Living a Secret Life

The Hub of Bandits

Song for the chapter: Give Me a Sign- Breaking Benjamin
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~Calem's POV~

The slaughter plays through my mind, over and over. The bandits swarmed the hub, and no matter how hard we fought, they overwhelmed us. They killed everyone except a select few. Aster, most of Alpha team, and myself. We don't know what they want. I blink open my eyes, trying to determine where I am.

"The boy is awake." A gruff voice sounds from nearby. A hear a shuffle and then a man steps into my view.

"The ex-prince. How kind of you to join us." He remarks.

"What do you want?" I question.

"It's no fun if I reveal my plan. Just wait for your little girlfriend to come rescue you." The man smirks.

"Don't you fucking touch her." I growl. He laughs and pulls out a knife.

"Don't get mouthy, boy. I wouldn't want to have to ruin that face of yours." He flicks his wrist and the knife embeds itself in the wood right next to my head, and he brings his face closer.

"I won't kill you, yet. She needs incentive." He hisses then removes the knife, and leaves. Fear takes over my heart, and I hope that Raven is safe.

~Raven's POV~

"What do you mean you can't help?!" I cry out. Juniper just explained to me that she can't mobilize the army to save the last of the hub.

"The people are angry because there is no king. They think a woman can't do anything unless there's a man to tell her what to do. I can't play favorites while I'm trying to win the support of the crown." She sighs. I run my fingers through my hair and take a deep breath.

"I forgot that humans don't give everyone the same respect just because of their gender. I guess we got so used to how things were in the hub that it never came to mind. But thank you anyway. We will find a way to free our friends." I comment, and don my disguise. After saying goodbye, I head into the market. The moment Juniper took the throne she wiped out the slave trade. A lot of people rejoiced, but others were angry at the loss of income. I head to the blacksmith's and drop a small bag of gold onto the counter.

"One dark iron sword, please." I tell the smith. He quickly looks into the bag of gold, and nods.

"Be done by morning." He states. I nod and smirk to myself. I'll be here to pick it up before morning. Killing is taboo to me, but I will not let anyone hurt my friends, or Andrew. I can't lose anyone else. My family, I'll find you. You'll be home soon.

Ducking into the tunnels, I slide down the wall and sob. I've let down so many people. I'm weak.

Andrew, I'm sorry. I should've been there.

My heart aches and I keep sobbing. It hurts so much that I let him down. Finally, I wipe away my tears. They need me. I can't wallow in self pity. The bandits will pay for this. Nothing will stop me.

~Calem's POV~

They've kept all of us separated, but I've mostly figured out who they kept alive. Aster, Zephyr, and Dragon. The group that went to save Raven from her father. It's been just one day, and they barely feed us anything. And ever since I've woken up, they won't let me go to sleep. They're trying to weaken the group so they can't fight.