"Ahrick—"
"Hewes tried to use Merrilee as a pawn in his schemes. He would have given her to Korroth without a second thought. Would have let that sadistic bastard break her, torture her, just to expand his business connections." The words came out edged with the fury I'd been keeping locked down. "I'm not letting him walk away from that. He threatened my mate. He dies for that."
Roone was quiet for a long moment, his dark eyes studying my face in the flickering light. Then he sighed—a sound like air escaping through a crack, weary and resigned.
"You Vaktaire," he said, a hint of exasperation in his tone. "Always so dramatic. Always so willing to die for honor and revenge."
Despite everything, I almost smiled.
"Can you get me to the throne room?" I asked.
"I can get you close. But once you're inside..." Roone shook his head, his whiskers drooping. "You're on your own. I can't protect you from what happens in there."
"That's all I need. Just get me to the door."
Persico's compound occupied a section of Fange City that had been carved out of an old cargo hauler's hull and reinforced with scavenged military-grade plating. It was the most secure location in the city, designed to withstand assault from multiple angles, guarded by Persico's most loyal fighters and monitored by surveillance systems that covered every approach.
Or at least, it used to be.
Now, as I approached the entrance through the maintenance tunnels, emerging into a corridor that smelled of ozone and gun oil, I saw new faces. Hewes's people. Mercenaries and thugs who'd sold their loyalty to the highest bidder, their armor mismatched and weapons held with the casual confidence of those who believed they were untouchable.
Roone led me through a series of narrow passages, his small form moving with practiced ease through spaces that forced me to crouch and squeeze. The metal walls pressed close on either side, and I heard the distant hum of machinery, the occasional clank of pipes settling, the muffled voices of guards on patrol.
Finally, he stopped at a junction where three passages converged. He pointed to a small access panel set low in the wall.
"Through there," he whispered. "Supply closet. Rarely used. Opens into the main corridor, twenty meters from the throne room entrance."
I nodded, already calculating the approach, visualizing the layout from what I remembered of Persico's compound.
Roone's dark eyes studied me for a long moment, his whiskers twitching with emotion I couldn't quite read. "Good luck, Ahrick. You're going to need it."
I reached out, placing one hand on his small shoulder. The gesture felt inadequate for what I needed to say.
"If things go badly," I said quietly, "please take care of Merrilee."
Roone's expression shifted, something fierce and protective flashing across his features. He placed one small paw over my hand.
"I vow it," he said, his voice carrying the weight of an oath. "On my life, on my honor, on everything I am—I will protect her."
The certainty in his voice, the absolute conviction, eased something tight in my chest. Whatever happened in that throne room, whatever fate awaited me, Merrilee would have someone watching over her. Someone who could help her escape.
"Thank you," I said.
Roone nodded once, then stepped back, gesturing toward the access panel. "Go. Before the patrol cycle changes."
I moved to the panel, prying it open with my claws. The supply closet beyond was dark and cramped, filled with the smell of cleaning chemicals and stale air. I squeezed through, my shoulders barely fitting, and found myself among shelves stacked with maintenance supplies and spare parts.
Behind me, I heard the soft scrape of metal as Roone sealed the panel shut.
I moved to the closet door, pressing my ear against it, listening for movement in the corridor beyond. Footsteps. Voices. The electronic chirp of security systems.
Then silence.
I took a breath, steadied myself, and pushed the door open.
I walked up to the guards outside the throne room with my hands visible at my sides, my posture non-threatening, my expression neutral.
"I need to see Persico," I said.
