Chapter 11 CHAPTER ELEVEN**
CHAPTER ELEVEN
THE ROGUE QUEEN'S GAMBIT
ZARIAH NIGHTBORNE POV
The Shadow Syndicate compound was a fortress.
Steel and stone rising from the earth like a monument to power, surrounded by wolves who'd kill us on sight.
We crouched in the tree line, watching the patrols circle the perimeter. Twenty guards. Maybe more inside.
"This is insane," Elara whispered beside me.
"Yeah."
"We don't have a plan."
"Nope."
"We're going to die."
"Maybe." I glanced at her. "You can still leave. No one would blame you."
She snorted. "And miss watching my sister burn the world down? Not a chance."
Despite everything, I smiled.
The compound's main entrance was impossible—too many guards, too much light. But the eastern wall had a blind spot where the shadows pooled thick.
"There," I pointed. "We go over."
"You can barely walk."
"Then I'll crawl."
Elara's jaw tightened, but she didn't argue. She understood now. Understood that stopping wasn't an option.
We moved through the darkness, silent as ghosts. My body still ached from the poison, but Kai's burning treatment had bought me time.
Not much. But enough.
We reached the wall—fifteen feet of smooth concrete topped with silver wire.
"Boost me," I said.
Elara laced her fingers together, and I stepped up, biting back a groan as my muscles protested. I grabbed the top of the wall, avoiding the wire, and pulled myself up.
Then reached down for Elara.
She grabbed my hand, and I hauled her up with strength I shouldn't have had.
The Luna Code, still burning in my blood.
We dropped into the compound, landing in a crouch.
The inner courtyard was empty. Too empty.
"They're expecting us," Elara breathed.
"I know."
We moved toward the main building, keeping to the shadows. Every instinct screamed trap, but I didn't care.
My mother was inside. Three levels down.
That was all that mattered.
The door was unlocked.
Definitely a trap.
We slipped inside anyway.
The corridor was sterile, fluorescent lights humming overhead. Medical. Clinical. Wrong.
"This way." I followed the faint scent of blood and chemicals, leading us deeper.
We found the stairs and descended. One level. Two.
On the third, we heard voices.
"—vitals are failing. She won't last another day."
"Then extract what we can and dispose of the body."
"The Alpha Don said—"
"The Alpha Don is compromised. We follow protocol."
My hands clenched into fists.
Elara's eyes met mine, and I saw the same rage burning there.
We rounded the corner.
Two doctors stood outside a sealed door, tablets in hand, discussing murder like it was a grocery list.
They didn't see us coming.
I grabbed the first one, slamming his head into the wall. He crumpled.
Elara took the second, her claws extending, raking across his throat before he could scream.
The silence after was deafening.
I grabbed the keycard from the first doctor's pocket and swiped it across the door's scanner.
It beeped. Clicked.
The door slid open.
And I stopped breathing.
The chamber beyond was dark except for a single light illuminating a crystal pod in the center.
Inside, barely visible through the frosted glass, was a woman.
Pale. Skeletal. Tubes running from her arms, her chest, draining her blood into collection tanks.
My mother.
"Oh god," Elara whispered.
I stumbled forward, my hands pressing against the glass. It was cold. So cold.
"Mom?" My voice cracked. "Can you hear me?"
No response. No movement.
Just the steady beep of machines keeping her alive. Barely.
"How do we get her out?" Elara asked.
I scanned the pod's control panel. Dozens of buttons, none labeled. Pull the wrong one, and we could kill her.
"I don't know."
"Then figure it out!"
"I'm trying!"
Footsteps echoed in the corridor. Heavy. Multiple.
We were out of time.
I pressed what looked like the release mechanism.
Nothing happened.
Tried another. The pod hissed, but didn't open.
"Zariah—"
"I know!"
The footsteps grew closer.
Then a voice spoke from the doorway.
"Step away from the pod."
I turned.
A man stood there, dressed in a white coat, flanked by six armed guards. He was older, grey-haired, with eyes like a snake.
"Dr. Silas," he introduced himself. "Head of Syndicate Research. And you're trespassing."
"That's my mother," I said flatly.
"No." He smiled. "That's Syndicate property. As are you, technically. Though you've proven far more trouble than anticipated."
The guards raised their weapons—tranquilizer guns loaded with silver darts.
One shot, and we'd be finished.
"Last chance," Silas said. "Surrender, and we'll make this painless."
I looked at the pod. At my mother's skeletal form.
At the machines draining her life away.
Then at Elara, who stood ready to fight despite the impossible odds.
"No," I said quietly.
Silas sighed. "Pity. Fire."
The guards pulled their triggers.
I threw myself in front of Elara, feeling the darts hit—shoulder, thigh, ribs.
Pain exploded through me, silver and poison flooding my system again.
But I didn't fall.
The Luna Code surged, wild and uncontrolled, pouring out of me in waves.
The guards dropped their weapons, clutching their heads, screaming.
Silas stumbled back, eyes wide with terror.
"Impossible," he gasped. "The inhibitors should—"
I didn't let him finish.
I crossed the distance in two steps and grabbed him by the throat, lifting him off the ground.
"Open. The. Pod."
He clawed at my hand, gasping. "Can't... biometric... lock..."
I squeezed harder. "Try again."
"My... my fingerprint..." he choked out.
I dragged him to the control panel and pressed his hand against the scanner.
The pod hissed. Clicked.
The glass slid open.
My mother's body slumped forward, and I caught her, easing her to the ground.
She was so light. So fragile.
"Mom?" I whispered, cradling her head. "Please. Please wake up."
Her eyes fluttered. Opened.
Grey. Hollow. Barely recognizing me.
"Zar... iah?" Her voice was paper-thin.
"I'm here. I've got you."
Tears streamed down my face as I held her.
Behind me, Elara knelt beside us, her hand touching our mother's.
"I'm here too, Mom."
Our mother's gaze shifted to her. Confusion flickered. Then recognition. Then anguish.
"My... babies..." A tear rolled down her cheek. "I'm... sorry..."
"Don't," I said fiercely. "Don't apologize. We're getting you out of here."
I looked around. The guards were still down, writhing. Silas had passed out.
But more would come. We had minutes at best.
"Can you walk?" I asked.
She shook her head weakly. "Too... weak..."
"Then I'll carry you."
I tried to lift her, but my legs buckled. The poison was catching up, the Luna Code burning itself out keeping me conscious.
"Zariah," Elara said urgently. "We need help."
"I know."
But who? Veda was at the compound. Damien and Lucien were dealing with their father. We were alone.
Then the lights cut out.
Emergency reds kicked in, bathing everything in crimson.
And a voice echoed through the compound's speakers.
"All units, containment breach. Lethal force authorized."
We were trapped.
I looked at my mother's skeletal form, at Elara's terrified face, at the door that would soon flood with wolves wanting us dead.
"Listen to me," I said quietly. "When they come through that door, you take Mom and run. Don't look back. Don't wait for me."
"No," Elara said immediately.
"That wasn't a request."
"I don't care!" She grabbed my arm. "I'm not losing you again."
"You won't lose me. I'll find you."
"Liar."
She was right. I probably wouldn't survive this.
But they might.
That was enough.
The door burst open.
Wolves poured in—ten, fifteen, too many to count.
I stood, putting myself between them and my family.
"Run," I whispered to Elara.
"No."
"Run!"
But before either of us could move, someone stepped through the crowd of wolves.
Someone I never expected to see.
Kael Romano.
My first betrayer. My first love.
He stood there in a black suit, hands in his pockets, expression unreadable.
"Hello, Zariah," he said softly. "Miss me?"