Find me.
Chapter 46
Vasquez
The city stank of rebellion.
Smoke clung to the ruins like mould, curling through the broken streets, swallowing alleys and doorways in a haze of ash and blood. Civilians scattered as we marched—exactly as they should. Fear was a better deterrent than mercy. Always had been.
Behind me, my Sentinels moved like teeth in a jaw—silent, sharp, and ready to close.
The King gave his command: restore order to the city. Whatever had occurred at the Southside slums had torn apart most of the streets. Reports of lightning and explosions had poured into the castle.
I knew what to do. Hunt the traitors. Deliver the Shades—dead if necessary.
I would not fail.
I dismounted as we reached the edge of the collapse, boots striking stone with deliberate weight. I raised one hand. The line halted as one body. No questions. No hesitation. Good.
Then—I heard them.
Steel scraping stone. Low voices. Familiar rhythm to their footsteps. Not soldiers. Not civilians.
I stepped forward through the haze and spotted them as the smoke thinned.
Leo.
And Slade.
Bloodied. Breathing. Armed.
My lips curled.
“Found you.”
Leo turned first. He stood over a girl I recognised from Shade Tower. Maddie, I think her name was. He stepped in front of her still form to guard her from me.
His blade lifted instinctively. Always the scrapper. The lion who didn’t know when to die.
“Oh,fuck,” he muttered, staring at my veritable army beside me.
Slade stepped beside him, slower, heavier. His stance was off. Hurt. But not broken. I’d seen him fight half-dead before. It wouldn’t slow him much.
“Shade Leo. Shade Slade.” I said their names like sentences, not greetings. “You were given orders. Remain at the Tower. Serve the Crown. Obey the Balance.”
I let the silence stretch.
And then: “Instead, I find you here. Playing hero. Covered in blood that’s not yours.”
Leo smirked, jaw tight. “Didn’t realize you were still sniffing around, Vasquez.”
I took one step forward. “You disobeyed direct command. You burned your brands. You abandoned your posts. You are, by every definition, traitors.”
Leo tilted his head. “You gonna cry about it?”
I didn’t answer. Words were wasted on dogs who didn’t know they were leashed.
I raised my hand again—slow, deliberate. The Sentinels readied weapons behind me.
