Catalyst

warnings: language, violence

Chapter 28:
402 A.V; Month 11; Day 7

Sleeping had been easy for the first few hours, but I'd woken up with Bryn's dead eyes staring back at me. From then on, I was tossing and turning, no matter what Andon did. It was strange knowing he was there and I felt bad and finally told him that he'd sleep better on his own, but he'd pulled me close and said he wasn't leaving.

I'd managed to get a few more solid hours in early that morning. Waking up to pale light filtering in through the curtains and Andon still lying there was extremely comforting. I felt warm, but I only got to feel warm for a second as a heavy hand beat against the door. Andon shot up immediately and held out a hand for me to stop moving.

"Just stay here," he murmured, "Let me take care of this."

"I'm not staying here just in case he tries to hurt you," I said and followed him to the door. I wasn't ready to fight with Priam. My heart wasn't in it, so no matter what Priam said, I didn't care. Andon opened the door and Priam stood there, looking unpredictable. He had dark circles underneath his eyes, which were cold.

"I hope I didn't wake you," he hissed.

"Oh no, not at all," Andon said.

"Move," Priam said, his eyes finding me. I was standing behind Andon but he could still see my face.

"Why?" Andon asked.

"Why? So I can have some fun with her."

"You'll do no such thing," Andon said in an even tone, "And, given her Prospect status, I'm sure she can have you thrown out, even jailed."

"Oh, is that so?" Priam asked, "So you can have fun with her and I can't?" His statement pissed me off. I hadn't wanted to say anything, but I knew I had to or he wasn't going to leave without a fight.

"I killed a child yesterday, Priam," I snapped, "We didn't have any fun, so get the fuck out of the doorway and go find someone else to bug."

"I want to see you," he said, but I kept myself hidden behind Andon.

"You're going to turn around," Andon said, "And leave us be."

"No, I want to see her."

"I will knock you out and then I'll have the others hogtie you like they did last night."

"I don't care about those mutinous bastards. All of them are as good as dead, just like you, Andon. You're all as good as dead." With that he turned away and Andon closed the door.

"He's losing screws, isn't he?" I asked.

Andon turned and looked a little apprehensive, like he didn't want to say what he was thinking. But, then there was another knock on the door. Andon opened it back up and let Maxine in.

"Is everything okay?" she asked, looking from me to Andon.

"Fine for now," Andon said. She smiled briefly at me before hugging me around the middle. It was a shock at first, but I hugged her back tightly. Then she pulled away and looked back at Andon.

"I checked scores last night and she wasn't on the lists." He looked bothered for a moment.

"She couldn't have scored high enough to get an interview," he said in disbelief.

"It's not there, I checked several times. They have to be announcing it this morning."

"What does all this mean?" I asked, confused.

"Every winner is given a score. Ten to forty is put on a list. You really can't score below ten and anything above forty is announced live during an interview."

"How many normally score above forty?" I asked.

"Maybe twenty," he said, "And they are almost always Prospects."

"So what's going to happen in the interview?" I asked, getting nervous and twisting my hands together.

"They ask you questions, try to make you personable, like you're not killing people."

"But, I don't want to answer any questions," I said, "They are going to ask how I felt. I can't tell them and I can't lie." I felt myself getting worked up again and Andon made his way forward.

"It's up to you, Alloy, but there are two options. I can make some calls and see if I can get it postponed, but that will make you look weak. Or you can get it done and over with today."

"It's a game," I whispered, "He wants to see just how far he can push me."

"Exactly," Andon murmured, lightly brushing my hair out of my face.

"I have to push back." I looked him in the eyes before glancing at Maxine, "Does it say what time the interview is?"

"It should," she said, "I'll go check." She disappeared and I leaned forward, letting my forehead come to rest on Andon's shoulder.

"I can't sit around and pout or it'll eat away at me. I have to keep moving forward, pushing through." Andon turned his face so that his lips were near my ear.

"You truly are the strongest person I've ever known." I let out a breath and relaxed for a moment, standing there against him. Then I stepped away and gave him a small smile.

"I'll be fine, for now anyway." I got changed into lounge clothes and Andon followed me from the room. We joined Maxine, as well as Klider and Flint in the living room. Klider looked reluctant to speak, but eventually did and it was more to all of us than to me personally.

"I thought it'd be easy," he said, shaking his head slightly, "It's different, watching it on TV. The people—they don't even seem real. And yet you—," he looked down at his lap and shook his head again, "You have my respect, always."

"It's not going to get any easier," Andon told him, "I'm almost tempted to make you all go. Storm can get you fake identities. Leave, live normal lives." Maxine turned her head and looked at him.

"You think we're going to leave now?" she asked, "We're in this fight too."

"You guys do what you feel is right," I said. Maxine stopped scrolling and pointed a little, finding my name on the list.

"Her interview is at one," she said. We all looked at the time, it was just after nine. The breakfast people would be coming any minute and I wasn't sure if I was even hungry. They did bustle in, glancing our way, at me specifically. As they finished setting the table, Sabre came down from his room, Priam right behind him. I watched them leave the room, watched Priam smile in a victorious manner.

"He's going to awaken the beast," I muttered. Andon looked at me.

"Hmm?"

"He's going to take out whatever he has implanted in Sabre's head. He's going to make sure Sabre is directly interfering because nothing else is working for him." Andon let out a breath and then moved by, touching his lips to my temple as he did so.

"Then we best be on our A game," he said.

As I sat down I realized that I feared little. There were three things; people I cared for leaving or dying, the darkness, and Sabre. The darkness because I could go there and never leave and Sabre because he'd always be there, in the darkness. Face to face I'd never feared him, never become terrified in his presence, but in the back of my mind I knew he was capable of things most weren't. He truly could take away people I cared for.

"Alloy," Andon murmured. He was sitting beside me now, instead of at the other end of the table.

 "Yeah," I said.

"Your mind is your own and Priam wants you weak. Don't let them get to you."

"You were the one getting angry that I wasn't listening to Priam," I snapped back at him, "And I told you the same thing."

I knew I'd irritated him, I saw it flash in his eyes, but it was the truth. He shouldn't have been telling me not to let them get to me when he would turn around and let them get to him.

"Just eat," he muttered. When breakfast was finished we all sat at the table for a moment. With Priam out of the room and Jamie and Ayal not present, I could tell Andon was wanting to address some things. Finally, he stood up.

"So, everyone sitting at this table has proven their loyalty to Alloy. Priam does not have control right now and he's spiraling. This may seem like a break for us, but it is hardly that. The more he spirals, the more he loses touch. This could mean death to any one of us. I'm not saying live in fear," he said and paused enough to look down at me, "But be careful. Stay in groups is the best advice I can give, this means you too Storm."

"He wouldn't really try to kill any of us, would he?" Maxine asked.

"You need to ask that question?" Klider shot back at her, "He wanted to strangle Alloy last night." Maxine opened her mouth to retort, but Andon held up a hand.

"Enough, I can say without a doubt that Priam is planning something. He's having Sabre's mind control equipment taken out, so he'll be skulking around by this evening. I'd expect something big within the next few days." I sat there, contemplating.

"Priam can be overcome," I said, "Sabre isn't stupid. He isn't easily fooled. He's been acting like a lost puppy and that's all you guys know of him. He's not a puppy, not at all." They looked at me a moment then back to Andon.

"So you're the leader now?" Klider asked, "Leader of the UG and us."

"I'm the leader of nothing," Andon said, "If you four choose to follow us through the rest of this then so be it, but I will not fall back on the Underground."

"Why not? There are a lot of people there that like you," Klider said and then he looked at me, "You could both run it. Alloy, if people there have seen what you're doing they'd follow you for sure." Andon looked unprepared for the question, but I knew what his answer would be. The same answer as mine.

"We only need a small group of people, if not just Andon and myself," I told him, "I do not want an army. I do not want people to get hurt."

"We could rush the city! You wouldn't even have to go through all the fights!" Klider exclaimed, "Andon, come on! You could have so much power, maybe even become president once you kill Nikola." Flint gave Klider a scowl and pushed him back into the seat as if to say relax. The statement bothered me, so I pulled myself up.

"If you're going to treat things like a power struggle, like Priam and Sabre, then you're going to get hurt. Yes, this is a power struggle in a way, but neither of us are interested in standing on top of people to get there. I will kill Nikola, though, because I am the power struggle, the weapon. Andon is mortal, I'm not throwing him or anyone else into Nikola's jaws," I snapped and walked away.

"We're done here," I heard Andon say, "Do not look to me as a leader, look to her." I walked to the closet to get dressed for the day and Andon walked in after I had ordered the clothes.

"Do you not see yourself as mortal?" he asked, scowling a bit.

"I don't know what I am," I told him as the clothes dropped down, "But I know I can survive a hell of a lot more than you can. You're all I have and I'm not about to put you in danger." His expression softened and he let me walk into the bathroom to change. When I stepped back out he was gone, so I assumed he was changing as well.

After I was dressed I stepped back down into the living room, where Maxine was. I realized that Priam had all brought them there with no real intention of using them, but more of a ruse.

"Would you want to go with us to the interview?" I asked. At first she looked a little shocked that I had asked the question.

"Really?"

"Of course," I told her, smiling, "There might be some famous people there."

"Oh my god, I'd love to go," she said and hugged me. Then she stepped back, "And what are you talking about famous for? You're famous now too. They've had replays of your reaction from the fight going all morning."

"But not the fight," I stated.

"No."

"Good," I heard Andon say as he walked up to us, "If they aren't airing the fight then Nikola told them not to. He obviously didn't expect you to follow through. You ready to go?"

"We're taking Maxine," I said noticing that he was freshly showered and looking a little brighter than normal.

"That's just fine," he answered, "Now I don't have to help you get your clothes on." Maxine gave a confused scowl.

"I thought she had a stylist," she said. I looked at her, grinning.

"Oh, you'll love Mav," I said, "She and I don't see eye to eye."

"Literally," Andon muttered.

He walked ahead a little ways as Maxine and I followed. Andon stayed close enough, though, so he could stop reporters from getting in too close. Maxine actually stiff-armed a female reporter trying to swoop in and ask me questions.

"That'll teach her," Maxine muttered.

We did make it to the Bane without any more trouble. Outside of the Bane, the reporters were fenced off. As we were walking, I looked around. It was the same oppressively hot weather and people in brightly colored, exotic clothing. I wondered if they ever got tired of it, tired of being cookie cutter. Andon held the door open for us and Maxine gave him a smile I didn't understand. Then she saw my scowl.

"Oh, sorry," she said quickly. Andon was now walking behind us and spoke up.

"I held the door open, Alloy," he said, obviously understanding that I wasn't scowling at Maxine for smiling at him, but just at why.

"Right, the chivalry thing," I stated.

"I've never had a man open a door for me and you're acting as if he did something alien," Maxine said in a cross tone, "You should enjoy it when he does stuff like that!" I heard Andon chuckle.

"She's right, you know," he said in a matter of fact manner, a little grin on his face.

"Shut up," I muttered, smiling and turning back around.

"Alloy," Maxine protested.

"We've been over this before," Andon told her. Maxine seemed sated for the moment and just as we reached the door to the dressing room, one that I was going to open for him, Andon spoke.

"And she's going to open this one for me." I scowled at him and opened it, scowling still as he sauntered past, grinning in my direction.

"You know what I'm going to do?" I asked him, "I'm going to walk out in that robe and show you my thigh, sir modesty."

"I've seen your thigh, Alloy, try harder."

"An ass cheek then and you're going to have a fit." Maxine was looking at us in a questioning manner as we settled into the room.

"So, wait, are you guys really, truly dating or what?"

Andon looked at her with an eyebrow raised and then looked at me as if asking for help. I was honestly at a loss because we hadn't said anything, but the emotional connection was there. I knew our bond was more than friendship, but it also felt strange to think that most people would call that dating.

"You guys are dating," Maxine said in a matter of fact, bored voice and walked off. I stepped up beside Andon, twisting my fingers in a nervous manner.

"Are we—," I couldn't even get the rest of my question out because my throat closed up with a bit of anxiety. Still, in the back of my mind, I was questioning whether or not he felt anything. He stepped close and I froze, but he only planted a light kiss on my cheek.

"What do you think?" I stepped back and turned so I was facing him directly.

"I don't know," I whispered, blushing profusely, "I didn't—I—does it normally just happen without saying things?" He was smiling warmly and obviously enjoying my spluttering immensely. Maxine must've been listening in because she marched up and shoved Andon.

"Just ask her out goddamn it! And don't do it here, this isn't romantic!" Andon looked a little shocked and I was standing there feeling my insides twisting nervously.

"Alright," Andon said, holding his hands up in surrender, "This whole situation we're in isn't exactly romantic."

Maxine was about to say something back, but the dressing room door opened and Mav stepped out. She looked meek, which was strange, but I understood why after Priam and Sabre stepped out of the room. It was instant, the cold tingle that I got up my spine just looking at Sabre's normal lazy smile, the cunning glint to his eye. It had all been quicker than I had thought, but then again they could have healing devices like Storm here too.

"Long time, no see, Alloy," he said, "You look good."

"Go on and get doing something," Priam said to Mav.

"I should do her hair and makeup first," Mav said.

"I don't give a shit, just do something." Mav hurried forward and guided me into the dressing room. I took Maxine's arm and pulled her in after us.

"Are you okay?" Maxine asked Mav almost instantly, "They didn't do anything to you did they?"

"Alloy, get undressed and put the robe on so you don't mess up your makeup or hair when you put on the dress." Mav ignored Maxine completely and kept her eyes cast on the ground as I pulled off my clothes and slipped on the silvery robe.

"Mav, if they did something to you don't hold it back," I stated. She shook her head and looked at me.

"I'm a big girl, I can take care of my own problems. Let's go back out."

"I'm not going out there in this," I said.

"You should," Maxine stated, "It shows them that you aren't afraid of them."

"You're covered up and all my makeup is out there," Mav muttered.

I let out a breath and followed them out. Priam was sitting in a chair along the wall, looking smug, while Andon sat a little ways away from him, scowling. Sabre was obviously waiting for me, standing in the middle of the room.

"Can I at least get a hug?" Sabre asked, "For old times sake?" I frowned and both Mav and Maxine kept him from getting closer, Maxine stopping to glare at him. Sabre only grinned and looked at her as if she were nothing.

"So you're going to act like I'm not even here?" he asked.

"You're obviously here," I stated, "I don't need to look at you in order for that to be realized."

Maxine pulled herself up to sit on the counter beside me, so she could face Sabre and scowl. Mav pulled my hair out of its braid, which it'd been in since the evening before and combed my hair out. Sabre was pacing behind me; I could see him in the mirror.

"Come on, baby. I kept you safe, protected you." I wasn't dealing with him, not the way he talked, not the way he expected so much from me.

"Sit down," I snapped in a stern tone. He stopped pacing completely and looked at me, a questioning look on his face.

"What was that?"

"I want you to sit down," I told him, "And I want you to shut up." His smile was unsettling, the aroused glint in his eyes.

"Alright," he said, backing up, "But what'll it get me in return?"

"You might get my respect," I said, "If you still want what you told me before we got here. That you want me by your side."

"That's still true," he said, sitting down and lounging as if he owned the place.

"Then listen to me and you'll get what you want. You have to learn, Sabre, I'm not the type of woman to just bow down. You'll have to earn my respect first."

"Alright," he said again. After he was quiet, I realized I'd done something I would've normally done while being dark, but I hadn't felt any of the darkness or heard the wings. It'd just happened. I didn't dare glance at Andon, but I did look at Maxine who was scowling at me.

"What was that?" she asked in a whisper.

"That was me getting him to sit down and shut up," I whispered back.

"With your boyfriend in the room?" I almost started the sentence with 'he's not my boyfriend', but instead skipped over it all together.

"Andon isn't stupid," I told her, "He knows I only said it to get Sabre to sit down and shut up. And remember, to everyone else it's fake." But, Sabre couldn't shut up for long.

"What are we whispering about over there?" he asked.

"Not you," Maxine snapped back. I slapped her leg with the back of my hand.

"Don't retaliate, he likes it." She gave me a scowl, but stayed quiet. It was silent for a little while at least, as Mav messaged creams into my hair. Sabre had to keep talking.

"Your boy toy over there, did he earn your respect?" Sabre asked.

I ignored him and pretended to be really interested in the box of nail polish Mav had given me, to pick a color from. Thankfully, she started the blow dryer, so I couldn't hear Sabre anyway. As soon as it was done Sabre was talking again.

"Have you fucked her Andon?"

"Have you?" he retorted in a bored voice. It shut Sabre up for a moment as I picked out a silvery nail polish and handed it to Mav.

"You know," Sabre said to Andon, looking down the row of chairs at him, "I actually want you to fuck her before I do, just so she can experience how pathetic you are in bed and then find out all that she was missing when she fucks me and that will be just another thing that I am better at than you."

"You're not better than me in all things," Andon said, "I'll give you a chance to prove yourself right now. Let's play the quiet game, if you're quieter longer, you can say you're better."

"See, I know I don't have to prove myself in that manner. Whether or not I'm quiet doesn't matter."

"Good, because you already lost," Andon muttered.

I smiled a bit at Andon's attempt to get Sabre to shut up. For a little while I thought it was going to work, but Sabre's inflated ego was the problem. It wouldn't matter what Andon told him, Sabre would just make up some stupid excuse as to how nothing applied to him. Mav was smoothing my hair back into an elegant folded bun when Sabre spoke again.

"I'm going to need ear plugs," I mumbled. Maxine chuckled and I'd purposefully spoken over Sabre so I didn't have to hear him. But it really was only a short respite as Sabre started talking again.

"Has he even tried to fuck you yet?" Sabre asked.

"What did I say?" I asked him.

"Don't treat me like I'm five," he said.

"Then stop acting like it," I told him, "It's disgusting."

"Five year olds don't know what the word fuck means," he said, smiling, "So I'm not acting like I'm five."

"Thirteen then," I said, "And I find it unattractive." I gauged his reaction in the mirror and he looked at little irritated, but sat back again.

"Right, you like washed up, limp dick men."

"Completely," I said under my breath.

"Do you want to help me?" Mav asked Maxine, "Get her nails painted," and then under her breath she added, "So we can get out of here faster." Maxine agreed. She did really well as Mav moved onto my makeup and Sabre pretty much talked to himself.

Even before I looked at myself in the mirror, I knew this makeup was different than the others. During the introduction ceremony, she'd kept it simple. My fighting makeup was dark and threatening, but I looked at myself in the mirror and felt elegant and different.

"Alright, time to get you into the dress," Mav said. I got up and glanced Andon's way before following them into the dressing room. Mav then pulled a garment bag from the rack and I immediately knew the dress inside wasn't normal. It was white, glittering like a million diamonds.

"Is that a wedding dress?" Maxine asked. Mav shook her head.

"No. A wedding dress is just a dress after all, it's the veil that makes it a wedding dress."

 Maxine looked unconvinced, but the dress didn't look like any wedding gown I'd ever seen before. First of all, it wasn't poofy, it had a skirt that looked like it started below the hips, but it wasn't what I would call wedding dress. But, as she pulled it out of the bag, I began to see details that made me think otherwise. The lacing that went over the back, shoulders and down the arms. Maxine helped me step into it as Mav pulled it up around my body.

"This is a wedding dress," Maxine said, "Mermaid style too, what I always wanted to wear when I got married." Mav shrugged like it didn't matter. I felt something off and began to feel sick.

"What the hell is going on, Mav?" I asked, "If this is a wedding dress, I'm not wearing it." She looked at the ground, suddenly meek again.

"It's not my fault, Priam—Priam said if you didn't wear it, he'd kill me. Please don't say anything." Her fear was real, no more tough girl act.

"I won't," I said.

"But, god, Alloy," Maxine said, "You should see yourself." Slowly and reluctantly, I turned around. Who I saw in the mirror wasn't me. I looked elegant, soft, and gentle, with the red lipstick and soft smoky makeup.

"Put these on," Mav said, setting down a pair of white flats by my feet. I held up the skirt of the dress and slipped my feet into my shoes, feeling like I wanted to cry. Mav saw this and ducked in front of me.

"Don't cry, please, I worked so hard to get your make up perfect, to Priam's specifications."

"I won't," I told her again. I'd try my best. All I knew was that I didn't want to walk out into that room. This was some conniving plan set up by Priam and Sabre. Maxine opened the door and Mav followed after her.

I stepped out into the room feeling like I was an alien. Priam stood up and smiled while Sabre looked rather unimpressed. Andon stood too, but he grew sickly pale and it physically hurt me to see him look like that. Priam walked up to me almost like a proud, gloating father.

"Look at her, Andon," he said, putting a hand on my back and pushing me towards him slowly.

Andon didn't speak, his eyes were wide, and he looked shaky. He looked broken and extremely upset. Priam stopped me about a foot from Andon who's eyes were pointed at the ground. He couldn't look at me. I felt like I had betrayed Andon in some manner, as I felt like I wanted to apologize because I was confused by his tormented expression.

"Look at her," Priam ordered and Andon did slowly pick up his head and look me in the eyes. Priam walked around behind him and then stood on his other side, "Who would ever strike down something as elegant as a swan on her wedding day?" I felt my expression freeze over. This wasn't about me, this was about Andon. Priam was using me to hurt him.

"I hope you're happy," I hissed. He smiled as Andon regained his composure. His expression froze over too.

"I'm immensely happy," Priam said.

"From now on I'll pick my own dresses," I growled, "I would tear this one to shreds if there was time for it."

"What do you think, Andon?" Priam asked.

"A little presumptuous of you," he said in a dark tone.

"Oh, but look at her," Priam said, reaching out to my face. I let him run the back of his hand down my cheek, "She actually looks so soft, like a woman, like she might actually lay down and die."

I smacked his hand away and punched him in the face as hard as I fucking could. Andon actually flinched away from the action as if it surprised him. Priam hit the ground, out cold. Sabre walked over and poked him with a toe and gave a short laugh as I shook out my hand.

"Didn't even see it coming," he said.

"There is only twenty minutes until her interview starts," Mav said, "She needs to get going." Andon swallowed hard and looked at me.

"Maxine and Mav will walk you down," he said in a wavering voice. I wanted to beg him to stay, but I knew the dress was bothering him, so I nodded.

"Okay."

"I really wish I could be there," he murmured.

"It's a stupid interview," I told him quietly, knowing that Sabre was watching everything, "I'll be fine." Andon turned and left quickly. Maxine took my arm and led me forward while Mav followed along. I was a little surprised to see Sabre sit down and he saw me glance back.

"Don't worry, baby, I'm going to make sure dear old dad wakes up." As soon as all three of us were out of the room, we let out a collective breath.

"God, he's disgusting," Maxine stated, "I honestly wasn't sure what to expect, but not that."

"I'm not letting them make anymore clothing," Mav said, "No matter what they say."

"Andon's face—," Maxine said in a sad manner, "It was so—broken."

"Can we not talk about it," I said, starting to feel even sicker as I heard the rumble of voices.

"Where do the interviews take place?"

"At the other side of the Bane," Mav said, "It's called the Portico even though it's not outside. There's a stage and everything."

"Great," I mumbled when we made it down within view of all the people.

Thankfully, there was a roped off path, so no one could get too close. There were a couple black-clad Officers as well, as if they expected me to attack someone. The reporters called my name and reached as far over the rope with the microphones as they could, but the Officers went with us, making sure to keep them back. After the roped off walkway, we entered a long curved hallway. And it would just so happen that I'd pass Viria, the crossbow wielding bitch, in the hall. As I approached she gave some sort of shocked, yet purposefully humiliating smile, like what I was wearing was a mockery.

"Please tell me that's not a wedding dress," she said, laughing. She was wearing some sort of partially see-through, plastic-like baby blue dress. Her trainer or whoever was with her chuckled as well.

"Please tell me that's not a shower curtain," I snapped back and kept walking. I was not going to deal with her either.

"Try not to punch any more reporters, dear," she called. I clenched my fists, but Maxine pushed me forward.

"She's not even worth it," Maxine muttered.

"I know and she's lucky I punched Priam beforehand or I would've punched her." Soon the hall ended and we walked out into a small backstage room. There were several people there, including part of someone's crew and that someone was out being interviewed. A man in a suit with a headset on walked forward.

"Alloy Houghton just arrived," I heard him said, then a voice responded back before he looked at Mav and Maxine, "You two aren't her trainers."

"I'm sorry," Maxine said, copying the drawling Carkareshian accent, "Her trainer was feeling dreadfully ill. I'm her best friend and Mav is her stylist, he gave us permission to come down with her."

"Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that," he said, his voice dripping in sincerity, "Miss Houghton, you'll have a seat over there and we will be announcing you soon." He pointed to a set of seats near the edge of the stage. I walked over and sat down as Maxine plopped down beside me. Mav looked uncomfortable and stayed standing.

"If you're not comfortable, Maxine and I will be fine," I told her. She nodded thankfully and left. We were both silent for a moment and I heard the announcers voice, that Marcel guy that had been at the opening ceremony asking someone how they liked the food here.

"What am I going to do?" I asked, twisting my hands, "I wasn't going to make Andon suffer, but I just wish he was here right now."

"Just answer the questions," Maxine said, "They like you enough already."

"But what if I answer it wrong?" Maxine took my hands, so I'd stop twisting them and she looked at me with the sincerest of expressions.

"Listen, you looked like some kick ass warrior goddess in that armor. And even dressed all pretty, you punched Priam in the face. This is just another thing to knock down. Marcel is a fruitcake anyway, he doesn't ask anything serious. These things are supposed to make people personable."

"That's what Andon said," I told her, "But I'm not personable."

"Then don't be. Punch Marcel," she said, giggling, "But don't really, that might get you in trouble." I couldn't help but smile.

"Yeah, I'm not going to punch anyone."

"Just walk across that stage like you own it. Own everything."

I heard people clapping and guessed the current interview was over. Out walked a girl in a dress that looked like a pink cotton ball, but who was I to judge. She excitedly greeted her crew and they all seemed pretty proud of her and that's when I remembered the score.

"So, anything over forty is good?" I asked.

"Over forty is amazing," she answered, "Most Prospects get around forty-ones or forty-twos." The man with the headset came over and motioned for me to stand.

"You're on in three, two, one..."

Marcel had announced my name and the crowd went hysterical. I stood there unmoving, looking out on to the sage feeling like I'd stepped into freezing cold water. I didn't want to move. Marcel was waving me out, smiling like it was funny. And then I remembered what Andon had said to me. Make them regret the very day you were born. I stepped forward, keeping my face expressionless.

The walk across the stage was easier than I had imagined because I could ignore the people going absolutely nuts, throwing flowers. There were screens everywhere, but they were showing dazzling colors and there was music coming from somewhere. It was all a rush and when I sat down, I almost felt like I was going to tip over. Marcel was smiling brightly, his shiny little mustache pointing out from his face as he told the crowd to calm down.

"Hello," he said in a theatrically breathless manner, "If I do say so myself I'm a little star struck."

 I kept my eyes on Marcel, on his tiny little mustache and tried not to focus on the crowd because the urge to tell them how stupid they were had risen to the top. I didn't answer him though and he realized I wasn't going to answer, so he tried a different route.

"Is that a wedding dress?" he asked.

"No. It looks like one, but it's the veil that makes a wedding dress doesn't it?" I asked, using Mav's words. Marcel laughed like I'd said the funniest thing he'd ever heard.

"Oh, you're a lot more eloquent than I thought. Intimidating too," he said and chuckled again as the crowd laughed with him.

"Your mustache is tinier than I thought," I told him and then made a face, knowing I shouldn't have said it, but once again, he laughed it off as the crowd laughed with him and finally got to the point.

"So, Miss Houghton, from rags to riches. How do you like it here in Carkaresh?"

I clenched my teeth for a moment and told myself to answer his stupid question with the safest answer, but my gut told me no. I had a message to send, acting like a puppet was going to get me nowhere.

"I don't really," I said.

"Brutal," he said and the crowd laughed. "But it has to be better than the slums you lived in before?" The screen behind us changed to a photo of Rayler, a photo facing down the exact run down street I'd lived on. I stared at it a moment and turned back to him, feeling very cold.

"You know that people don't live that way on purpose, right?" I asked and then looked at the crowd for the first time, "I'm sure everyone would love a posh penthouse, but most don't even have access to water, something you all take for granted here." Marcel looked taken aback, like the question had offended him personally.

"You are the real deal aren't you?" he asked taking a piece of paper from the table, "How about we read your score then?" I knew he was trying to change the subject and I wasn't quite sure the repercussions of talking like I was would be.

"Yes, let's," I stated and looked expectant. He flipped open the piece of paper and his eyes bulged, but then he was smiling in a giddy manner.

"And Miss Houghton's score is a the ever elusive FIFTY!" He shouted it, stood up too, and tossed the little card in the air. I felt like it'd swallowed a rock. My throat hurt and my stomach clenched. The crowd was going wild, the music was blaring, and confetti fell from the ceiling. Then when everything had calmed, Marcel sat back down and looked at me.

"Aren't you excited my dear? No one has gotten a fifty, no one except Elario Vega!" I sat there, regarding him and felt slightly sick.

"I should've gotten the lowest score," I said, "Didn't anyone realize that I stabbed a child? A little girl?" Marcel's expression changed quickly.

"What did you expect?" he asked, "You signed up for this didn't you?"

"To fight people who fought back," I snarled and then looked at the crowd, "And to make all of you stupid people realize that your goddamn president is a liar, a thief, and a murderer. Do any of you wonder what he does outside these walls?" I stood up and walked off stage just as the Officers were coming out to get me.

"I'm done," I snapped, pushing at them, "I'm done."

They let me go and I went to walk away, but ran smack into someone else. At first, just by the height, I thought it was Sabre, but then I realized it wasn't Sabre, but someone else entirely. I found myself looking into two ocean blue eyes, but then frowned and stepped away.

"You have no idea what you're doing, do you?" he asked. His voice was lighter than I thought it'd be; his hair was blonder, a tousled mane pulled back into a stylish ponytail.

"You must be, Elario Vega," I muttered, throwing my hands up into the air and shaking them as if he were special. He leaned in a little closer and I almost stepped back, but I wasn't going to let him push me around.

"They think you're acting, that you've taken on a persona," he said, "And you have to realize that not one of them is going to understand what you're saying. They are wired not to." I stood there, scowling at him.

"And you really expect me to believe you. You're Nikola's number one little soldier," I snapped and went to walk by but he grabbed my arm.

"Why don't you stick around? I'm going to bring you back out and you're going to apologize."

"No," I stated, trying to yank away, "Let go of me or I'll—,"

"Punch me? Look, I'm trying to help you out," then he leaned down and whispered near my ear, "Nikola will snuff you out in your next fight if you don't stop talking out of turn." Then he let me go as Marcel yelled his name. The noise the crowd made for him was ten times more deafening than what they made for me. Then Maxine was there, looking at me as if I were shitting gold bricks.

"You just talked to him," she spluttered.

"Yeah, and he's a robot, let's go." I went to pull her away, but she latched onto my arm.

"He said you should stay, Alloy. You're really going to believe what all the men say. They are all jealous of the perfectly muscled, perfectly blonde god that just walked out onto that stage."

"I'm going to throw up," I muttered sarcastically.

However, it was strange, what he'd said. If he were really Nikola's dog, then would he have really bothered to say anything? So, I hung around, mainly so Maxine could drool over him at close range. Then Elario asked if I could come back out, that we'd talked backstage and he wanted to get to know me just as everyone else did. Maybe that's what Nikola wanted him to do. When Marcel announced my name again, the people went wild as if they'd forgotten what I'd said before. They brought out another chair for me and Marcel looked at us both.

"So, Elario, you said you wanted to get to know her, what do you want to know?" I was sitting there, looking kind of mad, probably kind of bored, feeling like I'd been successfully maneuvered.

"Why she looks so mad all the time," he said. Everyone thought it was a funny joke, so I smiled and laughed right along with them, of course all in sarcasm. If Nikola wanted to play, I'd play.

"That was hilarious," I stated and sat back again, scowling.

"You do look really lovely in that dress, though," Elario said.

"I hate this dress," I stated. Marcel smiled.

"You two make quite the couple, if only Miss Houghton wasn't taken," then he leaned over and looked at me mischievously, "Where is your mystery man right now?"

"Probably watching this and throwing up," I muttered.

"Oh is he sick?" Marcel asked, and the crowd made concerned noises.

"Yes," I stated, looking at them and neither Elario or Marcel because I wanted off that stage.

 
"I'm sure you're worried about him," Elario said, "That's why you're acting out."

"Yes," I answered, letting out a little more emotion than I had planned on because I really was worried about Andon. Marcel sighed.

"Ah, young love. However, I'm sure there are some people in the crowd right now curious about him," he said, getting little cheers and cat calls from the audience, "How is he, you know, in bed?" Elario playfully pushed Marcel and the crowd was laughing again.

"Marcel, you dirty little man," Elario stated.

"But we really want to know, Miss Houghton, we're almost out of time." He waggled his eyebrows in a comical way.

"I'm honestly not going to talk about our love life on live TV," I said. There was some dissent from people in the crowd, but the interview was over. Marcel was wishing us good luck and goodbye and until next time.

"See," Elario said as he walked me off stage, even though I hadn't wanted him to touch my arm, "I just made you personable, effectively taking a target off your back." We stepped into the backstage area and I was about to answer when I caught sight of Sabre moving directly at us.

 "You son of a bitch," he snarled at Elario as he stepped away from me.

"Yes?" Elario asked, eyeing him questionably.

"Don't act like you don't know what you're doing," Sabre said, pointing at him, "Stay away from her."

"Alright," Elario said, stepping away. He walked off, several people following after him. Sabre then looked at me.

"What the fuck was that?"

"I have no idea," I stated, "And I'm not going to argue with you about it!" I stalked away, motioning for Maxine to follow, but Sabre shoved her back and came after me.

"He's not that fucking great," he snapped.

"I know he's not, Sabre," I said in a falsetto.

"You do not make a nice couple with that pampered ass stuck up."

"I think I do. I think I want two boyfriends that are not you, just to spite you," I said.

"I could kill both of them, you know. I'm ten times the man either of them is."

"Great, Sabre, really, fantastic." He stopped me in the hall and looked at me.

"We will be together," he said, "And we will rule over this place." And then he was walking away. I stood there a moment and Maxine made a disgusted noise.

"Psycho," she muttered.

"Tell me about it, but I need to get out of this dress and find Andon."

We both walked back to the dressing room and thankfully it was empty of both Priam and Sabre. I was quiet as I took off the dress, wiped the makeup off my face with a special liquid that Mav gave me, and then took down my hair before braiding it back again. Maxine and I walked side-by-side back to the room. I felt like I was in my own little world and she seemed to sense that. Before we stepped in the room, I stopped outside the door and took a deep breath.

"Yeah," Maxine said in a manner that told me she didn't want to go in either. Priam and Sabre was nowhere in sight. I relaxed instantly and looked around before heading up to my room. Andon wasn't there, so I walked across and looked in his only to find he wasn't in there either. When I stepped back out Priam was waiting at the bottom of the steps.

"He's not here," he said, smiling.

I ignored him as I walked down the steps, searching for Storm who would be the only person to have an idea as to where Andon could have been. He was sitting over in the nook, looking at some sort of device. So, I walked over to him and he looked up, his eyes flickering behind me.

"Priam?" I asked. Storm nodded and gave me a look I didn't understand before looking back down at the screen.

"You want to know why he couldn't stand seeing you in that dress?" Priam asked.

"No," I stated, turning to look at him. He looked generally surprised.

"No? Are you sure? Andon has a lot of secrets, secrets he'll never tell you."

"And I don't care what they are," I snapped and brushed past him, going to Maxine who was standing there with her arms folded over her chest.

"Do you want to go get lunch?" she asked.

"Yeah," I answered and she took my arm, walking me from the room.

For a while, we milled around, looking for some place interesting and getting surrounded by people wanting autographs and pictures, all of which confused me. So, we ended up just going to the more private place Andon had showed me. As we were eating, Maxine looked over at me several times before speaking.

"What if he was married?" she asked. For a moment I sat there wondering how stupid I could've been. I put my hands over my face.

"It's all been right there and I've been too stupid to see it," I muttered, feeling dreadful.

 
"What do you mean?" Maxine asked.

"His something terrible. He told me, he is the way he is because of something terrible. All his concern about Priam hurting me. Who would ever cut down something as elegant as a swan on her wedding day?" I said, feeling grim and angry as well as queasy, "Priam killed her, his wife. Eirene." It felt strange to say it; the words had almost gotten stuck in my throat.

"Oh god," she said.

"It must've been an exact replica of the dress, the make up, the hair," I murmured, just wishing I knew where Andon was, so I could hold him and tell him everything was going to be okay.

"That disgusting pig needs to die," Maxine hissed.

"He's lucky," I muttered, "If we were back in the Underground I'd kill him."

We went silent and finished our late lunch. After we left the place I kept looking around for Andon, just in case he might've followed. I could only hope he'd be back in the room when we got there.

Arriving back to the room and finding that Andon wasn't there and Sabre was, was just another kick in the gut. The day had been a succession of kicks in the gut. Sabre however, still looked pissed. He didn't even look up when we entered the room, but Priam did. He looked up and smiled at me with cold, dark eyes.

"What angle are you playing at now?" he asked, standing, "You do know what Elario is, right?"

"Of course I know," I stated, "Believe me, I didn't want to go out on that stage. I would've caused a scene if I hadn't."

"You've caused scene's without caution before," Priam said, making his way over, "I doubt that's why you listened."

"Can you cut the shit?" I asked, feeling a little bit of uncontrolled anger spill into my system. I saw him contemplating. He knew what I was capable of. The bruise that should've been around his eye wasn't there, so I could only assume he forced Storm to heal him.

"I'll make you a deal," he said.

"Don't listen to him, Alloy," Maxine said and started to pull me away, but I stopped her. She scowled, but stood off to the side, watching.

"What?" I asked. He grinned again, looking triumphant.

"Without Andon around you're much more agreeable."

"No, I want you to leave us all alone. You wanted to make a deal, remember?"

"I won't bother you if you listen to me," he said in a smooth voice, "That's all I want. You listen, I leave you alone."

"I'll listen if it has to do with Nikola. I'm not going to let you dictate my every action. Remember what happened in the lab, dickhead?" His expression tightened and I knew he hadn't liked the comment, so I smiled. "How does it feel?" That's when I started to feel the darkness, to hear the wings fluttering around in my skull.

"Alloy." Storm's voice distracted me and he walked up, glancing at Priam.

"What?" I asked looking down at him.

"You tend to talk flippantly and Priam knows his word means nothing to you, he just likes the semblance of control. How about we let Priam think he's in control without any deal's or agreements." Priam's gaze was angry as it fell on Storm. I on the other hand was thankful for Storm's intervention.

"You know, he's right, Priam," I said. Priam's facade fell away and his face became a mask of rage. It was then that he reached out and grabbed Maxine by the hair. He had a knife to her throat.

"You will listen or I kill them one by one." Maxine shook her head slightly, but Priam pressed the blade into her throat, drawing blood. "All it takes is one little slip." I stood there feeling frantic, that he was really going to kill her. So I backed down.

"I'll listen," I said quietly, "Just let her go."

"How does it feel?" Priam asked with a smile, "You'll back down and I'll let her go, but afterwards you'll think you'll be back on top again."

He moved his arm away, but kept a hold of her and I saw the knife coming down into the side of Maxine's neck before it actually happened because Sabre grabbed Priam's hand. I hadn't even seen him get up, but he was standing there now, beside his father with a vindictive smile on his face.

"Drop me and Rayler and leave me there to suffer. To everyone who respects you, I'm a fool. I should kill you right now, but I won't. I won't because I want to see how far you get. I want to see Alloy tear you apart. You'll leave them alone." Maxine broke away and rushed towards me while Sabre shoved Priam away from him. I lightly moved Maxine towards Storm.

"Please go with him so he can treat your cut," I said quietly as Sabre watched me with such scrutiny I felt as if he might be reading my thoughts. When they were out of the way and when Priam had marched off out of the room, it was only Sabre and I.

"I saved your life again," he said, "Shouldn't I get something in return."

"You deserve nothing," I hissed. Sabre stepped closer and I could feel the cold waves of air coming off him, the prickling feeling over my skin.

"I think I deserve far more than I've been given," he said in a low voice, starting to walk around me, "I was dumped in Rayler to play watchdog. I wasn't even paying attention to the right person. It's Jamie. It's Jamie. But I knew, deep down, I knew that it was you all along," he growled, stepping up behind me and putting his lips near my ear. I was literally frozen in place, trying to think of some way to get away from him. His hands gripped my shoulders too.

"You'll listen to what my old man says," he whispered, "Because we both know it's not his time yet. If we don't listen to him, he'll kill your friends."

"Like you won't if you don't get your way," I growled. He chuckled and ran his hands from my shoulders and down my arms and back up again.

"You're important to me, Alloy. I wouldn't dare harm your friends because they make you happy."

"Get away from me," I said, feeling pathetic. For all I'd learned I'd completely frozen up in his presence.

"Never," he whispered, "But I'll let you be with him. I want you to see what you've been missing after he's dead. I'll be there and you'll see."

His hands tightened around my upper arms for a moment and then he pressed his lips to my neck before moving away, smiling as he went. I stood there for a moment before wrapping my arms around my body, as Sabre had left the room completely to find Priam, I assumed. Then Maxine was there, pulling my arms away and hugging me. They had obviously seen the whole thing.

"Why'd you let him stand there?" Maxine asked, her voice vibrating through my chest.

"Because," I stated, "I had to in order to keep everyone alive." I lightly wrapped my arms around her, returning the hug before she stepped back, looking concerned.

"Are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah, I think I just want to sleep," I murmured, "Stay with Storm, okay? So no one hurts you." She let me walk away and I trudged up the steps feeling completely drained. As soon as I collapsed down into the bed, I was out.

I was hoping I'd wake up to find Andon somewhere in the room at least, but instead Priam's harsh knocking woke me.

"Get up, Princess!" he shouted. I slowly pulled myself up and went to the door. When I opened it, Priam was standing there with a grin on his face.

"We're all going to a party," he said, "Because going to the after parties held in Celino will boost your status even further, giving us more money."

"Wasn't my score enough?" His lip twitched and I saw the anger arrive once more.

"No, because of your fucking interview," he snarled, "You're not worming your way out of this."

"Then what do I need to do? Are we getting ready here? What's going on?" My neutral tone confused him. He stopped scowling immediately and watched me for a moment.

"Don't fuck with me," he said.

"I'm not. You wanted me to listen to you, right?" He couldn't stay wary for long, I'd just told him the exact thing he wanted to hear. Priam's eyes lit up once more and he smiled again.

"I'll have Mav get you ready and we'll take a car to Celino."

"Is anyone else going?"

"Only Sabre and I are attending with you. Sabre seemed to have an awful sobering effect on you."

"Father!" Sabre barked from downstairs. Priam's mouth downturned and his eyes moved to the floor. I smiled then.

"It seems he's had a sobering effect on you too," I said and brushed by.

Sabre was downstairs and Klider and Flint were back. Klider looked especially pissed. Ayal was sitting on the couch as well and his eyes were on me the instant I was within his sight.

"Where's Andon now?" he asked, smiling, "You sure Sabre hasn't already sent him on a permanent vacation?" Sabre turned around then and Ayal lost some of his cocky glitter.

"I judge people on what they're worth," Sabre growled, and started towards Ayal, "And as far as I'm concerned you are the most worthless person here. Andon? Andon has his uses, but you don't."

Ayal had stopped smiling as Sabre now stood over him. I realized then that Sabre's presence, the real Sabre, had put us all in line. Ayal looked like a cornered animal, slowly sinking down into the couch more and more.

"I thought we were going somewhere?" Priam asked. I hadn't been about to say anything, as I wanted to see Ayal squirm a bit. Sabre looked up, though and turned away. I looked at Klider and Flint and then to Storm and Maxine who were sitting in the cubby, playing cards. They would be safe and hopefully, if Andon showed up, they would tell him where I was.

Sabre walked forward, looking relaxed. He stopped near me and held out his arm, as if he were going to walk me from the building, but Priam was already walking out the door, so I followed after him, ignoring Sabre all together. I really wasn't in the mood for people or getting prettied up, but if this would help my game, I'd do it. I'd try to take on Andon's emotionless persona. I'd try to be smart and quick on my feet and avoid both Sabre and Priam if I could.

The walk to the Bane in the evening light was calm. There were only a few reporters out, all whom kept their distance. The Carkareshian nightlife was just starting to awaken. Sabre had been walking behind me and soon stepped up beside me.

"You walk and look around like you're waiting for someone to jump out and attack you."

"I can never be too sure." He smiled and looked over at me rather coyly.

"I like it."

"Flattery will not get you anywhere," I muttered.

Surprisingly, he went quiet and seemed content just to walk beside me. I kept my eyes forward, no matter how badly I wanted to turn my head and scowl at him. If I glanced his way it'd be an excuse for him to talk to me.

When we walked into the Bane, there were only a handful of people milling around, mainly important looking people. I saw a couple Fighters all dressed and ready walking away down the opposite hall. It was different walking around in the Bane and the dressing room without Andon there. I was getting increasingly worried as to where he was. He should've been back. I kept my mind from going to the worst case scenario. Andon would've fought tooth and nail. He wouldn't leave me.

"Since you're picking your own clothing, I'd get to picking," Priam stated, gesturing to the door that went into the actual dressing room. Mav looked okay, giving a steely glance to Priam and Sabre before closing the door. She stopped me from going over to the racks and gesturing to a single garment bag hanging on a separate rack.

"Andon left it for you," she said quietly.

"He was here?" I asked. She nodded.

"He also said not to worry. He needed to clear his head."

"When was he here?"

"Several hours ago, let me get your makeup started."

I changed into my robe before we walked back out into the main room. She sat me down and took my hair out of its braid. She went to work curling my hair. I let her working with my hair relax me. Instead of worrying about the stupid party or Sabre, I thought of Andon showing up to dance with me or just be there with me instead of leaving me with Sabre.

After my hair was curled, Mav pulled the sides back and clipped them, leaving some hair loose around my face and ears. Then she went to work on my makeup. When she stepped away, I was surprised again to see how different I looked. I didn't look soft. It was dark and I felt like some ancient gothic queen. Seeing the makeup, with the shine of purple, blue, and teal within the eye shadow, I couldn't wait to see the dress.

When we were in the room, Mav got it out of the garment bag. She looked kind of distant or lost in a sense. She helped me into the dress, which was black, but in the lights there were the same iridescent hints of color as in the eye shadow. The whole dress was absolutely stunning. After I was dressed I couldn't tear my eyes away from my reflection. The only thing I could think of was wings. The skirt looked like wings, but not so much so that it looked to be made of feathers either. The back was scooped, letting most of my back show through. It was strapless, but the front was a little racier than I'd have expected, with a cut down through the center to reveal cleavage.

"He has an eye for you," Mav said quietly, "Crafted it to fit every curve of your body perfectly."

 "So he designed this too?" I asked, "He didn't just pick it out?"

"Designed the whole thing from scratch and picked out the shoes too." She then set down a pair of shoes beside me. They weren't my normal flats. They were black and had a small heel, but most of the shoe was made of thin black straps that would go around my foot and up my ankle a little ways.

"He's going to make me kill myself," I stated while laughing quietly.

After I had them on, I could only feel warmth. He'd done all this for me and maybe himself too, but that didn't matter. It felt as if my heart was swollen and my throat had closed up. However, as always, Priam's knocking interrupted my thoughts. So, I opened the door, frowning.

"I'm sure there isn't a time limit on how fast I get there," I stated.

He looked me over before meeting my eyes, the corner of his lips down turning. He'd gone somewhere and was now dressed in a suit, a glaringly white suit. It confused me, as it really didn't say Priam, but who knows what he really liked.

"No more wedding dresses?" he asked. I felt the rage burning under my skin, but kept myself calm.

"That was truly genius, Priam," I said, using a hand to push him back out of the way, "I mean, just taunt him about his dead wife. You are a mastermind."

"It's sent him off on some episode, though," Priam stated. I ignored him and Sabre stepped forward. He looked darkly handsome, which was something I hated to admit. He smiled and held out an arm for me.

"We'd look good walking together," he said, his eyes full of want. He wanted to keep me, own me like a possession.

"I can walk on my own, thank you," I said, "And the dear people of Carkaresh know that I have a boyfriend." Sabre's expression froze over for a second, but then his lazy smile was back.

"What's a little drama, Alloy? They live for shit like this."

"Let's get going," Priam stated, walking by.

"Yes, let's," I said and turned away from Sabre.

He followed without a word. When we stepped outside, there were several black cars waiting along the sidewalk. Priam walked over to one of the drivers and he nodded, gesturing for us to pile in. In some part of my mind, I was waiting for Sabre to open the door, but he was already walking around to the other side of the car. Priam got in the passenger seat; despite the look the driver gave him. After a deep breath, I opened the door and got in, even though I felt like I wanted to run away down the street.

The trip to Celino was rather quick and this time I wasn't going to be walked around in handcuffs.

"Will Nikola be here?" I asked once we were out of the car. Sabre chuckled.

"Thinking of giving him a nice surprise?"

"No," I stated, "I just want to know if he dares to mingle with commoners, that's all."

"He shows up to these things every now and then," Priam muttered, "Get moving. And if you see him, you better leave him the hell alone."

"Why?" Sabre asked, "She can survive bullet wounds, can't she?" He tried putting a hand on my lower back, but I smacked his hand away.

"It's neither the time or the place," Priam snapped, giving his son a stringent glare. Sabre wasn't wrong to ask why. I had thought the same thing. If he's there, I could stab him in the neck with a fork or something. But, there was still the question of how much I could actually survive. As we entered the doors, a man asked for our ID's. Sabre and Priam held theirs out, but I realized I didn't have mine.

"I don't have my ID," I said. Priam and Sabre both stopped and turned. Sabre looked down at the man with a scowl.

"Can't you tell who she is? She doesn't need a damn ID."

"Of course," the man said, "I was just going to say that." Sabre lightly put an arm around my waist and guided me away from the booth. Once more, I pushed his arm away.

"You touch me again and I'll rip your arm clear off," I snapped.

"That'd be something I'd like to see," he said.

I could hear people. I could hear the soft violin music. It made my stomach knot, not knowing what it would be like. It couldn't have been so much different from the party the first night. However, I hadn't spent much time hanging around because I'd just been released from Nikola's guards. Andon had pissed me off and my brother had too. The party room was just as grandiose as last time. There was the banquet line filled with a million different types of food and a champagne fountain. There were the tables and the band at the back with their instruments pouring out a delicate string harmony.

People moved about, talking in groups, sitting at tables and laughing as they ate. The quieter lounges in the back were dressed in white curtains this time, not the blue they had been before. Everything about the theme seemed to be white and ethereal. That's when something became very apparent. It seemed that most of the women and even most of the men were dressed in white or light colored clothing. I was starting to notice the looks I was getting and Priam turned.

"See, this is what happens when you pick your own shit out," he stated and walked off. But I hadn't, Andon had.

"That little shithead," I muttered, but Sabre heard.

"I wouldn't say little," he stated, looking at Priam with an eyebrow raised. Of course, Sabre wouldn't be caught dead in a white suit, so his was the classic black. There were some other men with black suits, but most had on white or even grey suits.

"Whatever," I told him, "I'm going to get food. Bye."

"I'm not leaving your side," he stated, coming after me.

"And it's going to be all over the morning news how you're the pathetic loser trying to win me over," I snapped back at him, "Leave me alone."

He did stop, thankfully. I was getting attention from all over as people noticed the only woman in black and that only woman happened to be me, Alloy Houghton. And with inch high heels I wasn't exactly inconspicuous. I couldn't hide behind most people. Some people I might be able to feasibly hide behind were Sabre or Priam. Heart swelling was gone and I wanted to give Andon a nice little punch to the gut, with love of course, but a punch to the gut all the same.
Sabre had left me alone, truly. I was able to grab some food through the line and sit down by myself, far away, in one of the private booths. I finished off the snacks, as I hadn't been all too hungry in the first place thanks to my nerves. For a little while I sat in the shadow of the curtain, watching people pass by. Then, someone popped their head in.

"Knock, knock." I hadn't been prepared for anyone to look in, so I jumped a little. Elario chuckled a bit and stayed where he was.

"You again," I muttered.

"Yes," he said, smiling, "Why are you hiding?"

"I'm not hiding, I'm staying away from people because I hate people."

"That's what they all say. Come on."

He was motioning me forward, still smiling. His general blasé happiness took me off guard. He seemed more jovial than I had expected him to be, almost stupid. I did scoot out of the booth and flattened my dress out when I was standing. He looked at me with a grin still on his lips.

"Did you not get the memo? Most of these parties are themed. Tonight happened to be Heavenly."

"Shit happens," I stated, "But my lovely other half left me this on purpose."

"Your trainer?" he asked.

"Yeah," I said, knowing that I probably could've just talked to him about everything without so much as a thought. He was completely disarming, despite the whole Viking-esque appearance.

"Come on, let's walk," he said and held out his arm. I stood there, glaring at him a moment.

"Have you been drinking?" I asked on a whim.

"No," he said, as if the question had confused him. At least he'd stopped grinning like an idiot.

"Then why are you so...happy?" And then suddenly all his light was gone. He looked at me coldly and I got the sense he hid himself behind a veil.

"You do this for so long, being a puppet, you get tired. You get tired of all the negativity and death. So, you put on a smile and forget it ever happened," he said and was then smiling again.

 "And you know that I can't trust you," I stated, "Whatever you're doing, I can't believe that it's just for the conversation or whatever reason you are here. You are Nikola's puppet and I can't see your strings which makes you all the more dangerous." He looked at me a moment before holding out his arm again.

"Walk with me." At least his jesting persona was gone. My statement seemed to have sobered him.

"Where would we be going?"

"The gardens." I felt something pushing me forward. I knew it was my own rabid curiosity, to figure him out, but I knew it was dangerous. Andon would probably skin me alive if he ever found out.

"I don't know what you're thinking," he said after a moment.

"For once, someone doesn't know what I'm thinking," I stated and looked away. As I glanced about, I noticed a lot of the partygoers were looking our way. I felt the corners of my mouth downturn and looked back at him.

"This," I said, gesturing with a hand between him and I, "Is going to cause a lot of problems. Talking, I know that's all it is, but those ingrates don't know that."

"You're worried about your boyfriend?" he asked, "If you don't mind me asking, why isn't he here? He's been everywhere else with you."

"He's sick," I stated, "And it's not for the fact that I'm talking to another man. He wouldn't care. He just wouldn't like me putting myself in unneeded danger, which you present by being Nikola's little puppet." He cringed a bit as I said the last three words.

"Look, I don't like being called that," he said.

"You called yourself a puppet," I stated.

"To get the point across."

I was about to speak again when his attention was drawn away by someone coming nearer. I had two thoughts, that Sabre or Andon might've been walking over, but as I turned I saw that it was only Viria. She was holding her dress in one hand and a drink in another. Her dress might've been pretty to someone else, but it honestly only reminded me of goosedown. She made a show of going up to Elario while I stood there watching with a look of boredom.

"There you are," she said to him as he leaned away from her, "I've been looking all over for you." His happy expression was back as he stood her up away from him.

"Why?" he asked.

"Because," she said, smiling back, "I wanted to get acquainted somewhere quiet." She'd obviously been drinking already and probably had a good amount in her system. Her language was slow, but not slurred yet.

"You wanted to get acquainted somewhere quiet?" he asked. She laughed and was stroking his chest with one hand.

"Yes, silly, plus you really can't be interested in her," she said and gave me look of complete disgust.

"We were just talking," he said, "Discussing battle tactics actually."

"Soooo, boring," she said, "Who goes against a theme? Someone who is desperate for attention." I gave her a look and spoke.

"Who plasters themself to someone, who happens to be in the middle of conversation with someone else, if it were not for the need of attention?" She stepped away from him and turned to me. She gave me one look up and down.

"You've been breaking all the rules. Why would you do that if it wasn't for attention?" I gave her a one sided grin.

"I really don't know why you have a problem with me," I said, "But if I had to guess, it would be because I'm in your spotlight. I don't want any of the attention, but if it keeps you out of the spotlight, I'll keep doing the things I'm doing, because this world doesn't need another petty human being like yourself, thank you." I went to walk away, but she lunged for me. Her lunge was fast, but I was able to turn and sidestep her. She stumbled to a stop and looked at me.

"You're just an ugly bitch." I shrugged and stayed where I was.

"Do you know why you're here?" I asked.

"To win," she said with a laugh, as if to say I was stupid, "I'm going to win and you're not. I'll get all the riches." She gave a furtive glance to Elario as she did so. I stepped around her and began to circle.

"Did it ever occur to you that there is only ever one champion?" I asked, "You get to the end and you'll have to kill him."

"You were just talking to him," she stated.

"Keep your enemies closer," I said, stopping behind her, "Another question. Why were you put on this earth?"

"What kind of question is that?" she asked, turning. I stayed where I was, so when she turned, I was standing right there causing her to flinch away just a bit as the sound of wings rushed through my ears.

"A question you've never had to ask yourself. You've never had to question your existence. You've never had to question whether or not you'll wake up in the morning. You've had everything handed to you. This here is just a means to get as much fame as possible. You haven't even considered that you might die, you just want the fame and the attention."

"So," she said, "I deserve it more than you. And do you even know the answer to your own stupid question. Who asks stupid shit like that?"

"I was put on this earth to kill and that's just what I'll do. They'll put us in the Arena together Viria and I will not feel an ounce of remorse while I gut you."

She looked at me as if I were crazy, but I looked her in the eyes to drive the message home. She was just like Sabre; their own egos were their downfall. She'd make excuses, that she deserved all that she did. She ran on one thought, that she was the most beautiful. Logic was beyond her; everything I'd just said was moot.

She still had her drink in her hand. She hadn't spilled any of it as she lunged at me. I could say all I wanted and it wouldn't humiliate her. Everyone was watching and listening. So, I snatched her drink away and splashed it back at her face and watched the golden champagne soak into her perfect white dress, wishing it had been red wine. I also felt the urge to smash the glass into her face, but I put it back in her hand as she gasped and acted like I'd splashed her with acid. Surprisingly she had grasped the glass without question. Then I did step away and kept moving away, parting my way through the stunned crowd, but luck would have it that Sabre would step out and catch me.

"What the hell are you doing?" he asked, getting in my face, gripping my upper arms. I could smell the alcohol on him.

"I'm doing what I see fit," I stated, "And if you don't get out of my way, I will fucking drop you." People had stepped away from us by this point and some even lost complete interest, but there were those still hanging around.

"You were talking to that prick, Elario," he snapped, "Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

"You know, he isn't drunk or a jealous bitch, so I was actually talking to him," I snapped.

"Were you going to let him get you alone?" he asked.

"No. Let me go, Sabre."

Instead, he pulled me away from the crowd, to one of the booths and pulled the curtains closed. I'd let him just so we didn't cause a scene. Viria was one thing. I would literally wrestle Sabre to the ground just to choke him out and I didn't need a wardrobe malfunction in the process. However, when he got me in the booth and the curtains were closed, he pressed his mouth to mine and greedily went to town.

Before I could get him to stop, there was movement and an arm threaded around his neck. I scooted off to the side as Elario put Sabre in a chokehold. Sabre had been drinking and Elario had the surprise factor, but Sabre couldn't struggle away from him. Sabre couldn't use his size to his advantage. He was out soon and Elario dropped him down into the seats. Before he could try to talk to me, I stepped away, stalking from the booth, fuming.

After the private booths, there was a large entryway that led to what I could only assume were the gardens. What I didn't expect was for Elario to follow me. He caught me just outside, causing enamored couples to look up for a moment.

"You're the real deal, aren't you?" he asked as he caught up to me.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked, stopping.

"That you're not here just to be pretty, famous, or were lured here by the thought of riches beyond your wildest dreams."

"And what does that matter to you?"

"Look, I'm not stupid, I can see you're upset. And it doesn't look like anything goes easily for you. How about we just walk, okay? We walk and you can clear your head. No talking has to happen."

"I just want you to acknowledge something," I snapped, "Is he in your head? Can he see me through your eyes?"

"No," he said, reaching out with an arm in order to guide me away from people, "He's not in my head. You'd be able to tell."

I thought about Jamie's dead eyes and Sabre's hollowness. Elario may have seemed a little off, but he wasn't hollow or dead eyed. His eyes had been bright, full of life when I'd first run into him and as I looked over at him, they were that way now.

"I want to trust you because I've seen my brother, but I'm in Nikola's cage right now and you could be bugged."

"So, we can just walk."

He held out his arm and I decided to take it. He led me along, through arbors of roses and a variety of plants I'd never seen before. The night sky surrounded, but I knew the stars were not real. There were lights here and there, making it possible to see. The smell was lazy with the sweetness of flowering plants. The music could still be heard, floating into the night. It did relax me, not totally, but enough to push Sabre and Viria from my mind. I began to think that maybe all my effort was in vain.

"Maybe I should just act like a happy idiot," I stated, "So I don't cause myself so much trouble."

 
"What are you saying? That I'm an idiot?" he asked, smiling.

"Just a bit."

"No, you don't want to act like an idiot. You're not here to impress the public. Nikola wanted me to do this, to see if I could pacify you in some manner, to be a pawn in his game."

"How do you know there aren't camera's out here or something?" I asked.

"Because he thinks I'm a happy idiot. Because he thinks I'm loyal."

I stayed quiet, knowing I'd just broken my own rules again. I shouldn't have said anything. I shouldn't have made him personable in any manner. He was still the enemy and I would have to kill him. I wasn't paying attention, looking at the ground mostly when I felt Elario stop and I looked up in surprise, seeing Andon as he spoke.

"Let her go." Elario did immediately, almost as if Andon's very presence put him on edge.

 "This isn't what it looks like," Elario said.

"Then what is it?" Andon asked, his voice tight.

"I was just talking to her. I'm not what you think."

"The hell you are," Andon growled, looking dangerous, "I commend you, I really do, but if I see you anywhere near her again I will leave you in a box on Nikola's doorstep."

"Okay," Elario said and backed away, "But put it into consideration, that I'm—,"

"Fuck off," Andon snarled before Elario could finish. Elario did meekly back away then, even holding his hands in the air in surrender as he did so. I didn't know what to think or even what to say. Andon was dressed nicely, in a pale grey suit. He had obviously been at the party. He looked different, though, on edge, nervous, and his eyes were glassy. I didn't want to be mad at him, but I did feel slightly betrayed in a manner.

"Have you been watching me the whole evening?" I asked.

"We're not talking here," he said, his tone angry.

He walked by, not even telling me to follow. I almost stood still, but his paper-thin act of being in control is what scared me honestly. He led me off to the side, through a gate and out onto a darkened street. It was then that he stopped and waited for me to catch up. His shoulders were tense and his hands clenched into fists down at his sides. I lightly touched my fingertips to his hand, not looking up at him, just keeping my eyes on his hand. He did let out a small breath and opened his hand, letting his fingers wind with mine. Then he quietly led me away.

We were headed back to the hotel. I knew that much. Why was the question. Priam and Sabre could arrive there at any moment. He had a plan in mind, though, and I didn't want to say anything and piss him off even further. However, when the elevator opened and we arrived on our floor, I spoke up, pulling him to a stop in the hall.

"I'm not going to go back in that room," I stated, "Priam and Sabre could show up at any moment and make this shitty day ten times worse." He looked at me then, his face still emotionless and cold, but not angry.

"The roof," he said, "The door is at the end of the hall." I glanced over his shoulder and saw the door.

"Alright," I answered and let him lead me up to the roof.

When the door creaked open, I wasn't sure why I expected there to be some sort of romantic surprise there. It'd been in the back of my mind; maybe he was planning something since he'd left me the dress. But it was just the roof, covered in pebbles, several benches and a tiny gazebo with lights here and there. I shouldn't have expected anything because he was pissed. He was going to turn and yell at me. He led me over to the railing along the edge and let go of my hand. We both leaned against it and looked down into the brightly lit street as people walked below. A breeze stirred my hair around and I quite honestly felt tired. My eyes were heavy and my body felt like it was made of bricks.

"I'm sorry," he said, breaking the silence. I stood there a moment, kind of shocked.

"I thought—I thought you'd be mad at me?" He shook his head.

"I could've prevented all of this if I had just gone with you."

"No, this isn't your fault, Andon. I caused my own problems."

"And Elario?"

"That too. I didn't trust him and I didn't want to believe him, but I didn't feel—I didn't feel like he was a threat. I know it was stupid, because he acted that way on purpose to get me to feel comfortable."

"I don't think he did," Andon murmured, looking back down at the street. I scowled at him, completely confused.

"You threatened to kill him," I said, "You didn't believe him either." He looked at his hands before standing fully and turning to me.

"That was me being an asshole," he stated, "I meant it, but not because he's working for Nikola."

"Then why?" I asked. He gave me a seeking look, as if I had missed something obvious. "You were mad at yourself for following me around instead of showing up sooner?" I asked after a moment.

"No, I never intended to show up, not because I wanted to put you through that alone, but I just felt it better to take some time away." I replayed his tone and body language from his interaction with Elario.

"Wait, were you jealous?" I asked.

"Yeah, I was really jealous of you," he said in a bland tone, but I ignored it because I was smiling at him.

"Maybe you are human," I said, still smiling.

"You think it's funny that I threatened to chop him up and put him in a box?" he asked, lifting an eyebrow.

"I think your jealousy is cute," I said and then realized what I'd said and felt a bit of embarrassment leak into my system. He looked surprised as well before eyeing me.

"If you think it's cute will you test me just to see it?"

"No," I stated, "I'm not a bitch like that, Andon."

He went quiet and looked off over the city again. He actually looked a little vulnerable. A small curl of hair had come loose near his temple and it moved in the breeze. The light was hitting the angles of his face in all the right places. He knew he was beautiful, outwardly, but I knew he'd never once considered that he might've been beautiful on the inside too.

I found his vulnerability comforting, that I had place with him, that I could offer him something he'd never had. I stepped forward and reached out to lightly brush the curl back in its place, causing him to look at me. His eyes were wide, searching, like I might've been the only thing keeping him there on that ledge. I lowered my hand to his face and stepped closer, so that the front of my body was touching his. Andon then reached up to take my hand and smiled softly.

"I had thought about asking you to dance," he said.

"It's a good thing you didn't because I'm a terrible dancer."

"It's not that bad, kind of like fighting. I move, you move," he said, the light finally coming back into his eyes.

"Do you want to teach me?" I asked, smiling warmly.

"Only if you want me to."

"I do," I told him, quietly, "Teach me."

His smile brightened and he pulled me away from the railing and out to an area where the stones weren't present. There were flat patio blocks and a couple pots filled with plants. Then he brought me close, but not too close. He took one of my hands and then set the other on his shoulder before setting his hand on my hip.

"There's no music," I said, feeling a little sheepish.

"You really don't need music," he said, "It helps, but if you keep a count in your head that works to."

"Okay," I said. He lightly guided me along, counting, one, two, three...over and over again until we didn't need it anymore. If I were dancing with anyone else, I probably would've been awkward, but with him there I felt in tune. We began to move in a slow, unbroken circle, no missteps, no hitches. I responded to his slightest prompting. His eyes were on mine the whole time.

"I do have something to ask you," he said, as we circled.

"What?" I asked quietly.

"About what Maxine said," he paused and let out a breathy laugh, smiling slightly, but he drew his eyes away as if he was unsure.

"Maxine has said a lot of things," I said, feeling my heart speed up because I had an idea of what he was talking about, I just didn't want to assume anything.

"It's hardly the right place or the right time, but I know I shouldn't need the stars to align to know what is right. You're right here, you're everything I've ever wanted," he said, his voice soft. We had slowly stopped dancing and I felt myself not breathing as I waited for him to finish his thought process. He was looking off into the distance, but not seeing the world in front of him.

 "Andon," I whispered, trying to get him to focus again, to leave his past behind him. He kept talking.

"It's not the right time or the right place—but, I thought I needed that, I thought I needed everything to be so right on the outside, the perfect date, the perfect timing." He paused again before turning to me, looking at me. "Does it normally just happen without saying things?" He repeated what I'd said before, but he was asking it as a question to me, waiting for an answer.

"I didn't know what was happening," I said, looking away, "It just did. I've never been—I've never been in love before." I realized what I'd said and felt my face turn red. I couldn't look at him then and felt my heart hammering a mile per minute. He was smiling as he lightly brushed the hair back out of my face.

"Exactly," he said after a moment, his voice thick. He lightly took my face in his hands and kissed my forehead. "Exactly," he repeated, his lips brushing my skin. Then he stepped back and looked at me. I found I wasn't breathing again, realizing what he was saying, what he meant. The tears had slipped down over my cheeks before I could stop them. My mouth had fallen open as I tried to say something, but absolutely nothing would come out.

"Don't cry, love," he said and softly brushed the tears away with his thumbs, "We still have dancing to do."

He loved me. He had all this time and I just wasn't sure when it had started and what I had done to make him feel like I was the right person. I wiped my tears away and tried to regain my composure. He lightly lifted my arms, setting them around this neck and then put his hands on my hips. We moved around in a slow circle and I was finally able to meet his eyes. The corner of his lips twitched up when I did so. Then, he stopped us and lightly lowered me down into a dip, even if I was hardly prepared for it.

When he stood me up again, I put my hands on his chest to balance myself and then realized how close he was. I felt my face heat up again, all the way down into my chest. Again, I was too flustered to say anything, but I knew I really didn't need to. He lifted a hand to lightly stroke my face with a thumb. His expression was completely warm, completely lost in something unexplainable, yet he was waiting, asking permission. We were close, but not as close as we could be. I lightly took hold of his shirt in my fingers, feeling like every part of my body was on fire before letting my eyes come to rest on his lips.

It was permission enough; his movement was slow, tentative. I had closed my eyes; unable to keep them open feeling every ounce of desire I'd kept locked away. I twisted both hands into his shirt and felt the quick puff of his breath on my lips only increasing the burning. His lips were right there and I lifted my hands from his shirt and was going for his face when his hand slipped back into my hair, his other hand pressed into the skin of my back and then he tilted my mouth up to his, the small distance it was. However, things would never go my way. He stopped, going completely rigid. Confused and even a little frustrated, I opened my eyes.

Andon wasn't even looking at me. When I turned, I saw that he was looking at the door. The door that was being held open by my brother as Priam stepped out onto the roof. I felt my blood run cold as Priam sauntered forward. Andon had been too tense to let me go, but as I stepped away, he did too, glancing at me quickly, swallowing hard, and looking back at Priam. In that time, I saw the fear in his eyes, saw it in his stance.

"Having a good time?" Priam asked. I opened my mouth to speak, but Andon stopped me.

"Please, Alloy, let me handle this," he whispered and then turned to Priam, stepping in front of me. "I was having a good time, what do you need?" Priam eyed him cautiously and hadn't advanced any further, standing about eight feet away.

"It seems you didn't get the message," Priam stated, his voice low.

"What message?" Andon asked. The fear was gone from his entire being. I could see that and I knew then that he truly wasn't afraid anymore. He finally had the confidence he needed to stand up to Priam.

"You know," Priam said.

"The one where you dressed Alloy up like my ex-wife on our wedding day? My dead wife?" There was still the pain of loss in his voice and I didn't blame him.

"Yeah, exactly that one," Priam told him, "Do I need to leave some more holes in this one to get you to understand you'll never be happy?" I frowned and went to move forward, but Andon stopped me, taking my hand and stepped forward.

"I'm tired of this," he said, approaching Priam, "But I want to know one thing. After all these years, why me? Why do you continue to make my life a living hell?" Priam's expression darkened into something I didn't quite understand.

"After all I did, he still chose you, a weakling, a boy. I killed for him, did everything he wanted and the only reason he isn't here right now is because of her," Priam snarled and pointed at me, "If she had never been born, Jayle would've chosen you to lead the Underground, but he slipped away in the dark, so I took my rightful place."

"That's all?" Andon asked, laughing, "You've been jealous? I don't want it, Priam. Take the Underground and ride off into the sunset, but leave us the hell alone."

"No," he said, looking at me then, "Wrong choice, Andon. Like always, you've chosen wrong." I felt Andon tense up and I glanced at him as Jamie stepped away from the door. He walked forward, his expression a mask. He stood beside Priam, his eyes on Andon.

"Don't," I said, realizing what was going to happen, feeling the hostility in the air. Priam grinned then, his eyes dark with lust.

"This all depends on you," he said, "You cooperate and Andon lives."

"Do not bring her into this," Andon snarled, "Whatever you want to do, you do to me, not her!" Priam shook his head, still smiling.

"See, I can't do to you what I want to do to her." I was trying to wrap my mind around the why's and the how's, but I was slowly beginning to understand what I was going to have to do. I stood straighter and looked at him evenly.

"You know Sabre won't like that, right?" I asked, "He'll put you out of commission before you can blink."

"Don't use my own son against me, bitch," Priam growled, "But Sabre will not find out. He has been given a nice cocktail of whatever Storm felt like giving him."

"So I walk away with you and then what?"

"Jamie here will keep an eye on Andon until I've had my way with you."

"You will not touch her," Andon snapped, stepped forward, but Jamie barred his path.

"Jayle's flesh and blood son and the one he truly wanted to rule," Priam said, coming around to the side, "You want to stop this, you'll have to kill him."

"Andon," I said.

"No. You're not going anywhere," he hissed and tried to pull me close, but Jamie grabbed his arm.

"You wouldn't kill her brother would you?" he asked, "Especially when he's not himself?" Andon's eyes went wide and I lightly pulled my hand away.

"I'll be fine," I whispered, "Just let him get it out of his system."

"Your body is not an object, Alloy," Andon said, looking frantic, "You don't deserve this." I felt myself tearing up and looked at him.

"I'm stronger than I was the first time," I said, "He can't hurt me. He can't." I felt Priam's hand enclose around my arm.

"Alloy! Alloy no!" Andon tried to get by, but Jamie stopped him. I blocked the sound of his voice out until the door was closed behind us. Priam's grip was tight around my arm and I felt sick and guilty, but I still had time to figure something out, to convince Priam otherwise.

"You're taking me to another room?" I asked as we walked by the door and towards the elevator.

"Privacy," he stated.

"How romantic," I told him, smiling.

He roughly shoved me into the elevator and I expected him to keep after me, but he didn't. He stood still, looking at the doors. I watched him and got the sense that he was nervous. I could see the muscles of his jaw clenching and unclenching. Before I could do anything, the door opened, leading into a hallway. It was empty, but Priam grabbed my arm and pulled a card out of his pocket. He had a concentrative scowl on his face as he opened the door. He pulled me inside before slamming the door shut and shoving me up against the back of it. For all his rage and lust, he stopped.

"What are you nervous about?" I asked as he loomed over me. He honestly did look unsure, which surprised me, so I kept myself calm.

"Shut up," he growled and forcefully grabbed my face. His mouth was on mine and no matter how revolting everything about it was; the way he was trying to get his tongue in my mouth, I let him. As soon as it happened, though, he stepped away, scowling. His hands found my shoulders and he gripped them tightly, shaking me.

"Fight back!" he shouted as my head banged off the door and then he yanked me away, tossing me towards the bed. I caught my balance and turned, glaring at him.

"Can we talk about this?" I asked, lowering my voice, "You keep going like you are and I will kill you. I'm not doing this again, Priam. My body is mine."

"What are you going to do to me? If you arrive on that roof alone, Jamie will kill him." I took a deep breath.

"Do you know what Nikola wants me for?" I asked. He grinned and stepped closer.

"You're not going to prolong this by asking me questions," he said.

"But you do want to know, don't you?" I asked. His eyes were curious and it was the way he had tilted his head upon hearing the question.

"It's obvious what he wants you for, a war monster. No one knows what you can do." He reached forward in a lazy manner towards the front of my dress.

"He wants to make heirs." Priam did pause and stopped reaching for the front of my dress.

"Well, that's what all kings do," he said and gave me a suggestive smile, "They want to make heirs. Andon won't ever know what happened here, but he might in a few months time. I know you're not taking any birth control. Sabre has his uses." He reached for the front of my dress again, but I stopped him, grabbing his wrist.

"Is this all you want?" I asked, "To make his life a living hell? You could have so much more, Priam, if you just left Andon alone."

"I can't," he said, smiling again, "But I do have a question for you? Was Sabre right? Has Andon not fucked you yet?" He got close and I let him, just to see what he was thinking.

"Will my answer affect the outcome?"

"Maybe," he whispered near my ear, "See, beating you would just make me the monster. It'll just make you hate me even more, but if you kill Nikola, I can be King."

"Then ask me out on a date first, Priam," I growled, tensing a bit as his lips met my neck. "Andon hasn't even asked me out yet." I squinted as I said it, feeling terrible, but if it could get me away from him long enough to get to Andon and regroup, then I'd say all I could.

"Oh?" Priam said stepping back and looking at me.

"Honestly," I breathed, "If someone could take the time to take me into consideration, instead of dragging me around forcing themselves on me that'd be fantastic." I doubted Priam could do what I was asking, but he did have a thoughtful look.

"What about Andon, I thought you two were together?" I looked at him and consciously pulled the darkness forward. I was going to have to go dark in order to get past this. Stepping forward, I looped my arms around his shoulders.

"Andon wouldn't care if you got me pregnant. Yeah, he'd be pissed, but he also knows that if I was pregnant with your child, you wouldn't hurt me, right?"

"Right," he said, losing focus, watching my lips instead.

"However, if you beat him at his own game and successfully convince me that you're a better man, it would wreck him," I said, "Of course, any of your convincing would be behind his back. That would torture him as well, if I seem a little distracted. And then you'd have all the power in the world to yourself."

"I'm a completely different beast," Priam said, focusing some, "Behind closed doors, I want to be able to have a little fun." He trailed his fingers to my neck and then pressed his hand around my throat, not tightly, though, just enough to get the point across.

"And that can be done," I told him, "However, I have to come to you. He won't feel betrayal if you come after me." Priam was rather focused at his hand around my neck and for a moment I thought he was actually going to try and choke me out, but he didn't.

"How do I know you're not trying to pull one over on me?" He was still unfocused, still not thinking clearly, so I pressed myself a little closer.

"I do know a real man when I see one, Priam, and by now you should know me enough that if I really wasn't interested, I would've tried to attack you by now. It just took me a little while to realize that's all." He let out a short chuckle.

"I get it," he said and before I could stop him, he'd greedily pressed his mouth to mine again and I really hoped I was convincing. I hadn't kissed anyone besides Sabre briefly so the whole kiss to smother thing must've been genetic. Finally, Priam had enough and pulled back looking rather triumphant.

"You'll come when I call, though," he said, "Just in case."

"Alright, how will I know?"

"I'll send you flowers and we'll meet in this room." I put on my best smile.

"Sounds lovely." He smiled and led me from the room.

He had a certain swagger to his walk and I knew I'd dodged a bullet or made a real mess of things, but I'd saved myself and Andon some trouble for the time being. Andon would know what to do. He'd probably be infuriated, but I was disgusted with myself anyway, so maybe that would quell his anger some. We made it to the door that led out to the roof, and Priam stopped me.

"If you're serious about this, show me," he said, "I'm not going to let you play me."

"I'm not going to play you Priam," I told him, "But I am going to have to act like I care about him. That's part of the plan, to slowly break him down." He grabbed my face in a forceful grip and got in close.

"If this isn't a game, show me."

With that he let me go and opened the door. I was a little shaken up, wondering if he'd been smart enough to realize what I was trying to do. Jamie stood up and Andon jumped up, jogging forward. But, Priam got in the way, grabbing him by the front of his suit, which Andon never would have let happen if he hadn't of been focused on me.

"She's mine now, Andon," Priam growled near his ear, "But I'll let you try."

He shoved Andon at me and watched, so I had to step away from Andon. At first, I thought Andon looked hurt, but I could see his eyes picking up on every little detail about me.

"Go on now," Priam said, "Try and have fun." He waved us away, all the while looking at me with a possessive grin. As soon as the door was closed behind Andon and I, I stopped and had to gasp through a sob.

"Come on," Andon said in a gentle tone and lightly guided me to the room as I was trying to keep the sobs in and quiet. When we were in the room, Maxine jumped up, but Andon stopped her.

"Not right now," he said, "Just give us some time."

"But Priam..." she started to say.

"Found us, yes, we'll be fine," Andon said.

"Alloy—," Maxine murmured, looking worried.

"I'm fine," I told her, "Overwhelmed, but fine. I'll talk to you in the morning." She looked relieved and turned away telling Klider and Flint to sit back down as well. Andon took me to my room, locked the door and barricaded it with a chair.

"Just sit, love," he said and helped me sit on the bed before sitting quietly beside me. I could tell he wanted to ask questions, but he was keeping himself quiet. He lightly ran his hand in small circles on my back as I calmed myself down.

"He didn't rough you up," Andon said after a moment, "Your hair was just a little messed up, but not terribly so. And the dress was in tact."

"Yeah, because I managed to talk him out of it."

"What did you say?" he asked, his voice tight.

"I pretty much told him that the best way to torture you is to slowly turn me away from you. It—I didn't like saying it, Andon. But it got me away. It might keep him from hurting you." Andon let out a long breath and stood up. He began to slowly pace around in front of me.

"Tell me everything that happened," he said quietly. And I did. I recounted every detail to him. By the end his face was pinched up and he looked pissed, but I was sure it wasn't directed at me.

"I don't know what to say," he murmured after a while.

"You don't have to say anything. I was just bullshitting him really and it was stupid."

"No," he stated and stopped pacing, "You did put some thought into it and I felt you go dark, Alloy, so I knew you were doing something to get through it. I just don't know where to go from here."

"Sabre," I said, "We need to talk to him. He's not as stupid as Priam is, though he wants the same thing, to be king and all, but we may be able to get him to work with us and keep Priam away. So he can't hurt either of us." Andon ran his hands down his face and then put his hands on his hips, looking down at the floor for a moment.

"Right now, it's our only option."

"Besides killing Priam, which I don't see why it isn't on the table."

"Politics," Andon murmured, "He's in with Nikola somehow and until I find out how and what he's actually been doing, we keep him alive." I nodded slowly, wanting to know exactly what Priam was up to as well.

"I'm going to get changed," I murmured, "Shower probably."

"Please shower," he said and when I gave him a strange look, he continued, "If Priam was all over you, I don't want to be anywhere near that." I understood, gave him a small smile, and walked into the bathroom.

"Alloy," he said, "Don't you want to get some clothes to change into first?"

"Right," I answered and walked back out.

After I'd grabbed some pajamas, I walked back into the bathroom. The shower was truly refreshing and relaxing. I didn't want Priam's spit or scent on me any longer than Andon did. After I was dressed, I brushed my teeth thoroughly as well.

When I walked back out, Andon had changed already and was fiddling with some control board as he sat cross legged at the end of the bed. I still wasn't too used to finding him looking mundane, just sitting around in comfortable clothes.

"What's that?" I asked.

"Watch," he said. He pressed a button and the walls started to change color, the ceiling too.

 "How the hell?" I asked, scowling and going over to the wall.

"Technology," Andon said and I could hear the smile in his voice.

He did something else because the wall went from yellow to a darkened color and the lights dimmed. There was audio as well, wind whistling through the trees. As I stepped back and looked around I realized that the walls were now depicting scenery from Rayler. There was light coming from somewhere and I looked up to see that the ceiling was the sky. The moon was shining down through the tops of the bare trees. Stars flickered, clouds slowly moved by, and the tree branches moved in the wind. It was like I was there, immersed in the late Verlainian fall. When I looked over at Andon, he was smiling.

"You should see your face right now," he murmured.

"I didn't know this was possible," I stated.

"I thought you might like a little taste of home." It was thoughtful, sweet, and I very much appreciated it, but it was home, the place that had only been a trap.

"Change it, please," I murmured. He did, quickly making everything normal again.

"I thought—," he said, looking a little caught off guard.

"No, the thought is what matters, Andon," I said, going over and sitting down beside him, "It's just that home reminds me of everything I don't want to think about. It reminds me of my suffering." We were both quiet for a little while, before he spoke up.

"Alloy, tonight has been—a veritable wreck and it has changed some things for me."

"What things?" I asked.

"Us," he murmured. I sat up straighter and looked at him, scowling.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Calm, love," he said, lightly reaching over to touch my face, but he looked sad, "You told me what happened, before you died. I hated knowing that and letting you go to Priam." I leaned my face into his hand and closed my eyes.

"I was protecting you by going with Priam," I said.

"And the thought of intimacy doesn't bother you? My touch doesn't bother you?" I opened my eyes and looked at him.

"Andon, you're the only man whose ever treated me like this," I said, "Don't vilify yourself because you're a man."

"You weren't afraid, were you?" he asked.

"I couldn't afford myself the fear, but I did feel some fear."

"I've known women who have been terrified of any man after sexual abuse," he said.

"Giving in to the fear is like letting them have your body over and over again. You said my body is mine, and it is, that is why I'm not afraid." He ran his thumb over the center of my forehead.

"And he shot you?"

"No, there were two town Officers, Weir and Connor. Weir was more of a beat you to a pulp kind of guy, dumber than Priam I think. Connor had the hots for me, I guess, he always had. So, Weir grabbed me and let Connor have his way," I paused and looked at him, "Do you want the details?" He immediately shook his head.

"No, not what he did to you, no."

"After Connor was done, Weir just wanted to put me out of my misery. He said he kind of felt bad, that I could've made a good officer if I'd had the right training. Then he shot me."

"And you're absolutely sure he shot you?" I looked over at him and remembered staring down the barrel of the gun.

"Yeah."

"Were you afraid then?"

"No," I said quietly, "I just thought my luck had finally run out. Some people die, some people live. Sometimes life just—ends. Had I every truly had a life to live? Was dying going to truly end my suffering? Had I ever been worthy of life in the first place? To have such a tortured existence only to die in an alley, in the dirt, with my dignity stripped away from me?" He was pulling me into his chest before I realized there were tears dripping down my cheeks. He held me close as I wiped away the tears with my fingertips. Somehow, I knew he understood how I felt.

"You are more than you know," he murmured, "Worthy of everything you do and dream to do."

"Killing Nikola?" I asked.

"Completely justified. He's murdered countless people, Alloy. His Officers, meant to be there for protection and safety, killed you. We'll get through all this bullshit and then when it's all over, we can work on living life."

"I think we should live life as it comes at us," I said, meeting his eyes, feeling suddenly desperate for something that I couldn't explain. He obviously saw that and his eyes widened a bit.

"No," he stated, "Especially not now. Not here. Not after today."

"Andon, Priam might figure out I was lying. If he does that one of us will have serious consequences to pay."

"No, Alloy. That's final. I'm not ready for it and I doubt you are either." His statement completely sobered me.

"Sorry," I said, immediately pulling myself away from him, "It just happened." I felt flustered and knew my face was flushed. However, he smiled just slightly.

"Everyone has hormones, Alloy, you'll learn to control them." I felt even more mortified then and he just chuckled.

"Let's just get some sleep. If it'll make you more comfortable, I can sleep on the floor."

"No," I said, feeling sheepish, but also wanting him to stay in the bed with me, just so I had him there, really.

"If you're going to keep your hormones under control," he said in a playful tone.

"That's not my fault," I stated and crawled into the bed, facing away from him with my cheeks burning with embarrassment.

He turned off the light and I felt him lay down beside me. He made it a point to ask if I was comfortable with things and I'd automatically assumed that if he was doing something, he was comfortable with it. What I thought was going to be a perfect night had been ruined. I thought through it all. What had been said, what hadn't, and what didn't need words to be known. He hadn't tried to distance himself again. He'd been expressing his love to me openly. However, he had tried to retract something. That he didn't need the stars to align to know what he had.

 
"Andon?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you comfortable with all this?" He was quiet for a moment before I heard him take in a deep breath and let it out.

"Completely."

"Did you mean what you said? Before Priam interrupted because you acted as if you didn't want to care what was going on around us. But then you said—,"

"Alloy," he said, cutting me off, "Look at me." I rolled over and there was enough dim light coming in through the curtains that I could see his face. "You are everything I could've asked for. I'm not taking back anything I said, I'm just being cautious. If it had not been for Priam, I would've kissed you."

"Priam isn't here now."

"I am comfortable with this, being close, but I still have issues I need to figure out. I don't want to kiss you and then regret it in some manner later on. I do want our firsts to mean something because I wasn't this way with Eirene."

"So, you just want to wait for the right time?" I asked, feeling better, that he wasn't going to go back on his word.

"If I can," he answered. I smiled and moved closer, so that I was pressing myself into his chest.

"What do we tell Maxine, though, when she asks if we're dating?"

"What do you consider dating?"

"This. Us. How we do things."

"Then we're dating."

"But—," He chuckled and held me tight for a moment.

"Do you want me to wait and officially ask you? Because you're the one who said it, it happened without words and I think it means more when it doesn't, that it happened without us really paying attention to what was going on inside."

"No, this is fine, Andon. I'm not one for big fancy dates or occasions."

"Good, because I have a certain amount of anxiety thinking about it. Tonight, I'd managed but I really was nervous. That's what Eirene liked, the show of it."

"You don't have to talk about her," I said, noticing that his voice still got tight whenever he did so.

"Thank you," he murmured and kissed the top of my head. I liked where I was. I liked how we had happened. There was nothing I would change because if we had met in different circumstances, I might not have even talked to him and he might not have paid the slightest attention to me. Things were good. Things would work themselves out. It was probably best we waited for the more serious stuff until after, so we could concentrate on each other and not what was going on around us.