwed up tonight.
“I just … we needed the blood sample,” he stated boldly. “If I couldn’t get my hands on that, this would have all been a lost cause anyway. Perhaps I was so hyper-focused on that aspect, I took risks I shouldn’t have.”
There was a sense of humility in his tone that I didn’t miss. However, having him see the error of his ways after the fact wouldn’t do any of us much good.
“She’s uninjured?” I asked harshly, casting a cold glare Silas’ way.
“She’s fine. There weren’t any close calls. No chance we were seen,” he answered.
He’d gotten lucky. I couldn’t guarantee I wouldn’t have forgotten he was my brother if his response had been different.
Frustrated, I unbuttoned the jacket to my tux and began to pace. There hadn’t even been time to change out of it after escorting Mother to the cocktail party in my father’s absence, before being met in the foyer by Si with this insane confession.
How could he have been so reckless, knowing how vulnerable Corina still was for now? If anyone should have made her safety a priority, it was the three of us.
Levi sat in the armchair, staring at the fire that blazed. Seeing him deep in thought, I could only imagine he was equally as angered by what we’d just been told.
Three hard knocks at the front door echoed throughout the house, disrupting the silence. At the sound of it, my heart leapt once inside my chest. Levi and I shared a gaze. Perhaps thinking the same thought. No one dared to step foot on palace grounds uninvited at this time of night. Unless there was some sort of emergency.
Without a word, I moved toward the sound of a second urgent knock, preparing myself for whatever bad news I feared awaited me. Levi and Silas followed closely behind.
The front door swung open quietly as we reached the foyer. Elle had beaten us there by mere seconds. Peering out beyond the threshold, my security detail stood stoically, having just escorted a handful of sentinels onto the property. Rain pelted their jackets as the storm behind them seemed to intensify.
Right away, I had a sense of this visit being nothing like I expected.
“Evening, gentlemen,” I forced out, clearing my throat right after. It felt like a stone rested in the pit of my stomach.
The one who led the pack nodded once as rainwater dripped from the brim of his cap. “Good evening, Your Highness. We’d like to speak with you regarding an urgent matter.”
My eyes darted from one’s suspicious gaze to another, and that strange feeling within me grew stronger. It would have been polite to invite them to come in out of the rain, but I couldn’t speak the words.
“We’re aware of the late hour. Which is why we don’t intend to keep you long,” the man reiterated.
There was a particular tone in which I was accustomed to being addressed by the public, and that tone was absent now. It was as though these men believed their authority in whatever this matter was outranked my own.
In fact, the impromptu visit had quickly taken on an air of hostility. Perhaps sensing the same, my guards each placed one hand on their holsters as they eyed the sentinels with suspicion.
“Your Highness, should we escort them back to their vehicles?” Collin asked boldly.
Being the most trusted among my detail, it didn’t surprise me that he read my rigid posture. However, the question earned him a scornful glare from the only officer who’d spoken thus far.
“That won’t be necessary,” I replied, hoping to diffuse the tension. “I’m certain these men can state their business peaceably.”
The five who didn’t belong stared with mistrust deepening the lines in their foreheads.
“Very well. Let’s get right down to it, then,” the officer declared. “We’ve come to seize and deliver one by the name of Mistress Corina.”
“Deliver her?” Levi piped. “Into whose custody?”
“We are neither obligated nor permitted to disclose such information,” the man answered. “However, what I can state is that the one who has issued the charge prefers that this matter be handled as amicably as possible.”
Meaning, the choice was ours. Either we could do this the easy way, or the hard way. I glanced toward my brothers, feeling my chest restricting with rage.
“Like hell!” Levi scoffed. “I can assure you, if Corina is ripped from this house it will be anything but amicable.”
“Pardon me,” Silas cut in after stepping forward, “but might I ask your names, gentlemen?” His gaze settled on each of the officers.
“Certainly,” the one who seemed to be in charge offered. “This is Major General Hughes, Colonels Blanchette and Finnigan, First Lieutenant Burns, Lieutenant Colonel Garvey, and myself—General Woodson.”
There was silence among my brothers, Elle, and I. Possibly because it dawned on us at once that the men who stood before us weren’t mere errand boys. These were high-ranking officers someone had called upon to seize our mate. Yet, we still had no insight into who that someone was, nor the motive that fueled this mandate.
On palace grounds, my guards outranked sentinels. However, besides Percival himself, only my father outranked the five at my doorstep.
Needless to say, our beloved presiding emperor wouldn’t lift a finger to act on Corina’s behalf. Not even if my life depended on it, I feared.
The rims of my nostrils flared when a thought occurred to me. Silas insisted he and Corina had been careful on their ‘mission’, but who’s to say they hadn’t been spotted? For all we knew, word had spread quickly, as high up in the ranks as Dr. Percival, and he spearheaded this ambush himself.
The haze of frustration quickly cleared, allowing room for rational thought to return. If this were about the Tine Facility break-in, Silas would have been apprehended as well.