Page 12 of The Order: Rise of the New Empire (Order #4)

Chapter eleven

Xavier

" S o, your plan is to hide people underground as if they are in confinement once more?" I question Mason, watching the man take a widespread seat on my couch, his eyes heavy with the presence of exhaustion.

Though very open about most things, the actions he has taken to protect the Marked have been quiet, only leading back to a name, the Underground, an old underground bunker meant to be utilized during the nuclear fallout. During my time as Commander, there were brief talks about the possibility of finding the bunker, utilizing what resources it may have for Sanctum's hubs. After some scouring through the old world texts, and many dead ends, no one, not even our historians were able to find the massive refugee bigger than some of Sanctum's cities.

"Hide is such a harsh word," Mason sighs, glaring in my direction. "It would be a place to condition the Marked, let them become one with their abilities. We'd be able to create soldiers, house the young, protect the weak. It could be a place to learn rather than survive," Mason states, his optimism apparent despite his cold expression.

"By hiding them underground," Kai reiterates. "And what if they choose to leave?"

Closing his eyes as he inhales, Mason shakes his head.

"I have a feeling the structure that could be created underground will be significantly better than what will be on the surface," Mason snaps. "Once cadets-"

"Cadets?" Aaron questions, cutting Mason off.

"Yes, Danvers, cadets. Once cadets are old enough and experienced enough to hold their own, real liberation could begin. Finding a way to inhabit the surface in a society void of Sanctum's reign should be everyone's priority," he seethes, glaring in my direction. "That is still your goal, right, Evermoore?" Mason questions, clearly avoiding saying more.

"Why wouldn't it be?" I question, now ready to throw my own accusations at the man.

"We have all been through a lot," Mason stands, his arms crossed once more. "Sometimes priorities change."

"What are you suggesting?" I question, ready to get in the man's face.

"Now is not the time for you two's testosterone-fueled arguments," Valerie snaps, shoving Mason away from me.

Letting her lay hands on him, he rolls his eyes at the woman, pinching her cheek between his fingers.

"I'm petrified," he mocks, his first real grin touching his lips once she swats his arm.

The man gets a kick out of flustering Valerie, knowing damn well he is not high on her list of people she likes.

"So, cadets? What will that make you and me?" Aaron questions, both Kai and I snapping our direction to the man.

"You want to aid in his cause?" Kai questions, clearly as focused on finding Forest as I am.

"Bekah is already training Marked. Upholding what resources we can is vital to a new beginning. I'm not going to stick around and sacrifice the potential for a new beginning when there is so much more we could be doing," Aaron states, Kai's eyes lowering with annoyance.

"I have to agree, Kai," Valerie states, empathy filling her tone. "We might have a shot with this-"

"Would you be saying that if your bed buddy wasn't on board?" Kai questions, all of our eyes widening at the man's cold tone.

"Kaiden," I state, off put by the man's cold tone. "I think-"

"Don't lecture me like a child, Xavier," Kai snaps, his emotions spilling free from him like a tidal wave. "I'm not going to sit here and entertain conversations of a new beginning when my sister is being forced to do god knows what-"

"Section leaders," Mason interrupts, his focus on Aaron. "We would be section leaders overseeing the cadets."

Dumbfounded by Mason's need to continue speaking about a place he hasn't even given us the location to, my anger finally begins to register.

"If you're going to sit here and entertain this idiotic plan, be my guest," I hiss, feeling Kaiden's frustrations from a mile away. "But what you won't do is discredit Kaiden's frustrations. None of this is happening so long as Forest is in confinement-"

"And what if you're wrong about her?" Mason questions, uttering the one thing no one has dared to in my presence. "What if you're wrong about the reason she left?" he pushes, the last voice I want entering this conversation tuning in.

"He hasn't thought that far," Fallan states, making his way onto my couch, quickly plummeting to the ground the moment Mason kicks him to the floor.

"I, too, am curious about the whereabouts of this supposed underground," Fallan sighs, watching as Mason raises his foot, ready to deliver the man another blow.

"You all know as much as I do," Mason states, something lingering in his tone.

Is he lying?

"These are only talks, Kaiden, I figured some hope after we get your sister back would be appropriate."

Settling into Aaron, Kai rubs his eyes, his mix of emotions ones he has done his best to try and regulate.

"Are you lying to me, Mason?" I question, the first shroud of emotion touching the man's face.

"Would there be a reason I need to lie to you, Xavier?" Mason questions, unspoken words floating in the air between us. "Something tells me there is a reason you're being so adamant about Forest-"

"She saw me last night," I blurt out, all mouths snapping shut, everyone's focus dead set on me.

"What?" Kai questions, his body gravitating away from Aaron.

"Why would she-"

"She saw Mason in the Precipice," I continue on, his expression dropping. "She knows we are trailing her."

"Perfect," Fallan mutters, his commentary the last thing needed.

"What did she say?" Mason questions, the events that unfolded last night still seeming like a blur.

Her lips felt like fire on my own, her presence like a warm light at the end of a very dark tunnel. Holding her made me feel complete, making these nine months of hell seem worth it in every way possible.

But then there's that moment we locked eyes after I felt beneath her cloak.

The firm skin of her torso protruding just enough, the shock on her face from a protective nature rather than defensive.

It wouldn't be possible, would it?

There's no way-

"She told us not to follow her," I utter, cutting off my own rampant spiral of thoughts.

Nodding his head slowly, the others wait for more clarification.

"That's all we really had time to speak about before she was running off."

The last thing I need is all of us deep diving into what I felt last night.

Especially Fallan.

"Well, that seems like the very reason to begin following her," Kai says with some joy, ignoring the downturned expressions of everyone but me. "If Forest is warning us to stay away, it would seem we are getting closer to her than we anticipated."

Holding onto Kai's optimism, I smile at the man.

"It would seem your love is allowing you to look past the obvious fault in just charging into another one of Sanctum's hubs," Mason says, shattering any hope of optimism.

"And what would that be?" Kai questions, eagerly awaiting the opportunity to snap at the man.

"Elyon is still with her, as well as any other resources he and Forest have rallied during their bloodshed. There is no swift and clean liberation mission of Forest. Clearly, if she wanted to come home, she would have."

Hit with a wave of pain by the man's words, his blatant honesty is suffocating, sometimes aggravating.

Standing now, the man holds a certain authority he lacked during the weeks after his initial transition. Much more clean-shaven, and his body more filled out, he is one of the largest presences in the room, holding his authoritative posture despite how many glares make their way in his direction. As far as I know from Valerie's word, he has swiftly moved up the ranks amongst the other Marked he and Bekah have overseen, becoming a deadly force, one I know better than to take my full focus away from.

Friend or not, Mason stands with the side of his people.

I sometimes wonder if his side is still my own.

The art teacher's group was welcomed into Bekah and Mason's development, finally finding some sanctuary amongst a similar populous fighting for their cause. Despite the eagerness the group had to join Bekah and Mason, one bright-eyed redhead was absent from the group, making it easy to clue Auburn in on staying silent around Mason when mentioning Rowan.

He trailed the girl for god knows how long and found nothing.

The last thing he needs right now is another reason to distance himself from the rest of us.

Mark has been distant, his mind slowly gravitating away from him, leaving his visits from Kai to end with the names "Andrew and Katiana," more than "Forest and Kaiden."

Kai does his best to ignore how much Mark's faltering mind has affected him, but given how cold he's been, it's hard to tell much of what the young man is thinking.

Rolling up his sleeves, Mason's inked skin stands out to all of us, the intricate symbols seemingly etched into his skin meant to be seen. Taking several seconds to observe the rune like symbols, he eyes down the group, waiting for someone to bring up the elephant in the room.

"What's with the ink?" Fallan questions, observing the man's skin with wide eyes.

"They're runes," Mason snaps, ready to tear Fallan's throat out each time he speaks. "Some of the Marked, with time, had a few genetic shifts. I had the honor of getting this one."

"Genetic shifts?" I question. "As in, abilities altering?"

"I have yet to see a Marked with new abilities, but I suppose it's possible," Mason sighs. "Many of the Marked in the Precipice carried these runes. I suppose that's why I had a vested interest."

Marked with altered DNA.

What could that mean for Elyon?

Could the power truly shift if Marked were able to evolve?

Feeling a wave of fatigue wash over me, the events from last night made it impossible to sleep, making it impossible to focus on much of anything.

"Mason?" I question, narrowing my eyes. "Do you have-"

"You're lucky I like you, Evermoore," Mason warns, reaching into his back pocket, his hand holding up a reasonably sized bag of blood. "Fresh out of the vein, just like you requested, your majesty," he jokes, his humor a rare sight.

Tossing me the bag, I silently thank him in his mind, letting my mouth rip into the bag's contents, taking in every drop of power rolling down my throat. Watching Fallan's face contort at the sight, the irony in his avoidance of the drink is almost comedic.

"I knew Dove, you know?" Mason says, finally getting Fallan's attention.

Waiting for Mason to continue on, Mason's mouth pulls into a grin.

"She ripped the jugular from a child. Makes this look sanitary."

Dropping his head, Fallan tenses his jaw, excusing himself from the room.

"I'm going to get some fresh air."

Grabbing a jacket, Fallan shoves past Mason as he leaves, slamming the door shut with little to no care.

"I never liked him," Mason sighs, the last few drops from the bag rolling down my throat.

"I should have let you kill him that night on the deck," I seethe, wiping my mouth clean.

"Why didn't you?" Kai questions, regret filling me.

"Elyon was torturing him," Mason says, giving the shameful answer for me. "That's why Xavier tasked me to watch over her."

Giving Mason a nod of acknowledgment, I silently thank the man for his loyalty despite his avoidance of much of what we are doing.

"Are you riding solo today?" Mason questions toward me, my answer leaving me quickly.

"Yes-"

"No!" Kai, Aaron, and Valerie snap in unison, all of them shaking their heads in disbelief.

"You think we are allowing you to go to this place alone?" Aaron questions, looking at me with confusion.

"We don't know what is behind their borders-"

"Forest is," Kai barks. "That's more than enough reason to allow us to go."

"I don't know what we are walking into, Kai," I push, his head already shaking.

"None of us do. The least you can do is allow us to give you some backing."

All watching me with stern expressions, getting any of them to stay behind will be near impossible.

"And you?" I question toward Mason. "What will you do?"

"Bekah and I have more cadets that need to get settled into the Underground. If you all don't come back by nightfall, I'll make my way back to the Precipice with some resources," Mason sighs, unspoken words settling on his tongue.

"Is there more?" I question, his eyes heavy with dread.

"I don't know what you think you are walking into, Xavier," he sighs, his tone filled with pain. "At a certain point, we have to consider how far we are willing to let the people we love spiral before someone else has to step in."

Digesting his words, I take a shaky breath.

"Have a safe ride back," I mutter. "I think I'm done with your advice for today."