Weight of the World

Chapter Twenty-Two

—Light Tower, Tregaar, Valdornne—

Two broken ribs. As far as injuries went, it could have been a lot worse falling from the height he had. Glass and debris had been embedded in his arms and legs, enough that the nurse who had attended to him had cursed his entire existence. Hadrius had apologized, but the nurse didn't seem to care as she cleaned his wounds and wrapped his arms and legs in bandages. His torso, too, was mostly bandaged, leaving him a walking bruise. Regardless of his injuries, he had not been released from duty, meaning that the moment he was done in the infirmary, he was to report back to Regis, where Hadrius imagined he would learn his lesson.

As he made his way toward the elevator, Hadrius kept his head down, not looking a single person in the eye. Fortunately, it was late, well past midnight, so there were only a few guards on duty. But they all likely knew of his situation, and Hadrius had no doubts that Regis would demand a punishment for his actions. There were others who had done far less and executed for their mistakes. Hadrius had thought his own life forfeit after refusing a direct order, but then, why would Regis immediately send him to the infirmary if he was just going to kill him later?

At least he would live, for now.

The elevator dinged as the doors opened, revealing the long hallway to Regis' office. A single figure waited outside the doors at the end. Raler. Hadrius clenched his jaw as he made his way forward. He had never liked the Silencer much, his fixation on his sister when Raler had stayed with his family a bit much for his tastes. And now that Hadrius served as Regis' bodyguard, the Silencer took every opportunity to tease him.

"Dead man walking," Raler laughed as he pushed off the door and sauntered over to him. "Heard you disobeyed a direct order. Thought a Tor'Varyan'd rather die than disobey orders."

"Is Mr. Bellegarde inside?" Hadrius ignored him, eyes trained on the doors instead.

"Most try to run when they know they're about to be executed. You got some balls on you, Tor'Varyan."

"Don't you ever tire of hearing your own voice?"

"Why would I? It's such a lovely sound."

Hadrius rolled his eyes but didn't comment further as he brushed past the Silencer and made his way toward the doors. Before he could reach for the handle, however, Raler stopped him one last time.

"I heard it was bad down there, that Eclipse leveled an entire block. Is it true what they're saying?"

Hadrius nodded, not turning to look at him. "Regis put a ten million sovereign bounty on those responsible. Khalid and anyone who is working with him. Better get out there if you want your share."

"Khalid was responsible for the factory?"

Hadrius nodded again, his mouth dry as he took a risk. "Khalid wasn't there, but I think I caught sight of one of his subordinates."

"And why're you tellin' me?"

"Because she had black hair that was gathered into braids and a ponytail. Don't know who she was, but figured you'd want to know."

Hadrius didn't wait for a reaction. He opened the doors and stepped quickly inside. Raler had feelings for his sister, he knew, and with his own high standing position at Regis' side, Hadrius couldn't go looking for her himself. Raler was one of the few who could protect her against Regis' wrath. He just hoped his hunch was correct, and Raler would look after her rather than drag her here to Light Tower.