The Mariposa

Chapter 38

Earlier

Kalon

"It's been 24 hours, Kalon, we can't give them any longer. We must get my people to safety," came Ezekiel's voice, urging me, grinding against my growing anxiety at the silence of my best friend.

I had called a meeting with all of the generals: Ezekiel, Harrow and Augustine. It had been 24 hours and we had not heard a thing from either Elyas or Maeve.

"And abandon Maeve? Absolutely not," Harrow argued back at Ezekiel.

Ezekiel rolled his eyes. "That prince probably killed her while he had her alone and unprotected. You Mariposa were stupid to trust him."

I furrowed my brows, growing impatient with him. "He's had plenty of chances to kill her before now, Ezekiel. No... I fear something much worse has happened. We have to go after them."

Augustine rose a brow. "That's a death sentence, Kalon. Not all of us can sneak through that secret entrance."

I shrugged. "So, we won't. We're going to show up at their door. Think about it, they won't be expecting such a bold move. And if we don't do it ourselves, they're bound to do that to us. We know they know where we're at. We're sitting ducks as it is right now. At least this way, we bring the fight to them."

The three men were silent as they stared at me, weighing their very limited options.

Ezekiel was the first to respond, a slow grin creeping across his face. "Ah, what the hell. I've almost died so many times. If I'm meant to go out at some point, I will when it is that time. I'm not going to sit around waiting for it to find me."

I grinned back, growing a new respect for him. Harrow grinned as well.

"I second that."

Augustine sighed heavily, rolling his neck. "You three are out of your minds, but I suppose I am outnumbered. Let's go knock on death's door."

***

After debriefing our army, we did exactly that, well, skipping the actual knocking part. We showed up on their doorstep, immediately taking down the two guards. The doors flung open, the entirety of the Mariposa inside flanking us. At the head of them was Azriel, a grin on his face.

His army didn't wait for his orders, immediately initiating combat with our people. Azriel stalked closer to me, and I backed up a step.

"I have to admit, you managed to catch me by surprise just showing up like this. It's not often you catch a master assassin by surprise."

I shrugged. "There's a first time for everything. Do I get rewarded by being told the location of Maeve and Elyas?"

He laughed, firing a dagger that I swiftly dodged, strafing away from its path. "Dead, Kalon. They're likely dead."

I rose one brow, firing a grappling at him that he merely deflected, before firing his own, pulling me within an inch of him. "Likely? You don't know where they are, do you?"

He scoffed. "I know there's no shot they're surviving where they went." He moved to stab me through the stomach, but I saw the attack coming, grabbing his wrist and pulling it behind him.

He struggled against me as I kicked him away from me. I retreated a little, knowing he was at his most dangerous in such close combat.

"Why are you even fighting me, Azriel? Do you truly believe in what that queen is doing?"

He whirled on me, firing a rapid succession of daggers that I struggled to dodge. Several scraped my skin, leaving me panting in pain.

"I believe you and your lackeys are fools for thinking you can stop her."

I laughed, dodging an arrow from another Mariposa, and stabbing one that was trying to sneak up on me. "Azriel, you don't think that with all of this combined manpower and all of your experience, you couldn't easily topple the queen? Dictatorships happen not because the civilians are weak."

He rolled his eyes, firing a dagger in a move so swift I couldn't catch. It pierced my shoulder, and I stumbled back, tears filling my eyes from the pain. He darted in front of me, grabbing the dagger's handle. He sneered at me, his eyes bloodshot and fiery. "You are a child. What do you know of dictatorships? Speak your last words."

I blinked through the tears, thinking of the factory and all of the Veralians. They had fought until the very end. Ezekiel was a pillar of strength despite all he had been put through. These were the type of people who toppled dictators. Not cowards like Azriel.

"I know that they happen when they can brainwash the strong into believing they are too weak. She took your arm, Azriel, but worse yet, she stole your identity."

His grip hardened, his eyes darkening. I closed my eyes, bracing for him to pull the dagger out, to stab me through the heart, to finish the job.

The dagger was slowly pulled from my shoulder, and I screamed in pain, doubling over.

"I demand that you stop! Cease your fighting!"

My head shot up at Azriel's voice. My vision was blurry from the pain, but I could've sworn I saw Azriel calling off his army.

In this hallucination, his Mariposa hesitated but slowly did as he said, stepping back from their respective enemies.

"We will take the fight to our true enemy! We have served a false rule long enough! Most of you have been led to believe that we are in opposition to the queen. Today is the day we finish this quest and finish her once and for all."

I stumbled forward, gripping Azriel's sleeve. He turned to me, smiling sadly. "Get inside. We'll get you patched up... don't ever pick a fight with me again. I will win."

I laughed despite myself, nodding. "Thank you, Azriel."