Snow
“We got him, he’s safe,” the man on the screen said. One of Beaver’s men — Sarge someone called him — looked to Snow to make sure she’d heard, and when she nodded, he turned the screen off and tucked it away.
She blew out a heavy breath. “So far so good,” she said, her fingers toying with the blaster holstered at her hip.
“Are you ready, Princess?” Sarge asked. He was a big man, not quite human. Something more reptilian, but his voice was gentle despite his massive bulk. Beaver himself was not joining them. He remained back at the Rusty Brew where he could direct his men if needed.
Snow nodded, taking her place at the head of the crowd. The murmurs and chatter died down and she cleared her throat.
This one’s for you guys, she thought, turning her mother’s ring on her finger. Hopefully they would be with her today, ensuring victory.
“For too long we have lived in fear. We have hidden ourselves, we have watched our loved ones ripped away from us. We’ve witnessed the horrors of unchecked powers and today is the day that it ends.”
A cheer rose from the crowd, bolstering her. “This is not what my parents wanted for the Empire. The Empire of my parents was a prosperous one, where citizens were encouraged to travel and know their neighbors. My father would not stand for this justice and neither will I!”
Another cheer. The crowd started growing restless, the time to act was upon them.
“Today, we fight for our freedom. My father led the charge against the invaders in the outlands, he defeated a great evil there and now another evil has taken root in our very palace. I know in my heart that he would be here beside me today if he could be, but we will take back the throne in his honor. Who’s with me?”
The roar from the crowd was deafening. “For the Empire!” she cried.
“For the Empire!” the crowd echoed.
She led the march toward the palace, Sarge and another man of equal size flanking her, weapons drawn. They reached the palace gate and the two guards there nodded, stripping off their insignias and joining the fray. More of Beaver’s men. She was lucky he’d done such a good job infiltrating the palace.
The guards at the door were another story. They fired shots into the crowd before she could even make out any of their faces. But the guards only numbered in the dozens and her mob was in the hundreds. Her followers weren’t as well armed though, and as the shots fired into the crowd, they began to fall all around her.
Snow fired back, searching for an opening, somewhere she could squeeze past the guards to get to the Queen.
Reinforcements came, protecting the entrance at all costs. They fired shots indiscriminately into the crowd and Snow heard the cries, the groans, and the sounds of her comrades falling to the ground. The smell of charred flesh mingled with the electric tang of blaster shots and the air filled with sounds of anguish and agony. It only strengthened her resolve. The Queen was going to pay for this.
“Princess,” Sarge said, dragging her away from the front lines, “the kitchen entrance is unguarded. Come with me.” She kept firing until they were out of sight of the front entrance.
All at once the guards and all of the crowd that weren’t from Beaver’s crew, stopped, their arms twitching, their faces screwed up in confusion.
“The chips!” someone cried. “They’ve been disabled!” A fierce war cry erupted from them. Another victory.
But it wasn’t the one that mattered to Snow. If the chips were disabled, that meant Hunter had done his job.
You crazy noble idiot. If you die I’ll never forgive you.
“Hurry, while they’re distracted,” Sarge said, tugging her by the wrist. Snow ran after him, close on his heels. The sharp zing of a blaster shot rang through the air and Sarge stopped abruptly; Snow didn’t have enough time to stop herself from colliding with his back.
He fired back at the attacker, one hand clutched over his stomach, dark green blood seeping through his fingers. “Go,” he said, his voice thready as he fired behind her again. “Go!”
She took off, feeling like a coward. A shot grazed her arm, but she couldn’t slow down. Didn’t even notice the pain as she barreled on, hating that more people were dying for her sake. But she couldn’t think about it. Not now. Not when Hunter needed her.
She burst through the kitchen door, startling the cooks, but when she drew her blaster and swept it around the room, no one tried to stop her from proceeding.
The blueprint of the palace came back to her like she’d never left. She knew all the secret passageways, all the hidden doors that took her straight to the throne room without being seen. She was finally home. But it wasn’t hers yet.
“Just hang on a little longer,” she prayed, dreading what she’d find when she finally found Hunter. Blood trickled down her arm and dripped to the floor, but it escaped her notice. There were more important matters at hand.
She kicked the door open, her blaster trained in front of her, daring anyone to try and stop her now. But there was no one to stop her. All the guards had been called to the defense of the entrance.
Snow spotted Hunter crumpled on the throne room floor, the Queen sitting idly in her throne, looking bored. Her heart clenched and she forced herself not to look at him. Not to think about the worst-case before she knew for sure.
“It’s over Irida,” she said, stepping closer to the throne.
The Queen still seemed unfazed. She rolled her eyes and tutted. “Still such a foolish little girl. Did you really think it would be that easy?”
Snow pursed her lips. None of this had been easy. “Surrender now and I might let you live out your life in prison,” she said.
Irida laughed. “You’re so much like your father. I killed him, you know, and I’ll kill you too. You think you’ve won, but this isn’t over.”
That was supposed to throw her off, Snow was sure, but it wasn’t a surprise at all. “I’m not a little girl anymore and I’m not afraid to blast you until you’re unrecognizable.”
“Sweet, stupid Snow. You think I’d let that happen?” Irida reached for something at her side and produced a handheld device that glowed bright blue. Snow didn’t know what it was, but she wasn’t going to wait to find out either.
She fired the blaster, shooting the disc and scorching the Queen’s hand in the process.
“You stupid ungrateful child,” Irida hissed, stalking toward Snow with venom in her eyes. Snow held her ground and the door behind them burst open, the crowd pouring in. Members of the Guard were among them, some defected, some in restraints. Irida screeched and hurled obscenities at them all and Beaver’s men wasted no time taking Irida into custody. Her animosity only gave them greater pleasure to do it.
“This isn’t over!” she howled as they carted her from the room. But it was. They’d done it.
The crowd was already celebrating, but Snow pushed them all to the back of her mind, dropping her blaster and falling to her knees at Hunter’s side.
Her fingertips went to his neck, finding his pulse weak, but there. “Hunter,” she whispered, her hand cupping his jaw, tears filling her eyes. “Hunter, we did it.”
His eyes fluttered, his voice barely there as he said, “Good shot.”
She laughed, her tears falling to his shirt, blooming into huge wet spots all across his chest. “I told you my aim’s fine.”
“How’s my pretty face?” he rasped, wincing as he tried to sit up.
“Perfect,” she said, bending to kiss him, unable to stop smiling even as more tears fell.
“Go ahead,” he said. She frowned, her brow furrowing.
“Go ahead, what?”
He turned his head and Snow knew. She kissed him once more before she stood and took her throne.
A roar came from the crowd, loud enough she thought they might shatter the windows.
They’d come a long way since Zomer, but now it was time for the real work to begin.