“Shoot you in the chest,” she snapped. “It’s not the death you deserve, but it’s all I have time for.” She wanted to stop there, but her mouth spoke without permission. “Kane needs me. Your mafia partners took him, and I don’t know what they’re doing to him, or if he’s even alive. I have to hurry up and kill you so I can go to him.”
Marius shared a laugh with his guards. “It’s working. Leave me a pistol and wait in the hallway. I’ll call if I need you.” The men obeyed, and he settled in the opposite chair, well out of reach of Cassia’s boots. “Too bad you’re about to lose your head. Maybe you’ll see your boyfriend in hell.”
She tried telling herself that Marius hadn’t asked a direct question, but it didn’t make a difference. All her thoughts became words. “It doesn’t matter if you kill me. Today I signed your death warrant.” Then she told him everything about amending the charter and what the colonists had to do to make it legal. “Every rebel on Eturia knows that if you die, the monarchy dies with you. And trust me, they’re highly motivated.”
His smile flatlined. “My holdings won’t pass to you, even in death. Our marriage is invalid. I never bedded you.”
“Prove it.”
All traces of amusement vanished from his face. “Playtime is over. You had a plan in coming here tonight. Tell me what it is, and don’t leave anything out.”
“I don’t want to.”
“Tell me now!”
Cassia held her breath to trap the secrets inside, anything to buy Jordan a few more moments. But the answer was like a sneeze, too far gone to repress. A groan built at the top of her lungs, then her chest heaved, and everything spilled out in a rush.
“Right now the rebels are in your armory, about to detonate a bomb that will destroy your entire store of weapons. At the same time, my men will infiltrate your military barracks and set off enough gas grenades to make your soldiers sleep for a week. Then General Jordan will steal an armed shuttle and fly to the palace because that’s where he thinks I am. I don’t know what he’ll do when he doesn’t find me. Probably tell his squadron to fan out and search the city for us. Their orders are to shoot you on sight.”
Marius’s eyes wandered over her face while he shook his head in denial. “No. That’s not possible. My armory is impenetrable from every direction. Not even birds can fly over it.”
“I know. So I hollowed out all twenty of your missiles and filled them with my fighters. The shells are so huge I was able to fit everyone inside. You let the rebels right through your gates, and now they’re coming for you.”
The floor trembled and a rumble sounded in the distance.
“There goes your armory,” she said, and couldn’t stop herself from jutting her chin at the door. “You should tell your guards what’s happening so they can mobilize all the soldiers who aren’t asleep in the barracks. It probably won’t make a difference because the rebels are about to steal your armed ships, but it’s worth a try.”
Marius ran into the hall and shut the door behind him.
While he was gone, Cassia wiggled her wrists to loosen the restraints, but all she accomplished was a deeper throb in her left shoulder. She gritted her teeth and lurched forward in her seat. The chair moved an inch, so she did it again. She wasn’t sure of her end goal, but she needed to do something besides dispense tactical advice to her enemy. Maybe if she jumped far enough, she could reach the laser pistol Marius had left on his seat.
He reentered the room and put a stop to her progress by shoving her wounded shoulder hard enough to make her chair tip backward. She screamed as white-hot pain exploded down the length of her arm. She must’ve blacked out again because she didn’t remember hitting the floor. The next thing she knew, she was facing the ceiling with Marius looking down at her, a pistol in his fist.
She kicked with all her strength and connected with his wrist. The gun flew out of his hand, but it didn’t take long for him to retrieve it. He returned to her with fury contorting his face, and in that moment she knew it was over for her.
“Remember what I told you?” he spat, leveling the gun barrel at her knee. “Here’s one of the hundred places where a burn won’t kill you.” He sniffed a dry laugh. “Though you’ll wish it had.”
She moved her legs back and forth, forcing him to adjust his aim. Just when he’d grown frustrated enough to point the barrel at her shoulder, a series of pops rang out from the hallway, and he froze, glancing toward the sound. The door flew open so hard it crashed against the wall. Cassia couldn’t see around her chair, but she heard three quick blasts, and then Marius stumbled back, clutching his chest. He still held his pistol in one hand, but he seemed too stunned to use it. He looked blankly from her to the smoke rising from his rib cage, as if she could explain to him how this had happened. Another blast fired, this time burning a tiny hole in his forehead, and then his eyes rolled back as he fell to the floor.