hearts of metal

lxvi. first to die

Her heart was beating unevenly in her chest, leaving her breathless and shaky. She'd been trying to reign herself in for the past hour, but the memories lurked just under the surface.

A dark room. The rattle of chains. The sound of a whip.

A hand settled on her shoulder, and she almost flinched before realizing it was just Aedion. Her brother was watching her in concern, as he had been doing all night. His Ashryver eyes, matching her own, were narrowed and wary.

I'm okay, she mouthed. She peered out from the corner of the alley they were in and watched the figure stumble in the dark along the narrow road.

Earlier that day, the guards had conveniently slipped up, allowing a few key prisoners to 'escape.' One of them was the man her and Aedion were currently following.

Rowan had done quite a number on Cairn. Which made their job easier. Several of his ribs were broken, and the man was still leaving a bloody trail for them to follow.

Honestly, the fact that he made it this far was a feat. She hadn't even expected him to still be alive. Of course, according to her family's promise, after this he wouldn't be.

Still, she disliked the close proximity to him. Even if she'd insisted on being the one going with Aedion. For a moment, her thoughts flashed to others and their job. A flicker of panic for them ran through her, but she shook it off.

They'll be fine. Focus on your own job.

As Cairn turned around the corner, Aelin slipped out from the shadows and darted towards him. Aedion was at her heels.

This was familiar to her, slinking from shadow to shadow. It was almost comforting, but it did little to ease her nerves. Cairn was no threat to them like this, he was far too injured to even notice them following him.

It was their destination that had Aelin concerned.

They continued to follow Cairn silently, until they reached where Cairn was heading. The two of them ducked behind a parked car across the street and examined their surroundings.

This building was taller than the ones around it, with nearly 5 stories. It seemed perfectly ordinary, as Aelin could even glimpse what seemed to be cubicles through the windows.

Few of the rooms were illuminated, probably due to the late hour.

From behind the car, Aelin and Aedion watched as the door opened. Someone pulled Cairn inside and the door was shut behind them.

"Do you have it set up?" she asked.

Aedion reached up for the headphone tucked behind his ear. She did the same, turning hers on.

"Vaughan?" Aedion asked.

For a second, she heard only a static crackle, but then Vaughan's voice flooded over the earpiece.

"Got it. I'll play the audio for you," he said.

Aelin frowned as Cairn's voice flooded into her ear. Upon Aelin's suggestion, a tracker and miniature microphone had been embedded into Cairn's skin on the back of his shoulder.

"Those fuckers..." came a low groan.

"Shut up, Cairn," someone hissed.

"Why did you come here? What if someone followed you? Idiot."

"Boss is going to be so pissed."

"Enough," a voice commanded over all of them.

The voice was familiar to Aelin, sending a chill up her spine. She couldn't quite pin down who it was, though.