The ride to Cavil’s tower had an excited yet ominous feel. Each of us kept quiet, thinking about all that we would be required to do. Of all of us, Jade seemed the most calm despite having a gruesome job ahead of her. “Are you nervous?” I asked her while patting Cy’s and Mav’s pills in the hem of my corset.

“I should be, right?” Jade looked around the transport while snuggling closer to Lowe. “I mean, I’m a bit nervous, but mostly I’m just excited. He killed my…” Jade swallowed then, the first true sign of emotion since we left. A glossy shine came over her eyes, and she blinked away the emotion with a frown. “My sister was a Walker in Ethros. She mostly kept to herself. Never bothered anyone. She worked in his home, and one day, he set his eyes on her. She was barely a teen. Barely knew the world was cruel. She killed herself the same night he invited her to his ivory room.”

I gasped at her story and tried not to ask too many questions. She spoke with a numbness I hadn’t expected. “She was my only family left, and he broke her. So I’m okay with murder. In fact, I’m going to enjoy it.”

When we arrived at the tower, the guards didn’t give us a second glance. They had grown relaxed with their rosy cheeks and wide grins. There was an excitement in the air; apparently Cavil wasn’t the only one who was homesick, his guards were, too. Too bad they’d never see their home again.

The gathering room was more crowded than any other time before. Cavil had invited every dignitary within a hundred mile radius. It took me a moment to find Cyler’s black hair and flirty smile in the crowd. But once I did see him, I was instantly taken aback by the pure fury in his gaze as he stormed closer to me.

“Something isn’t right. You need to leave now.”

I looked around the room for Maverick, unsure what was going on but feeling scared nevertheless. “What do you mean?” I asked.

“Oh Cyler!” Cavil’s voice said over the crowd. Trumpets started frantically playing as Cavil strolled through the room, trying to catch up with his processional. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere, Master Black.”

“You obviously haven’t been looking very hard,” Cy began. “It’s not like I can go anywhere.”

When Cavil’s beady eyes connected with mine, I just knew that something was up. It was the same calculating stare that I saw when I first met him in that abandoned home outside of the city. Cavil had something planned.

“Well, hello there, Shade,” he said. I didn’t remember telling him my name, which meant that he had looked me up in the database. “So happy to see you here again. I was thinking tonight that I would switch things up and claim you for the night. I think I’d very much like to see what all the fuss is to have the Cyler Black all out of sorts.” My mouth dropped open in shock as I took in what that would mean for me.

“Is that going to be a problem?” he asked in a sinister way that made my breathing go shallow with fear.

“No, sir. I mean, Commodore,” I replied with a stutter, it felt like my heart was going to jump out of my chest.

“That’s emperor, Shade. I’m an emperor now.”

Not my emperor.

“Yes, of course, Emperor Cavil. My apologies, sir.”

Cavil wrapped his arm around my lower back, and his hand lingered dangerously low. His fingers brushed right between my white corset top and the tulle pant skirt I was wearing. My skin prickled with discomfort at his touch, and I wanted nothing more than to run away.

Cyler‘s face was a bright red, and I wondered if this was it. If this was the moment that he broke. “Oh Cyler. I was thinking, since you don’t much enjoy these sorts of things, you could just spend the evening with your brother. He’s working very hard on a new finding.”

At that suggestion, Cyler curled over and clutched his arm. I could hear the zap of electricity and smell his burning skin. Someone had turned on Cyler’s fetter, leaving him no choice. “Yes, emperor,” Cyler said through clenched teeth. A guard clasped his hand on Cyler’s shoulder and guided him away, Cyler making sure to drag his feet along the marble as they went.

I wanted to stab Cavil right there and run to Cyler to end his suffering, but I knew it wasn’t that easy. Something was up, and Cavil seemed to know about our plans. It was odd that he’d requested me today. Was this some sort of power trip over Cyler?

Jade walked up to us, looking beautiful but nervous as she threw Cavil a coy smile. “Emperor, if I might be so bold as to say, I was truly looking forward to enjoying one last evening with you.” She sounded desperate, stroking his arm with a manicured fingernail.

“Don’t you worry. I have plans for you, Jade,” he said with a snarl before snapping his fingers. Three guards strolled up and grabbed Jade by the arms. One drifted a hand up her thigh, and she flinched when they pulled a knife from a holster attached to her leg.

“Send her to a holding cell to wait until tomorrow. We can have one last little execution before I leave,” he said with a smile as Jade struggled against their hold. I knew it was useless, but nevertheless she fought. Our plan was falling apart before we even got a chance to try.

Once she was out of sight, everyone went back to their hushed conversations, and the band began playing once more. Cavil stared at the hallway Jade and the guards disappeared down before turning his attention to me. “Ready for tonight, Ash? I think we’re going to have lots of fun.”

At the sound of my real name, all hope fled me. It was over. Cavil had won.

Cavil lifted a hand up and, with a flick of his wrist, unraveled my hair, making sure to pocket the knife Jules hid there earlier. “We can play with your knife a little later, Ash. I should send you with Jade, but I prefer to have a bit of fun first.”

I shivered when his hand wrapped around my throat. He leaned forward like he was going to kiss me, and bile filled my mouth, threatening to spill past my teeth. I wanted to flee. But instead of touching his lips to mine, he inhaled my scent. “Smell that, little Walker? I smelled it on you when I first met you outside of Galla.” How did he know it was me? When did he figure it out? “You smell like fear. Practically overflowing with it. It smells delicious.”

“How’d you know?” I whispered.

Cavil let out a low cackle so threatening and dark that I felt it in my bones. Kaye broke through the crowd with her sister from the kitchen on her heels, and I knew then where she had disappeared to this morning. She didn’t even pretend to be apologetic as she looked down her nose at me. She wasn’t wearing white anymore. “I reward those loyal to me, Ash,” Cavil said with venom.

“Why?” I whispered to her. I should have known this all along, right? She didn’t seek out a position in the Resistance. She grew up at Madam B’s brothel and was forced into this role. I thought back to the advice she gave me my first night here.

“Cling to that innate part of you that wants to survive.”

When Kaye’s sister backed out, her survival instincts kicked in, and she was more than willing to sacrifice all of us to save herself. “I survive, Ash,” she said. “I always survive.”

Cavil placed his hand at my lower back and guided me away from Kaye, smiling at onlookers and acting like ruining assassination attempts was a normal occurrence for him. I wondered if he wanted the public display to show that he was invincible, and at that moment, it seemed like he very well was.

“I was going to wait until after dinner, but I don’t think I can stomach sitting next to you for the next hour and not slitting your throat,” he growled. The hallway lights seemed to flicker as he dragged me. Each step felt like trudging through wet cement. I didn’t want to go with him, but what choice did I have?

I didn’t want to die like this, once again being pulled to my fate without any way out of it. The lights ahead flickered once more, and for a moment, I felt like I was back in the dark streets of Ethros. He was pulling me back into the darkest night of my life. Commodore—sorry, Emperor—Cavil was evil.

I looked in the corner and let out a shocked whimper when I saw Cyler and Maverick on their knees on the floor. “Ash!” Cyler yelled while struggling to move. He lifted his leg to stand up and a nearby guard pressed a button on his tablet, activating his fetter.

Harsh screams echoed off the walls, and I choked back a sob. I wanted to beg Cavil to stop hurting him, but he would just get more pleasure from my groveling. That’s what he wanted, wasn’t it? He wanted to feel powerful. “Do you like my new ivory room? I had it installed when we moved here,” Cavil said while waltzing over to Cyler and patting him on the head like he was a pet.

I closed my eyes, knowing that this was it. Cyler, Maverick, and I would most likely die here in this room. I knew that the white walls and furniture would be coated with our blood and that there was nothing to stop him. The only consolation I had was that Kemper, Jacob, Patrick, and Huxley would survive.

No. That just wasn’t good enough.

I took in the four poster bed in the middle of the room. Tall posts at each corner of the bed with white bedding and a canopy over top drew my attention. The bedding was pulled tight, and white pillows rested against the headboard. “It looks tacky. I’ve never really been one for showy rooms,” I replied with a smile.

I should have been submissive or at least pretended to be. But if I was going to die in this room, I’d die with dignity. I wouldn’t roll over on my back and accept whatever the fates dealt me. I’d die a strong Dormas woman, through and through.

I was expecting retaliation, but the backhanded slap still caught me off guard. I fell to the ground, and Maverick let out a curse. “Fuck you, Cavil,” he groaned as the guard pressed the button once more, activating his fetter.

“I don’t need you anymore, Maverick,” Cavil spat. “Your brain and talent can’t protect you. I found out the clue to saving the empire. It’ll be ME that saves everyone.”

“What does that even mean? How could someone like you save everyone?” I asked. I was baiting him and trying to buy us some time. There had to be something that could get us out of here.

“I found out some interesting news this week. Something that made me eager to go back home and explore a bit more,” Cavil replied cryptically while moving closer to me. Slowly, he wrapped his hand around my wrist, pulled me towards the bed, and sat me down on the hard mattress. Once more, I eyed the four posts on the bed frame.

“You might remember my Companion in Ethros, Dominique. She’s been keeping some dirty secrets,” Cavil snarled as he spoke, unbuttoning his dress shirt and keeping his eyes locked on me.

I thought back to Allaire and his ominous statement before dying at the hands of the executioner. “I think it’s hardly world-altering that she was seeing Allaire behind your back.” I made sure to keep my voice even as I spoke. My plan was to keep him talking; as long as he was talking, I could figure something out.

“She wasn’t dating Allaire. She was showing him her findings. Dominique wasn’t Lackley’s Companion like I thought. She was his scientist. And she came to Ethros with me as a Companion to hide once he realized that her cure wasn’t working. The woman I’ve been fucking created the damn virus in the first place.”

All at once, a clear understanding flooded through me like an icy shock to the system. My dream, my understanding of Dominique, it all made sense now. That woman was tortured and disturbed, nearly teetering on the edge of insanity. I realized, then, that she wasn’t suffering from all that the world had done to her, but instead from the guilt of all the things she’d done to the world.

“How did you even find her?” I asked. I wasn’t sure how far to push, how much Cavil would be willing to say. If I acted like I was hanging on the edge of his words, worshipping each syllable pouring from his lips, maybe I could distract him and…

“She cornered me in Lackley’s home. She said she was Lackley’s most prized Companion, but she wanted to go with me. I saw the opportunity to claim one of Lackley’s possessions and didn’t think anything of it. I wish I’d known then what I know now, though. I had the answers for the cure under my nose this whole time and didn’t even know it,” he chuckled to himself.

I closed my eyes, once again reliving the glimmer of a memory I was gifted with when Jules gave me the death pill. Maybe it was a message from Josiah. Maybe he wanted to give me one last nudge in the right direction. Leave it to Josiah to find a way to help me from the dead.

I swallowed deeply as Cavil slowly removed his shirt, revealing yet another crisp, white undershirt beneath. “We went through Allaire’s office to find out who else he was working with. I never imagined I’d find his correspondence with Dominique. Just before you escaped, she and Allaire unlocked the cure. She injected it in her son, Payne, then sent him away with the hopes of keeping him far from me. Once I find him, I’ll have it all. And there’s nothing anyone can do to stop me.”

Oh no. Payne. He couldn’t do anything to Payne.

“It’s a shame Dominique died. I would have liked to have seen her expression when I bled her son dry in front of her,” Cavil added while unbuckling his belt. Some dark part of my brain knew what would happen next. I knew where this would lead. Cavil wanted to exercise his power over me in front of Maverick and Cyler.

“The day Allaire died, she hung herself in her jail cell. Pity, huh? I bet she knew I’d find his research. Allaire seemed to think I’d never find her son, but I have my ways. It’ll take no time at all to bring him back to Ethros.”

I grabbed my chest and held it tightly, taking in the pain of her death. Conflict over the woman that died rocked through me. She was Payne’s mother. The woman that helped us escape. But if what Cavil was saying were true, she was also the woman responsible for killing a majority of the population.

I looked over my shoulder at Maverick and Cyler then bit my lip. I knew they were stuck between feeling hopeful about this new information and defeated about Cavil. “You’ll never find him,” I whispered. I would still fight. I’d fight for my guys. I’d fight for Payne. For the empire.

“Is that so? You know where he is, Walker?” Cavil stopped undressing to look at me. He was trying to assess what I knew. I kept my face soft as the pretentious bastard looked me over. “You do, don’t you?” I bit my lip, praying that the idea I was slowly formulating would work. I didn’t think I had the strength, but I had to try. Looking around, there weren’t many other options. “Wouldn’t you like to know?” I replied with a smirk.

Cavil snapped his head to the guardsman. “Go! Get me a fetter. I bet she’s wearing a dud. Tonight’s fun just kicked up a notch.” Cavil then turned to face me. He clasped my chin between his index finger and thumb then growled, “I’m going to figure out where he is. And you’re going to tell me.”

The guard left the ivory room to get what Cavil required. I saw in the fake emperor’s eyes the eagerness he was feeling. He was too confident in his position, and it was time to strike. I took the time for a single breath, resolving to use everything Huxley taught me for one blinding moment of bravery. This was what I’d wanted. “I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” I said before lifting my leg up and kicking Cavil in the balls.

As expected, he crumpled over with a curse as I stood. “Fuck you,” he snarled while pulling his tablet from his pant pocket and pressing down on the button that electrocuted Maverick and Cyler. Their harsh screams made me wonder if he turned the setting up to the highest mode. I wanted to look back at them, but I knew if I did, I wouldn’t be able to do what I had to.

I wrapped my arms around the top half of the bedpost, and using my body weight, I pulled as hard as I could until the wood cracked, breaking the post free. I stumbled a bit with a curse. It was heavier than I’d expected, and a large, splintered crack dug into my palm as I steadied myself.

Cavil tried to move to stand, and I knew this was it. I didn’t have time to think or cry. I had to end him now and think about my morals later. Sometimes while we’re stuck thinking about the consequences, we lose sight of the rewards.

I swung back and hit Cavil in the head, and I wasn’t sure if it was his skull cracking or the splintered wood. Rearing back, I hit him again.

And again.

And again.

And I hit him as blood covered the ivory room.

I hit him as Maverick and Cyler screamed in agony.

I hit him until his skull was so broken that I was sure he could never hurt me or my men again.

“Ash, stop,” a pained voice cried out, the sound the only thing able to break me from the rage that flowed freely through me. I realized then that my guys were being electrocuted within an inch of their life. Quickly, I picked up Cavil’s tablet then cursed when it wouldn’t accept my fingerprint. Their screams grew quieter, and I knew that we didn’t have time to spare. I picked up Cavil’s hand and placed his index finger on the screen.

Once it was unlocked, I turned off their fetters, and not a moment too soon. I dropped the tablet and crawled towards them with tears in my eyes. “Maverick, Cyler,” I cried out, touching their faces as their chests heaved. I smeared red blood along their cheeks. “Are you okay?” I asked.

It took what felt like ages for them to answer, but it was finally Cyler that responded in a hoarse voice. “Let’s get out of here.” I checked the tablet, praying I could disable their fetters from here, but a red alert flashed on the screen before it locked once again. Cavil must have had a failsafe on his tablet directly tied to his life.

I quickly went back to Cavil’s body and took a moment to look at it with clear eyes while they stood and made their way to the door. We had to leave before the guard got back with a fetter intended for me. I knew I needed to leave, but I had to take a moment to see what rage could do to a person. It was important that I truly absorb what I was capable of.

His head was a mangled mess. I’d expected this to feel...more. But his blood was just like mine. He wasn’t invincible. He died.

“Ash, we have to go,” Maverick said while hunching over and clutching his stomach.

“Okay.” Tearing my eyes from Cavil, I paused, dipping down to grab the Heat strapped to his thigh. My fingers trembled from the adrenaline as I held the weapon in my hand. Pressing the button while aiming at Cavil, his body turned to dust in a matter of seconds, as if he was never really there. Hopefully it bought us some time.

“You had to do it, stay strong,” Maverick said in a soft voice while placing his hand on my lower back. Was he worried about my soul? Was he worried that the Ash he knew was gone forever?

Or was that just me?

“I know.”