JEOPARDY: The Cursed Soldier.

39. Family ties.

"Kayla?"

Kayla swiveled to the unfamiliar voice that had called her name and met with an unfamiliar epsilon who was striding her way. His scent told her that he was from the Markwell clan—Elliot's clan—but she got nothing else from him other than his cautious face.

"I have been sent to get you," The Epsilon said when he was standing right in front of her.

Kayla widened her stance. "By whom?"

"Alex, Elliot, and the others. They are waiting for you outside."

Something, she couldn't quite put her finger on, felt off about him. But because she was curious, Kayla nodded and started following him.

The epsilon led her through the side of the palace she had never been to. The side mostly occupied by the omegas. Kayla skimmed her eyes over the working omegas as they operated like machines all around them--ironing clothes, folding them, and sorting through things. The omegas didn't pay the two of them any attention until they got to a door and the epsilon led her through the door into the chilly, gray evening.

"Where are they?" Kayla asked the epsilon when he kept walking further into the darker parts of the grounds, and away from the palace.

"Right this way. Just follow me." The epsilon didn't even spare her a glance and kept walking forward, almost like he was rushing somewhere. Kayla knew how dumb it was to just follow an epsilon she didn't know into the dark, 24 hours since she had kissed her boss' boyfriend and as she debated running away with him.

At that moment, both Alpha Sienna and Angela had reasons to kill her. They could have hired that epsilon to kill her. She should just turn back inside and wait in her room. If Alex wanted to talk to her, he could come for her from her room.

"Are you coming?" The epsilon asked, pausing to look at her.

"I'm going back inside," Kayla answered and watched as his eyes widened in panic.

"Why? Ale--"

"You can tell Alex and his friends that I'm too tired to join them. If they want to talk to me, they can come to my room." Kayla turned and started for the door, but The Epsilon quickly ran to her side.

"It's urgent. You have to come, they need you there." He insisted, the worry on his face evident.

"What's going on?"

"I can't tell you. But we need to get there. Right now." He sounded and looked desperate. Like he really meant what he said. Kayla stared at him intensively as he impatiently fidgeted under her gaze.

"What is your name?" If she was going to walk into a probably dangerous situation, she should at least know the name of the man she might need to hurt.

"Ben." 'Ben ran a quick scan of their surroundings again before he focused on her. "Please, follow me."

Kayla reached for the knife on her waist, making sure it was still there before she started walking the same way Ben had been walking. "Let's go."

Ben sighed and strode past her at a hurried pace. In no time, they got to a back gate she had never seen before. Two other epsilons stood guard on either side of the gate. When the two guards saw them, they met Ben's eyes and opened the gate. Quickly.

"You have 80 minutes until the next round." One guard said meaningfully.

"We will be back by then." Ben cocked his head and led Kayla through the gate and into the dark, dense woods. Kayla moved her hand to her knife and kept following him.

They walked in silence for like 10 very long minutes before a familiar scent hit her. The scent that had mingled with hers and Ivan's on her yesterday's clothes. The scent of the ladies in white. The Lunarheart priestesses.