Page 30 of The Order: Rise of the New Empire (Order #4)

Chapter twenty-nine

Kaiden

T he silence is driving me mad.

Every second spent waiting for Xavier and my sister to send word is just another second I could have been out looking for her.

Aaron does not trust me.

My friends do not trust me.

Why else would they have left the cabin before I could join them?

The Underground is not meant to be seen by a Blackburn's eyes.

They know my loyalty to her runs deeper than whatever fucked up war camp they have created.

Right now, I am a goddamn sitting duck, just waiting for the worst to happen.

My whole life, I have always felt nothing but useless, bound by my incessive need to do what is right in order to protect the people I love.

Now? I sit in solemn wait, just hoping that Xavier's love for my sister is far greater than whatever influence Elyon might have over both of their minds.

I love Aaron, I really do.

But pretending that I love him more than my sister's well-being is foolish.

I can sit here, wait, and hope to have my sister return home safe.

Or I can fucking do something for once in my life.

I can leave this cabin and find a way to bring her home.

Mason thinks I don't see it, but I know if it came down to it, he would gladly drive a blade in my sister and Elyon's heart and have his Shifter companions finish the job for him.

The only two people truly on my side are now in Elyon's grasp.

No longer will I let the people I love be harmed, while I sit back and hope for the best.

Staring at the cabin's front door, I make an executive decision.

Slinging a bag over my back, I fill it with all that I will need, strapping a blade and pistol to my side, patting myself down, before swinging open the front door.

"You want to run, Forest, fine," I whisper, giving the cabin a long hard look. "Your big brother will always come after you."

Hauling ass on one of the quads we stored at the cabin from the compound, I avoid the rough terrain, letting my mind travel to places I wish it wouldn't.

Xavier must have found something.

That is the only reason he would compromise himself enough to be taken by the Prophet's grasp again.

Does he know something I don't-

Slamming on my breaks, I reach the halfway point to New Haven, my quad nearly toppling over from its abrupt stop. Like they appeared out of nowhere, a small, cloaked figure stands in my path, their hood lowered, concealing their face entirely.

Stopping right before them, I take deep staggered breaths, staring at the figure with a wide gaze.

"Kaiden Blackburn," the raspy female voice whispers, her golden eyes glancing up toward me, the abrasive dark runes coating her neck and face. Tied back, her red hair is wound up in braids, her face concealed with a mask.

"D-Do I know you?" I question.

She's Marked.

"Oh, don't tell me you don't recognize me," her eyes crease as she grins.

Swallowing, I try and piece together where I have seen her before.

That night in the compound.

All that time ago, the night I lost Hunter.

Rowan.

The girl Mason and Bekah have been searching for.

"There's that Blackburn brain going to work," she coos, her voice far older than the age she presents to carry.

No gray.

"Haven't had the honor of needing to keep my age stagnant," she smiles, tugging down her mask.

"Get out of my head," I hiss. "You Marked are always sticking your noses in places you shouldn't," I snap, her mouth curling into a deeper smile.

"And you Cleansed blame us for circumstances beyond our control. Do you think most of the Marked had a choice becoming what they are?" she questions, speaking with no boundaries.

"Why the hell are you even out here?" I question, not another person anywhere in sight.

"I heard whispers of the Underground. I know a war is looming. I also know none of this will play out how any of you expect it to. You think if Elyon is gone, power does not continue to have a grasp. First it is Elyon, next it's your sister, all while Atticus looms at the back door-"

"Atticus?"

"The Commander of the Precipice. The very same Precipice that the Revolutionists plan to infiltrate-"

"I didn't know-"

"Because they don't trust you, Kaiden, almost as much as you don't trust yourself right now. Tell me, why are you making your way to New Haven right now?"

"My sister-"

"Then what?" she questions. "What do you think will happen if Elyon sees a Cleansed like you, a martyr, making your way back to New Haven-"

"And what are you doing?" I yell, getting in the young girl's face. "All you've done is pop in when no one needs you, fucking with people's heads-"

"I'm running, Kaiden, before I am forced to," she whispers. "When this war happens, and it will happen, there will be casualties, and when the blood has been shed, and the dust has settled, this world will not be the one you knew."

She pauses, taking a step closer, her runes so prominent in this lighting.

"And I know which side you will be on by the end of it."

Saying nothing else, she moves past me, making her way down the path I had arrived from.

"Where are you going-"

"It was nice having a conversation with you, Kaiden. I have a feeling the next time we do, it will be under much worse circumstances."

Winnowing into thin air, she leaves the conversation floating in the air around us, giving me even less clarity than I started with.

Continuing on my path, the dust slaps my face, the outline of New Haven's ward coming into perspective. Surrounded by multiple guards, the place I once considered a home now resembles that of a fortress, one guarding the Earth's greatest secrets.

I don't have a plan.

In fact, the last thing I have is a plan.

All of this is all a coin toss, just hoping they don't decide to kill me before I've even made it to the front entrance.

Would Forest be doing this for me?

Is what I am doing foolish-

"Kai," Aaron's startled voice yells.

Reaching for the walkie I had foolishly brought, static fills the line, making his voice close to impossible to hear clearly.

"K-Kaiden, where are you-"

"I'm going after my sister," I snap coldly, his voice immediately quieting down. "I am not waiting around, allowing you all to plan her demise like I am foolish enough to keep myself in the dark," I hiss.

"Kaiden, please, that's not-"

"Goodbye, Aaron," I snap, tossing the walkie into the barren lands, letting my quad roll over it, shattering it into multiple pieces.

"Stop!" one of the Officials near the entrance yells, all of their weapons raising, pointed straight toward my head.

Not stopping, I rev the engine up, forcing the quad closer despite the array of weapons pointed at me.

"We said stop, or we will fire-"

Hitting the brakes on the quad, I stop before the men, letting the wheels kick up dirt. Swinging my legs off the vehicle, I sling my bag over my shoulders, raising my hands in defense.

"I mean no trouble," I whisper. "I'm just here to see my sister."

Whispering on their communication devices, the Official closest to me looks me up and down.

"You're Andrew Blackburn's kid," he snaps.

He is a man I have seen before.

One that had been in my house once or twice, asking me how studies are going.

Now look at him.

Pointing a weapon at me, ready to shoot at any given moment.

"I am here to see my sister," I reiterate, saying nothing in response to his comment about my father.

"Your sister is not here," the man growls, looking me up and down. "Which means you, Kaiden, are trespassing-"

"Lower that gun unless you want to see if the heavens are real," her voice snaps, my heart sinking into my chest.

Lingering in the crowd of Officials, her hood is drawn, Elyon lingering behind the woman. Raising her head, we lock eyes, the farthest thing from a smile touching her cold expression.

Forest.

"Ma'am-"

Watching the man's eyes roll into the back of his head, he lets out a sound of pain, grasping my front in sheer horror before slamming to the ground in a limp dead state.

Taking a step back from the body, all of the Officials quiet down.

"I warned him," Forest smiles, looking to Elyon for praise.

What the fuck?

Where is Xavier?

Making her way toward me, Elyon lingers behind her, only stopping once she is standing before me.

Looking me up and down, we both lock eyes, a smile tugging at my lips.

"Forest-"

"Who sent you?" she questions, the farthest thing from amused.

"N-No one-"

"You're going to believe that?" Elyon questions, rubbing her shoulders. "I mean look at the boy, he trembles in fear, shaking as if he hides nothing but betrayal-"

"I can handle my brother, Elyon," she snaps, clearly annoyed by the man's presence.

"Right," he nods. "Of course."

Tuning her focus back to me, I try and think of a reason for being here.

"The others want to betray me," she whispers, her Call no doubt buried in my mind.

"So he ran to join his sister," Elyon finishes, fitting the pieces together. "Problem is, sweet Kaiden, I have no room for a Cleansed in my inner circle," Elyon mutters, looking me up and down. "Tell me what I am supposed to do about that."

"I have an idea," Forest smiles.

If comfort is what she is supposed to be making me feel, then this is far from it.

Watching Elyon's smile upturn, they both silently communicate, keeping me out of their thoughts.

"You sure?" he questions.

"If I fail, what's another body?" she questions, my palms viciously sweating from nerves.

Watching her raise her hand, a cut spreads across her palm, her eyes gleaming, their focus dead set on me.

Moving too quickly for me to react, she cups the back of my head, forcing me to my knees, her palm sliding over my lips, the blood pooling into my mouth.

"F-Forest-"

"Quiet," she yells, pressing harder.

The veins of her skin glow, the blood slowly seeping into my system, my throat forced to swallow. Watching her eyes lower, something about the way the blood is working through my system feels enlightening, my vision growing spotty the longer I consume the blood.

"Rest easy, big brother," Forest whispers, her lips grazing my ear.

"Welcome to the winning side," she whispers in my mind.

The darkness greets me moments later.