Cassie followed Canis Major to her old chamber in the North Tower with her head hanging compliantly low.
She waited silently as he opened the door with the key she knew all too well. Even though she had never held it, never carried it in her pocket because she was never granted the freedom to come and go as she pleased, she could have drawn it from memory.
She knew it was a bulky, heavy thing from the way her keepers used to handle it. It was iron, with elaborate curves inlaid with rubies. It was morbidly beautiful, befitting its purpose—to entrap a disobedient princess. The key was ancient too, the gems dull with time. Cassie supposed she wasn't the first child to lead a life at its mercy.
Once inside her chamber, Canis Major hovered into the air, skimming past the broken glass on the floor as if he didn't notice it or remember why it was there. More likely than not, he no longer cared.
He set the torch he was holding into the empty sconce on the wall and pulled over the only chair in the room. He waited for her there, his head held high, no doubt in his mind that she would bend to his suggestion without the need to waste his breath.
Cassie, with one bare foot, had to be more cautious, but she managed to cross the room and lower herself into the seat he arranged. And though he could have said many things to her, he made only demands and expected them to be met without any further delay.
While he paced around authoritatively, she cowered before him and soon broke down, with tears and over-the-top apologies for her many sins against the city of Pyxis and for being so foolishly seduced by the MacRae brothers.
Then lies spilled from her tongue with more plausibility than the truth—names, directions, landmarks, hotels, and room numbers for the Jokuras. And then, after a long pause and a gulp for courage, she invented a rhyme—"Protect us from the dead of night, lead us from the dark to light"—as the password for Scott MacRae's tunnels. If Canis believed her, she had just handed over to him the King of the Unworthy and the Kāne Army. And she had some time. Some of the facts would check. It was the outcome that would leave him wanting.
As he marched around, this time in deliberation, she leaned her elbows on her knees and shielded her eyes. She let her emotions escape in sobs that shook her whole body. It was a catharsis, one that she hoped Canis would accept as regret and remorse rather than for what it actually was—despair so deep it was nauseating. And fear so profound, she was hot one second and cold the next. She was shaking so hard, she felt physically ill.
Every step Canis took—the ones that lifted into a flutter, and the ones that remained grounded—all made her wonder if there was anything left to fight for. Just when Cassie believed she'd be banished to the dungeon again or killed immediately with the sheathed sword bouncing at his leg, Canis set his fingers underneath her chin and lifted her face until their eyes met. "Pack some of your old things. I've arranged a new home for you. Your escorts will arrive momentarily."
"A new home?" she murmured. She widened her teary eyes and her chin quiver was hardly by accident.
"Dear sister, you needn't worry," Canis answered, his tone as patronizing as ever. "The Banker has offered to employ you again. You will be his responsibility from now on. And he'll carry your papers, so you must stay with him this time. It's for your own protection."
"If that's what you feel is best."
She forced a contrite smile. Canis took it in. Believed it. He simply nodded once to confirm her defeat and left her there, alone. Although there had been moments in her past where there was conflict, where someone was better than no one, where she had begged him to stay . . . those days were long over.
As soon as the key was removed from the lock, Cassie hopped lightly and soundlessly over the broken glass and procured lace-up boots and an old cloak from her closet. She fastened the cloak over her bloodstained and mud-caked dress, and made her way over to what was once her bed.
Although it did provide her with an escape of sorts, it was not the kind she was currently after. She crouched beside it and fumbled around underneath until she heard a loose stone rattle. After prying it up, she reached for the rope she always kept hidden there and was grateful the secret was still hers.
The rope was already bundled. The circle it formed was the perfect size to slip over her neck and below one shoulder.
She moved to the only window in the room, one of the highest in the Aerial Palace. It was tiny and barred, seemingly impassable, but one of the bars twisted loose, she knew from experience.
Its rusty squeak was louder than it used be. She held her breath, stopped for a second to listen in case there were footsteps coming for her. Hearing only her pulse hammering in her head, she pulled the bar free and propped it carefully between two of the others so that it wouldn't fall in either direction.
Cassie wasn't as small and lithe as she once was, but there was still enough space for her to squeeze through. Just like she used to, she went out head first, clung to the sturdy bars beside the opening, and dragged her feet out, placing her toes on the narrow ledge about a body length below the window. After replacing the bar she had removed, she edged her way across the crumbling ledge while digging her tiny fingertips into the loose spaces between the rocks.
Careful to avoid looking down, she circled around to the opposite side of the tower and knotted the rope around a stone gargoyle. Its mouth was open. Its tongue hung out. It was a hideous creature to behold, but she had always tried to imagine that it was smiling. From a sunny perspective, it looked a bit like a wolf, so she'd named it Lupus. Though crumbly with age, Lupus still looked as if he would bear her weight.
She carefully stepped off the ledge and eased herself onto the rope. Rubble and dust fell on her head. She cringed, but her knot and the gargoyle held.
It was a long way down. If she had climbed down, it would have taken forever, so she attempted what she had mastered as a child. The slide. When done correctly, it would take only a few seconds and the damage to her hands would be minimal.
When her feet hit the ground, her hands throbbing but otherwise, uninjured, she darted toward the West River, followed it to the bridge, and climbed onto Royal Way. She threw the hood of her cloak over her head and diverted her eyes from onlookers and windows.
Once she turned onto The Mainway, the lively tavern dwellers helped her whiz south unnoticed and uninterrupted. She wove in and out of alleys, glancing over her shoulder only occasionally, until she arrived at her destination—the Aurora Borealis.
She moved through the hustle and bustle—the friction, outrage, and anxiety in the air climbing to an unprecedented summit—and made her way to the bar taps.
Vela was drying mugs with a white cloth. When Vela saw her, her wings buzzed to life. She lifted over the bar in an instant and Cassie was in an unexpected embrace before Vela's feet even touched back down.
"Thank goodness you're all right!" Vela pushed Cassie's shoulders away and looked her over with a troubled knot in her brow. "Oh my! What happened? It looks like you've been through the Third Pyxian War and barely lived to tell the tale!"
"It's not important," Cassie answered, cradling her arms over her chest and retreating into her cloak as best she could. She wasn't there for pity. "Have you seen Pierre? I need his help."
Vela's expression darkened. "Cassiopeia, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but . . . Pierre is dead."
Vela added something about Andromeda's soldiers and the credit they took for his "extermination." But Cassie didn't listen to the details. Didn't have to. She knew everything and nothing. She was swaying by this point and had to grab a stool for support. Suddenly hot and dizzy, she had to fight for a second to remain conscious.
It wasn't possible to organize a rebellion without Pierre's loyal followers. His charisma and his ability to incite a crowd were crucial to her plan.
Tears began accumulating in her eyes. They were well beyond overwrought at this point anyway. She had trouble believing anyone would notice another layer. But she wouldn't let them fall. There was no time for that. If she didn't return to the palace with a plan immediately, Chris would die thinking she was a traitor and a coward.
She climbed onto a nearby table, one hesitant step at a time. Her knees were shaking and her mouth went dry, yet her objective was clear. She had to channel all of her strength into words. Alone she was powerless, but with enough help she could become . . . someone to fear.
"Could I have your attention please?"
She captured only a few pairs of eyes, but they quickly lost interest. And the noise never dulled. Rather, Cassie's effort had the opposite effect; the blare of impassioned conversation continued to gain momentum.
Then Cassie heard a shrill whistle from behind. "My friend has something to say!" Vela roared. "Please hush or you will have me to answer to!"
The noise in the room tapered off. "Thank you, Vela, and thanks to all of you for a moment of your time." Cassie's gaze moved from one demanding face to the next. Her thoughts were not initially coalescing. Murmurs started to erupt, and her confidence began to drain. You have a way with words. You can describe a head case like me and make it sound like poetry, a familiar voice echoed in her mind, and then she was ready to continue.
"Listen, please! As you know, Queen Andromeda has long ruled Pyxis with an icy grip. Our lives mean nothing to her, and any among us—Royal or otherwise—who refuse to follow her orders will suffer the consequences. So many of us have already fallen victim to her lust for power. I say we come together and fight for a Pyxis free from tyranny and—"
"I beg your pardon," a scruffy-faced blacksmith interrupted. "I see where this little sermon is heading. You're here to foment unrest!"
The baker from around the corner sprang from his chair and pointed at the blacksmith. "I knew it! He's loyal to the queen!"
"I agree with the blacksmith," one of Vela's servers said. Winged, older than middle age, and had likely seen a thing or two she didn't like in her days of service, but she wasn't someone Cassie had seen before. Her words brought on a realization—how long Cassie had been gone and how much had already changed. Does anyone even recognize me in the state I'm in?
"We're not soldiers," the server went on. "What chance do we have against the queen's army? What good will come if we all die?"
"Freedom cannot be achieved without sacrifice, you imbecile!" shouted one of the writers for the Pyxis Discourse.
Other fairies rose to speak their minds, defend their friends, scorn their adversaries.
In the midst, one masculine voice rose above the others. "Why should we let this impractical child lead us to our deaths? After all, she grew up in the palace. What's she doing here anyway?"
Cassie bristled, and a strength rose up in her that she had never known she could possess. "Yes, I am the onetime Princess Cassiopeia." Her voice rang clear, silencing the bickering crowd. "I share Queen Andromeda's blood, but she stopped being my mother the day I was born. I grew up frightened and alone, trapped and neglected. To make amends for my existence, she demanded my ignorance and silence. But I was never one to succumb."
Perhaps it was the sight of the dried blood against the paleness of her face, but more likely it was the sureness of her newfound strength that drew all eyes toward her and urged her on.
"I was among the lucky. Knowledge was my sustenance. And I managed to evade her discernment and escape her wrath. In the years since then, I've endured many hardships to survive. And living among your influence, I not only survived, I flourished. I listened, learned, and found my inspiration from those who challenged authority and fought against injustice. I have now been beyond the walls of the palace, and indeed beyond the confines of our fairy city and into the larger world. I have made friends who will come to our aid; I have learned that peace and freedom are well within our reach. I have pledged myself to scouring the palace and returning what is rightfully yours. Your friends, your family, your livelihood, your future!"
Cassie watched in astonishment as the crowd, for the most part, roared in support and clamored to the door. Even the blacksmith tossed the keys for his shop to his young, idealistic apprentice.
They spread through the streets of Pyxis like wildfire, knocking on doors, banging on windows, waking fairies in the alleys. They regrouped at the blacksmith's shop, where they distributed weapons and armor. When those ran out, they took anything shiny and pointy they could get their hands on, even if they had to break things to obtain them.
They were a sizable mob, angry and armed. There was no way they could hide their intention.
The end was near. The time had come.
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Halsey. Castle.
~
"Now my neck is open wide
Begging for a fist around it
Already choking on my pride
So there's no use crying about it. . ."