***
Meanwhile, at the clandestine Uprising base in the outlands...
The room Petra shared with Beth was small. The two of them barely had enough space for their two cots and the few personal items they had brought with them. The Uprising's compound was impressive, despite the minimal accommodations. It was an enormous farm house so close to the outer edge of Razor City, even the outlaws rarely ventured so far away from the city center.
The farm was fully functional. The rebels sustained themselves on the crops and cattle. Everyone worked the land. They seemed happy. Petra was almost surprised they wanted to take over Razor City at all; they had everything they could possibly need here, on their base.
In the back of the house was an extensive training ground for the army. The leaders and inner circle of the rebellion had a large private meeting room that looked as though it had once been a lavish dining room. It was the nicest vigilante operation she had ever seen.
According to Beth, the farm had once belonged to one of the rebels. It was so far from the city center, its owner had managed to hold onto it even after the war. Despite how comfortable it was, Petra didn't like it as much as the old mall. She'd loved the mall. All the lost kids had loved the mall. It had been everything they could have wanted, and it was fun all the time. She'd been happy there. They had all been happy.
Until she had brought Prince Dante there. Then it had all fallen apart.
But, no. It had fallen apart before that. It had fallen apart when her brother had been taken and imprisoned. It had fallen apart when the first innocent person had been taken and tossed away as though their life meant nothing. She couldn't go back to the way it was, not ever. Even if the rebellion succeeded and Ren was freed, they could never go back.
If they were lucky, what they had to go back to would be better.
And it might all be up to Prince Dante. Her breath hitched. She hoped he was all right, wherever he was. She hadn't heard from him or heard anything of his reappearance on the news. The Uprising had not allowed her to leave the compound to check on him. She couldn't have done much anyway; she couldn't march upon the palace and demand to see him. It could put both their lives at risk. It could ruin everything.
She wanted to talk to Cage. He might have information about Dante, about what had happened when he'd returned home. He was still a Noble, even if he was the leader of the rebellion. His position had not yet been compromised. Cage, though, was staying away from the mall kids. He wouldn't speak to any of them,. He seemed particularly keen to avoid her. She didn't really blame him.
No one spoke much to her aside from Beth, and that was only to wish her good night. Even Key was staying away. Perhaps he was angrier than he'd let on about the mistakes she'd made and the trouble she'd brought down upon them. Perhaps he had simply become so absorbed in life with the Uprising, he hardly had time for her anymore.
She missed him. She wished he would come back. She felt more alone and more frightened than she ever had. She felt out of control. She didn't like leaving the fate of her people and the city in the hands of others, especially people she was fairly certain she couldn't trust. She hadn't wanted anything to do with any of it.
Not until Grey had come along. And then everything had changed.
She paced the tiny room. She opened her laptop, but there wasn't any news. It was as though the world stood still while she was in the farmhouse on the edge of town. Scarlet and his people were silent. Dante was silent. Even the people around her were silent. It seemed oddly appropriate.
She had tried to access the King's email again, to find any news of Grey or even what the palace had learned about the Uprising, but Scarlet's passwords had been changed. It was troubling, but she tried not to think too closely about what that meant. Perhaps the King's information security had noticed the breech.
Or perhaps Grey had warned him that someone was looking in on him. Perhaps it had been part of the King's and his son's plan all along.
She felt ill, but she couldn't stop trusting Grey now. If she did, everything would fall apart. She might fall apart. Grey was her very last hope.
She hoped he was all right.
There was a knock on her door. She was so startled, she almost screamed. Instead, she yelped and turned toward the door. She really needed to relax.
Beth opened the door without waiting for her to reply. It was her room, too. Petra didn't know why she'd knocked, unless she'd intended to frighten her. She pressed her hand to her chest. "Hey," she gasped.
Beth looked serious. "Anything from Grey?"
"No. Nothing. I haven't heard anything new from the palace. The media is quiet. There's nothing at all going on."
"Or if there is, it's nothing that we know about. What about your contacts around town?"
Petra shook her head. "I'm almost too afraid to talk to them. I'm not sure what they would know, and I don't want them somehow putting anything together." She sighed. "I'm so worried, Beth."
"I know." She squared her shoulders. "Cage has made a decision."
"What? Why didn't you say so before?"
"He wants to see you.."
Petra's heart leapt. Her stomach roiled. She hadn't eaten in days. She was glad. She doubted she'd be able to hold it down.
Beth tilted her head. "Come with me."
Cage was waiting in the enormous, lavish meeting room. He wasn't alone. Pablo and a few rebels whose names she didn't know were with him. They sat around the large table in the center of the room. Lux, Key and Ellis were with them. Petra lifted her eyebrows. So they had joined them, after all.
They all looked up at her as she entered, but they didn't say anything. Their expressions were unreadable. Beth directed her to a chair at the foot of the table, directly across from Cage. The Uprising leader eyed her silently for a long moment.
Finally, he spoke in his cold, calm voice. "Petra, we have decided to move on the palace."
"What?"
"It's time."
"I thought you weren't ready!"
"We are ready. We have been ready for a very long time."
"You lied to us!"
"We were protecting ourselves. The prince's information helped us, but we have always known that we would strike and when it would happen. We will hit all the King's holdings at once. We will strike at all points. We have already mobilized the teams."
Petra rose. "You're hitting all the holdings, including the prisons?"
"Yes."
"You have enough people for that?"
"You have no idea how wide our influence spreads. The King will never see it coming. While the other teams are striking, we will attack the palace."
"But...but Grey's in there!"
"Yes, and he seems to be back under his father's wing."
"What? What are you talking about?"
"I have been in the palace. He is under lock and key."
Petra's breath caught. "Is he all right?"
Cage ignored this. "He is at his father's side at all times. Scarlet is teaching him the family business."
"You've seen him."
"I have seen him, but he has not seen me. For what it is worth, he has not revealed my identity to his father."
"So he is not a spy! He is innocent. He is trying to work from the inside. If we strike, he might be killed!"
"We have to take that risk. He went back on his own. We can't jeopardize our only chance because he might be caught in the crossfire."
She narrowed her eyes at him. "Right. You don't care about that, do you?"
He didn't not seem bothered by her remarks. "I am sorry about your brother. I am sorry about all the people who have been caught up in this fight, who were innocent. My family, too, was accused of treason, but they weren't lucky enough to be imprisoned. They were executed. I have spent years working my way through the King's ranks to become a trusted Noble and get inside. I still hadn't gotten the information we needed to plan our strike. We needed locations, the people he's worki
ng with. We needed to know what Dante gave us. And now we are finally ready. He gave himself to this cause. We have to use what he has given us now, before it is too late."
Petra scowled. "You don't have to be part of this, Petra," Beth told her. "You don't have to be involved in the strike. You can stay here."
"No. No! If Grey is in there, I'm going. And I will try to get him out before he gets hurt."
"Fine," Cage said. "As long as you do not get in our way, you may do as you like, but if you get in the way--if anyone gets in the way--they will fall with the King. We are not playing games here. There is no time for love, compassion or mercy. We go in, we bring them down, and we take the palace."
She frowned. "What about Ren?"
"We aren't sure where he's being kept," Beth answered. "But when we liberate the prisoners, we will bring them to safety. He will be all right."
Petra stuck out her chin. "Okay. Fine. I am ready when you are. I just want to move. I want to make something happen. When are we doing it?"
Cage's expression did not change. He was as impassive as ever. "We move right now."