Chapter Twelve
Later, in a conference room that had once belonged to a King...
The party was still raging in the floors below. It might not ever stop. The falsely accused were still flooding out of the prisons, and the rest of the King's regime were hiding out or being rounded up by the jubilant rebels. The prisons were filling back up as quickly as they were emptied with the King's most violent and hated Nobles. The rest of the King's guards, Marshals and Nobles too insignificant to warrant Cage's personal attention, would accept the new regime gracefully, or they would face the same fate.
The Uprising had taken the city so quickly, no one outside the King's inner circle had even known it was happening until it was over. King Scarlet's Razor City had fallen with hardly a fight. The news spread like wildfire through the streets. The stunned citizens had just begun to understand what lay ahead of them.
It was freedom. At least, Petra hoped it was.
The first meeting of Razor City's new regime was underway.
Grey wasn't there. He was still with his father in the hospital wing. The Uprising was still discussing the Scarlets' fate. Petra sat around the oval conference table with Jesse, Rip, Lux and Ellis. She felt as though they were facing off against Cage, Pablo, Beth and Uprising on the other side.
"He helped us," Lux said. "Dante told us how to strike. He gave us the information we needed to win. If not for him, we would never have been able to pull this off."
"But he came back to the palace," Pablo argued. "He was working with his father. He had rejoined his side."
"No!" Petra growled. She rose to her feet. Her eyes blazed. "He came back here because Cage wouldn't give him an answer. You wouldn't let him know if you would help him. He didn't think he had a choice. He thought he had to do it himself. He planned to come here and take out Scarlet by himself in secret and take over the city."
"Yes," Pablo replied, scowling. "And then he would have been King. And he would have been the same as his father."
"He is one of us! He was not spying or he would have told Scarlet what we'd planned. He would have told him where the safe house was. We would never have been able to get through the gates without him. He meant what he said. He wants change. And if not for him, we wouldn't have it now."
Cage didn't say anything. He only listened.
"You have what you wanted. And Grey helped. We will not let you lock him up with his father. He isn't the enemy."
Pablo's reply was cut short. There was knock on the door. Beth rose to open it. For a moment, she didn't move. Then she stepped aside. She was smiling.
Key strode into the room. He was smiling, too. Petra hadn't seen him smile like that in so long, she hadn't even remembered his face could look like that, as though a light had gone on somewhere and the world was a safe, wonderful place. Key wasn't alone. Beside him, a tall, thin man with long, pale dishevelled blonde hair stepped into the conference room. His pale blue eyes sought Petra immediately.
"Ren!" She raced toward him and vaulted into his arms. She hugged him for several seconds, as though she might never let go. He felt thinner than he ever had; where he had once been solid and strong, he felt weak and breakable. Petra didn't care. He was back, and that was what mattered now. When she pulled back to look at him, tears streamed down her cheeks. Her brother looked tired, too. There were dark circles under his eyes. He was still handsome, though, and he didn't look as though he'd been badly hurt. She'd never been so happy to see anyone. "I missed you. I've been doing everything to get you out."
Ren laughed. "I didn't think you'd take down the entire city to do it, but I shouldn't have expected any less from you."
Petra smiled. "Well, you know me."
Beth stepped forward to hug Ren. Petra released him and stepped back to let her. The way Beth looked at him surprised Petra. The way Ren looked back at Beth surprised her more. She'd always thought it was Key that Beth loved. Maybe she'd been wrong.
Petra felt a stab of resentment toward her friend. How could Beth have let him be taken like that when she knew Cage had only done it to save his own skin? Perhaps it had been harder on Beth than Petra had realized. Petra had always thought she had been the one to sacrifice, to lose the people she loved to the King and his city. She'd never even considered what Beth had given to take down Scarlet.
She pushed the thoughts away. It didn't matter. It was over now.
Beth's voice was low, as though she didn't trust herself to speak normally. "Are you all right?"
Ren grinned. "Yeah. I'm okay."
Cage rose to face Ren. There was no expression on his face. Ren looked back at him. Petra couldn't tell what Ren was thinking as he looked at the man who had been responsible for the last few months, for the misery and pain he'd experienced. She'd always been able to tell what Ren was thinking in the past. She had known him as well as she had known himself. His time away had changed him.
"I'm sorry, Ren," Cage told him. "I am sorry that it came to what it did. I am sorry you suffered."
Ren eyed him a moment. Then he nodded shortly. He did not look as though he meant to forgive Cage anytime soon. Nevertheless, if he was contemplating revenge, it was not a sensible time to act upon it now.
"It was for the good of the Uprising," Cage added.
Ren considered this. "I understand your reasons, Cage. You don't have to explain it to me."
Cage nodded. His face was as unreadable as always. If he truly regretted what he'd done to Ren, it didn't show in his eyes.
Petra suspected he did. He was a ruthless man, but his reasons had been just in the end. He had, after all, led the people of Razor City to freedom. Perhaps he would have given anything to the cause; perhaps he had no qualms. Or perhaps every tiny sacrifice had felt like another knife in the gut. She would likely never know.
"We're just trying to decide what to do now," Beth told Ren. "Now the King and his people are out."
At that moment, Grey strode into the room. He looked pale and drawn. They all turned to look at him. No one said anything for several seconds. Key must have had the time to warn Ren of the more shocking changes in the city; her brother didn't look surprised to see Petra stride forward and take Grey's hand. His expression was utterly blank.
"Grey, this is my brother, Ren," she told him.
After a long, charged silence, Ren held out a hand for Grey to shake. Grey looked down at it in surprise. He looked as though he wasn't quite sure whether to trust the polite gesture. He looked as though he was not entirely sure he wasn't about to be shot on the spot by the leaders of the rebel army. Finally, he reached forward and shook Ren's hand. They nodded tensely to each other.
"I'm glad you're free," Grey told him. His voice was hoarse, and his eyes looked red. Petra wanted to ask about his father, but she didn't think it was the appropriate time or place.
"Thanks to you, I hear," Ren replied. "If not for you, the Uprising would not have known the locations of the prisons and Scarlet's other holdings."
Grey looked down. He didn't want credit for it. "Things had to change," he said quietly. "My father had to be stopped."
"How is he?" Beth asked. The others stiffened slightly, as though this were a touchy subject. Most of them probably wished he was dead.
"He'll live. He'll never walk normally again, if ever. But he will live. He has given up control of the city."
"He didn't have any choice in that," Pablo reminded him. "His people are done."
Grey nodded silently.
"So what now?" Ren asked, looking around at them.
"We pick up the pieces," Grey replied. "We begin anew."
They all looked at Cage. He was silent.
"What do we do, Cage?" Beth asked. "You are our leader."
Cage sighed. He leaned back in his chair. They waited. Finally, he said simply, "No."
"What?" Pablo demanded.
"No. I don't want to be the leader." His expression was as blank as ever. "I led the Uprising because there was no one else
who was willing to do it. I don't want to rule. I don't want to lead. I have gotten what I want. Now I just want to be free."
Grey scowled. "But those people out there, celebrating right now, they need someone to guide them now. They need to know where they are going. What happens next. They need to have a reason to reunite now and work together to build a new future for the city."
They all looked at Grey. They considered him for a long moment. Then they looked at Cage.
"You have a vision for this city, Grey," Cage said. "You want to see the people rule themselves. You want to see the sectors come together and have a voice. And you have the people who can help you do that here in this room and out there in the streets. But until then, the city need someone strong, someone who can use his influence and power. Someone who is connected to the old regime but rose above it for something better. The city needs you."
Grey hesitated. He looked at Petra uncertainly. "I'm not sure I'm ready for that."
"You were ready when you thought you had no choice. When you had no help," she reminded him. "You were prepared to take out the entire regime yourself and start fresh."
"I have seen you grow up, Dante." Cage said. "I have seen what you are capable of. You have changed. Perhaps you have always had it in you. Your father had a vision once, too, and I believed in it. There was no one to keep him from becoming what he did. You have lots of people who can help you. You are the one who can take this city where it needs to go. You are the one who can lead us into that vision of yours."
"I..." Grey frowned. “Do you think they would even accept me?”
“This city was lost without a leader before. This was how your father was able to take control. They need someone to guide them. They need the person who was powerful enough to stop Scarlet.”
“But what about someone they can trust?”
“Do you think it matters? Do you think one of the King's Nobles will be any more desirable than the prince? Do you think any of the rest of us would be better? We are no one to them. Without you, the Uprising could not have taken the city. They would not be free now. They will look at you as the person who stopped King Scarlet and the terrible things he's done.”
"I have to think about it."
"There is no time. Someone needs to go out and address the people. Someone needs to let them know there is nothing more to fear and that it is time to band together. That person needs to be you."
Grey looked at Petra. For a moment, it was as though they were alone in the room. "What do I do?"
She smiled at him. She didn't know the answer. She didn't think she could decide for him. She didn't even know if Cage was right.
"What if I...what if I become like my father? What if I let the power corrupt me like he did? What if I won't let it go when it's time to give it back?"
She squeezed his hand. "I'll help you."
"We will all be here," Lux told him. "To advise you. To watch and keep you in line." She smirked. "We'll make sure you are a good leader. We won't let you get away with becoming anything like your father. You've seen what we can do."
Grey clutched his head in his hands. He shook his head. "I'm just a kid."
"Then it's time to become a man," Cage replied cooly.
"Shouldn't we vote on this or something? Just moments ago you were trying to decide whether or not to throw me in prison."
Cage looked around at the assemblage. "Is anyone opposed to this?"
They all glanced at each other. Pablo didn't look convinced, but he didn't speak up. No one spoke up.
"I'll take that as a no."
Grey sighed. He looked at Petra. "Will you go with me?"
She smiled. "Sure."
Cage stood. "It's time. We have to address the people. Get ready."
Grey looked almost ill. "I think I'm as ready as I will ever be."