Hector gives him a hard look. “A leader should test his soldiers before assessing their abilities.”
“Ihavebeen testing them for over a decade. They have no discipline and no strategic thinking.”
Hector doesn’t push back, likely because he knows it’s the truth. We’re standing on top of a hill overlooking a military base. It’s been four days since I spoke with River, and I haven’t heard a word from him since, but I did ask him to be careful when trying to reach me.
“I hoped I would have more to work with,” Caden says. He’s wearing a green uniform after years of wearing his blacks, and there’s a new rifle strapped to his back. He barely said hello to me earlier, as if he didn’t want to see me. Despite how painful it is to be near him, I still wanted to come here, hoping that something might have changed.
If he’s bothered by his new yellowish eyes and scaled face, he doesn’t show it. It shouldn’t surprise me since his vanity was always an act. As long as his beauty couldn’t save him in combat, he didn’t put much thought into it.
“You have almost four thousand soldiers,” Hector says, “plus our defenses and drones. There are also our friends in the sewers, although they’re not meant for defending Denver.”
I find that statement strange. Wouldn’t he want to use everything he has to defend his city?
“Your lizards are not for me to command,” Caden says.
“You and I work as one, do we not?”
“Of course, sir.”
I wish there was a trace of deceit in his voice, but all I hear is obedience.
“What about the arena fighters?” Caden asks.
Hector frowns. “What about them?”
“Between all the houses, there should be around three hundred fighters overall. They know how to follow orders and how to take a beating. I’ll need to work on their shooting skills, but with a bit of practice, I can turn them into my elite force.”
Hector nods and pats Caden’s back. “Brilliant, but I’m afraid we don’t have much time, so you’d better train them quickly.”
I dare to ask, “Why don’t we have much time?”
“You know why,” Caden answers. “The Hives and the Free Cities will be here soon. High Hope is helping them, giving the alliance enough troops to invade. That should also include over one hundred Semi-Humans that we’d better take out first if we want to have a shot at winning this. They’re fast, but they can’t fly, so our drones should focus all of their firepower on them.”
I want to hit him so badly, even though none of this is his fault.
“All valid points,” Hector says. “Another bad omen is the death of my spying lizards around our borders.”
“Are you blind without them?” Caden asks.
“Yes, and when you can’t see what’s coming, you must prepare for the worst.”
“I’ll start training the arena fighters first thing tomorrow. Please let the houses know. I might also need to make changes and restructure some of the units. Do I need your permission?”
“I didn’t give you permission to kill Isaac, but you did it anyway.”
Caden sighs. “He would’ve killed you for lying to him.”
“I never lied to him; I gave him a chance.”
And you found him a replacement because you couldn’t control him.
“It doesn’t matter now,” Caden says. “Do I need your permission to make changes?”
“You have my full support, but remember that after your recent actions and change in appearance, people are suspicious of you. See that your decisions make sense.”
“They will.”
“Well then. Let’s return to my place for lunch. You two can have some alone time.”
