Chapter 79 Calculated moves
DARIAN
The night air is sharper outside the compound.
Cold, damp, biting. Each breath claws at my lungs, each step jarring pain through my ribs. My shirt is damp with blood, some dried, some fresh. The bandages are a memory. My back stings like fire’s been stitched into my skin.
But I keep moving. No stopping, not yet.
The last guard went down easier than expected, too easy. A punch, a twist, a door left ajar like someone forgot how keys work. No alarms or shouts. Just a clean slip out of the dark.
Suspicious. Sloppy.
Too perfect.
But I didn’t ask questions then. I took the shot. I ran.
My car is parked miles back, deep in the lot behind the lower barracks. No way I’m touching it. The second I power it on, they’ll have a tracer pinged. Every royal vehicle has one. That’s the first thing they drill into you.
So I run. On foot. Through brush, through trees, through mud and uneven ground. Every root threatens to trip me. My back screams and my legs cramp, but I don’t stop.
I don't know how long I’ve been moving when the forest thickens around me. Tall trees, knotted trunks, mossy earth. It feels remote, quiet for now.
I collapse by a tree. My breathing’s ragged. My throat dry. I scan the woods behind me, half expecting a patrol to step out from behind a tree. Nothing.
Maybe I lost them.
I lean my head back against the bark, grimacing. My hands shake as I press against the wound on my side, trying to stem the trickle of blood. Not fatal, but enough to slow me down.
I think of Iris.
No. I can’t go to her. Not now.
They’ll be tracking me, maybe already are.
I whisper her name once, softly. Like a promise, like a prayer.
Then I close my eyes, letting exhaustion swallow me.
\~~~
A sound.
Something off.
Crunching leaves.
I open my eyes.
And Zeus is squatting in front of me, smirking like he’s been here all night.
“Morning, sunshine,” he says.
My heart lurches. I scramble halfway up, wincing. “What the hell…?”
“You really thought I’d let you get away that easily?” he says, tilting his head. “Come on, brother. Give me some credit.”
I stare at him, stunned, but only for a second. Then it clicks.
The unlocked cell. The poorly tied restraints. The conveniently absent cameras.
I let out a bitter laugh. “You planned it.”
He spreads his hands. “Took you long enough.”
“I should’ve known,” I say through gritted teeth. “You’ve been playing both sides from the start. Feeding Father just enough to stay on his good side. Feeding me just enough to make me trust you and make mistakes just so I remain in father’s bad side.”
He stands, slow and casual. “Look, I needed a distraction. Father’s tunnel vision on you gave me room to operate.”
“You’re using Daisy,” I growl. “You used me.”
“Oh, please,” Zeus snorts. “You think I care about Daisy? She’s a means to an end. And you you’re the tool that sharpened itself. All I had to do was set the stage.”
“Why?” I push myself up, standing now despite the pain. “What do you get out of all this?”
Zeus steps closer. “What I’ve always wanted. Favor, power, and the throne.”
I shake my head. “You think Father will give it to you just because you deliver me back in chains?”
“I don’t need his permission,” Zeus says, cool and sure. “I just need him to believeI’m loyal. Until he’s not breathing anymore.”
I stare at him. “You’re going to kill him.”
“Don’t feed me words, brother,” Zeus says, but his tone is unconvincing, making me wonder what lengths he’s willing to go. “But first, I need you out of the way. Preferably quiet. Back in your cell.”
He glances past me.
Two soldiers step out from the trees. Fully armed with tranquilizers and batons. No hesitation in their stance.
Zeus turns back to me. “Don’t make this dramatic, Darian. You’re already bleeding. Save what little energy you have.”
I breathe out slowly. “Not a chance.”
I take a stance, fists clenched, weight shifted, blood pounding in my ears. Pain echoes up my spine, but I push it down. It doesn’t matter.
Zeus sighs, mock disappointed. “Of course you’d make it messy.”
He steps back. “Take him.”
The soldiers move forward.
I act first.
I pivot, slam my fist into the first one’s jaw. He stumbles back, surprised by the force. The second lunges and I duck, grabbing a branch from the ground and driving it into his ribs. Not deep enough to stop him, but enough to stagger.
The first recovers, swinging his baton. I dodge, barely. It clips my shoulder and a crack of pain shoots through me. I hiss and drive my elbow into his throat. He drops.
But the second one’s back. I spin, ready, but he’s faster now, pissed. He catches me off guard, shoving me hard into the tree. My wound lights up. I grunt, sagging to one knee.
The first soldier grabs my arms. The second pins my back with a knee.
I thrash, but it’s no use. The fight’s already burning out of me.
Zeus approaches again, arms folded.
“Stupid,” he says. “Predictable. You could’ve saved yourself the pain.”
I glare up at him, chest heaving.
“You think this is over,” I spit. “You think this is the end of the game.”
He crouches in front of me again, mirroring how I woke up.
“It’s not a game,” he says softly. “It’s a purge.”
Then he nods.
The tranq needle slides into my neck before I can react.
The world tilts. Spins.
Zeus’s face is the last thing I see.
Still smirking.