Insurrection [On Hold]

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My father doesn't ask for me until the morning. He didn't bother getting out of bed to see his long-lost daughter. He did get up though when Killian told him about Lilyith's death. Hearing my father storm and rage throughout the castle, I thought the doors of my bedroom were going to fly open and a whirlwind of father would crash in and throw me out into the streets.

That didn't come to pass, but when the sun rose, a knock on my door brought a summons.

His office only has one floor, but he felt the need to have the walls encompass three in height. The walls are a pristine white. I've never seen a day when they had even had a trace of dirt. His desk is black and formed of the straightest lines, the harshest points. My father stands on the other side of it, his back to me.

My heart beats too fast. If I take a deep breath to calm it, he'll know I'm afraid and punish me for it. "Your Majesty," I say as clear as I can.

"You're still alive."

"Painfully so, yes."

If he turns around, he'll see I've been crying.

"Lilyith is dead."

I swallow. "Yes."

"And you left her body in Quill?" He faces me. Where there should be white in his eyes, there's red. I dig my fingernails into the skin of my hands. I didn't know he was capable of crying.

"We were being swarmed. I killed the man that killed her though."

"You? Killed someone?"

"Yes, Father."

He nods once. "Adequate. As you're home now, keep yourself out of my sight as much as possible. Understood?"

I bow my head. "Yes, Father. I went to Quill, though. I must ask, did you kill the rebel?"

"Regrettably, no."

******

That night I don a cloak over my tunic and venture outside of the palace to the prison. I haven't visited the prison in years. It's a high-tech fortress designed in reverse, meaning it keeps people in, not out.

The guards give me odd looks but allow me in with no issues. I find Nate in a cell tucked away in a corner. The front walls of the cells here are clear so that a prisoner never has privacy. Everything they do, every breath they take will be seen.

Nate sits on his bed, his knees pulled to his chest and head leaned against the wall.

"Nate."

His shoulder blades tense through his shirt. "I haven't heard that voice in so long."

"It's me."

He turns. He has a black eye and his lip is cut. His nose is no longer straight. "Raksana?"

"Hi, Nate."

He scurries off his bed and limps his way to me. "How are you here? Are you ghost?"

I shake my head. "My siblings got me out of Quill. My sister was killed in the raid."

He looks weak as he stares at me. "I'm sorry. Really I am."

"I saw the video. I—I thought he killed you." I thought coming to see Nate would make me happy but it doesn't. Seeing him, I'm filled with hopelessness. He's trapped in this cell forever, never to escape from torture. I could have ended his suffering had I pulled that lever. I thought him living even in a cell would be better, but seeing all the pain I've put him through, I only feel guilt. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have come."

I walk away, my throat feeling like someone is crushing it. He calls after me, but I don't stop.

I'm so sorry for it being over a year! The good news is that I finished Insurrection last night and have the rest of the chapters added to this book waiting to be published!