Hunter
An uneasy knot tightened around his stomach as Hunter approached the palace guards.
“She’s expecting me,” he said to the one he recognized. The guard nodded and his companion opened the door for Hunter.
“She’s in the throne room,” the guard said.
Hunter steeled his spine. The throne room. Of course she was. She was feeling insecure and in need of asserting her power, he had no doubt. Hunter hated the throne room. He had vague memories of what it was like before, full of light and plants his father had chosen.
Now, the cavernous room was dark. Heavy curtains were pulled over the tall windows, only slivers of light creeping in from the edges. Where there had once been three thrones at the head of the room, there was now only one, big enough to seat a giant despite the Queen being a slight woman.
She sat in the throne, her thin body cloaked in a sumptuous fabric that hugged her bony hips and clung to her rib cage, the only shaft of light in the room directed upon her head. She said nothing as he entered, her stone-cold eyes boring into him from a distance. But her fingers tightened on the armrest, he saw, their tips turning white.
The Queen kept her expression neutral as Hunter approached. He knelt at the base of the throne and the waves of fury coming from her were unmistakable.
And now, he prepared himself for his inevitable end.
“You’re alone,” she said, her voice harsh and clipped. No fake cooing or sweet simpering today.
He dipped his head, bringing his eyes up to meet hers. “Yes, Your Majesty. The girl slipped away from me when we arrived. I could have killed her then, but you’d impressed upon me the need to return her alive.”
Her eyes narrowed and she drummed her fingers on the throne, long pointed nails clicking as she did. “This is so disappointing, Hunter,” she said. “I thought you were better than this.”
He braced himself, waiting for the pain, the sudden shock that would end his life and his servitude. But he needed to activate the device first. He began to reach for his pocket, but the Queen was already turning to her guards.
“Bring me his father,” she ordered.
Hunter swallowed. “Your Majesty?”
She tutted, shaking her head. “What would you do in my position, Hunter? You are quite valuable to me. It’s a shame it has to end this way.”
She wasn’t just going to kill him, then. She was going to make him watch his father die first.
“I have the device,” he said quickly. “I will trade it for his life.” He was just stalling now. He didn’t believe for a moment that she’d honor that deal once he was dead.
She laughed, a high-pitched mirthless sound that echoed throughout the granite and marble hall. “What makes this device so special?” she asked. “Did you think that would be enough to save you?”
He lowered his head again, keeping his eyes on hers all the while. “I hoped it would be enough, yes. It was suggested that this device could tear apart your reign. I thought it more important than some spoiled princess without a clue.”
The Queen’s lips thinned. “You think she is no threat to me?”
He shrugged. “I think she is easily dealt with.”
“And yet you show up here without her. What does that say about you? Have you gone soft on me, Hunter?”
“No, Your Majesty.” Quite the opposite. All this time, forced to work under her, he’d struggled to find something worth living for. Survival had always been his goal, but surviving wasn’t living. Survival wasn’t good enough and he couldn’t go back to that life.
After years of searching for something worth living for, Hunter had finally found something worth dying for. Snow, and the restoration of the Empire. Having a part in preventing more stories like his, like hers. It was worth it.
“I hope not,” she said. “Perhaps if this device is what you say, I could reconsider your punishment.”
Hunter looked up quickly. Mercy didn’t sound like the Queen. “You mean… my father?”
That fake laughter echoed again, jarring every nerve ending in his body. “Oh no. Your father will have to die. He was a reward for bringing the girl and—” she opened her arms to gesture around the empty throne room “—I see no girl. But you… You represent quite the investment on my part. I’d hate to lose my favorite huntsman,” she pouted, pushing her lips out in a way that looked absurd on a woman her age.
“I see,” he said, his shoulders sagging.
“Oh, you understand, don’t you dear? I can’t have people thinking that it’s okay to fail missions. What kind of example would that set?”
He rose to his feet and nodded. “I understand.” He understood perfectly. She would never stop manipulating him as long as he lived.
“This all could have been avoided if you hadn’t fallen for her tricks. I thought you were more resilient than that.”
“Tricks?” Hunter said, clasping his hands behind his back. The device was in his back pocket, he could easily reach it now without alerting her suspicion. But he wanted to give Snow as much time as he could. And, selfishly, he wanted to see his father once more before he died.
His throat tightened. Would his father be able to break free in the commotion? Maybe Snow would find him. Maybe he had a chance. But for Hunter, it all ended here.
“Oh yes. That little brat has always been talented with making people love her. I should have known you wouldn’t be immune. Was I so wrong to want a little affection from my own husband? But every spare minute of his time he spent with her.” She looked off into the distance, almost seeming hurt by the slight. But then a murderous gleam took over in her eyes. “Perhaps if he’d paid more attention to my unhappiness he would have realized I was poisoning him.”
“I don’t like being ignored, Hunter,” she said, standing, walking circles around him. “And I’m recalling now how often you’ve been disregarding me lately. I’m not so sure leniency is warranted after all.”
His hand slipped into his pocket and closed around the disc that would disable the chips. He may not have the time to see his father again at this rate.
The Queen seemed to be thinking the same thing, turning toward the door with a glare. “What is taking them so long?” She pulled a communicator from somewhere — where she hid it in that dress was anyone’s guess — and opened it, scowling at the screen. “Captain, I’ve been waiting long enough,” she barked.
Hunter couldn’t see the screen, but he could practically feel the man’s uneasy hesitation through the silence. “There seems to be a problem, Your Majesty,” the Captain said.
If her eyes could shoot lasers, the compact would be melted with the look she leveled at him. “What do you mean there’s a problem, Captain?”
“The prisoner isn’t in his chamber.”
The Queen howled, shrieking as she threw the communicator across the room. She thrust a finger in Hunter’s face, frothing as she screeched, “You!”
He couldn’t help but smile, silently thanking Snow for trusting him. For getting his father out. Even if it meant they’d never be reunited after all. At least his father would live.
“I should have killed you weeks ago!” the Queen raged on, turning back to the throne. “I should have made your puny heart explode without a second thought. But now—” Her laugh was that of a madwoman’s: unhinged and deranged as she whirled on him, a device of her own in hand. “Now I’ll make up for that lack of foresight.”
“You should have done it sooner,” Hunter said, freeing the device from his pocket and pressing the button in one quick movement.
The shock of electricity felt like lightning ripping his heart apart, hotter than the flames of a supernova, but mercifully, it didn’t last long before death embraced him.