Unexpected

Chapter Twenty-Nine

A/N: And it's Tuesday morning! Short chapter, for multiple reasons. Comment, vote, and read! 

CLOVER

This is my chance. My only chance, to avenge my father's death. 

Clover thought as she prowled along the dark, dimlit hallways of New Beijing Palace's guest section. Anita had radioed in a few minutes before, informing Clover of the situation they had been waiting for. The two lovers had separated. Cinder was in her room. Kai was somewhere else. Separate, they were vulnerable.

And Clover was going to use that to her advantage.

"You'll get what's coming for you, Linh Cinder." She muttered under her breath, pausing as she turned the corner. She raked her gaze through the hallways, using her bioelectricty to pinpoint any waves of contact. Clover strode quickly past the spiral staircase, her footfalls silent as can be as she came on to a much bigger hall. A pair of white doors stood at the end. It was the grand suite. 

Emperor Kaito's suite.

Clover pressed herself to the side of the door, then leaned forward with a black gloved hand. She turned the knob quietly, and the door swung open. She wedged it open a tiny bit, then locked it--from the outside with a special tool she'd brought along for the ride. There was no chance that Clover was going to let her prey get away. She slunk through the gap in the open door. 

Clover ducked behind a pillar just as she saw Kai approach from the corner of her eye.

He came the corner, and sank into one of the luxurious sofas in the living room, tapping on his device unknowingly. Clover smirked. They had met, a few days ago. When she'd managed to swindle her way into the Palace to place the listening bugs. Where she'd thrown on a wig and tricked him. And then told him she was one of the multiple fangirls all over Eastern Commonwealth. As if.

Kai's tousled black hair flopped over his forehead, and his brown eyes were fixed on the bright netscreen. "Cinder is just being paranoid," He said aloud. "She's nothing like her aunt. But then..." Kai shook his head, as if disagreeing with himself. Clover rolled her eyes. Was he seriously having a conversation with himself?

Clover peeked around the pillar. She didn't need her bioelectricty to control him just yet. She just needed the unpredicting, useless so-called emperor to sit tight and wait for his cyborg girlfriend to arrive. He would be a hostage, of sorts.

Then Clover would finish her off. Gladly so, she hissed in her mind.

She peeled herself from the pillar and crept across the room, keeping low. Her footsteps were light and silent. Clover approached steadily from behind Kai, and it was no surprise the man didn't have a clue when she slipped her arm across his neck and pulled him into a chokehold.

His reaction was instantaneous. Kai released a gurgled gasp of shock and his spine arched, attempting to free himself from the grip. Clover tightened her stance, gritting her teeth as red began to fill her vision. The fate of Eastern Commonwealth's Emperor rested in her hands and she wanted to squeeze the life out of him. It would be so easy. So easy, to end the life of Cinder's beloved. The expression on Cinder's face when she saw Kai's dead body would be enough. 

Kai writhed, his arms reaching behind as he flapped in vain. His movements were sagging each second, getting weaker as his body slowly ran out of air. His back sagged, and Kai's eyes began to close. Clover hissed. She didn't need him to die just yet.

Clover snarled and let go, because if she didn't--she knew it would have been so easy to just break his neck. She was breathing hard by the time Kai bent over his knees and heaved for breath, his eyes huge. He dropped to his knees, clearly still shocked about the whole ordeal. Clover vaulted over the sofa so she was in front of him.