Queen of The Dome (QOTD)

Cade had been on edge the whole way to the sub-level. It had little to do with the breach and a whole lot to do with the fact that Deianira was still yet to acknowledge what had just happened between them.

She walked briskly through the halls and down the stairs with Cade as if she had nothing but the breach on her mind.

He could just about handle her indecisiveness, her anger, her coldness. But her silence? Cade wished she’d just yell at him or choke him out again.

In front of a door at the end of the hall was Finch. Cade knew from the first day in the city center that he was an empath so he did his best to mask his emotions, to hide any hint of what he and Deianira had just been doing, but by the way that Finch eyed the pair, he hadn’t done a good job.

Finch spoke to Deianira as they approached, flicking his eyes to Cade suspiciously.

“One male, one female. Found them sneaking around on the loading dock, probably off the back of one of the trucks. They won’t give us names or any other information. Just kept asking for him.” He gave his head a curt jerk in Cade’s direction.

Me? Cade’s brows rose as Deianira’s lowered.

After using his bracelet to unlock the door, Finch stepped aside to usher Deianira into the room but nudged his shoulder into Cade when he tried to follow. Cade shoved away his annoyance and shook it off as he entered behind Finch.

As his foot stepped over the threshold, Cade halted. He must have lost his mind because there was no other explanation for what he was seeing. There was no way his brother and best friend were sitting at a table, only feet away from him.

“Lia? Cassian?”

Their heads popped up simultaneously. There was a moment of stillness before a squeal filled the air.

“Cade!” Lia shouted, uncaring of their company.

Standing so abruptly that her chair fell back, Lia ran to Cade and launched herself into his open arms. He wrapped his arms around her, still not understanding how this was happening. She was shaking so much that he thought she might have been crying, but when she lifted her head from his shoulder and he saw that familiar twinkle in her eye, he couldn’t help but laugh along with her. They hadn’t spent a full day apart in sixteen years and he just couldn’t believe she was here.

Setting her down, Cade looked over at Cassian. He could feel his brother’s trepidation from the other side of the room. Wondering what he could be scared of, Cade took a slow step toward his little brother. He didn’t need to step any further because Cassian met him in the middle, firmly wrapping his arms around him.

Cade stood still, shocked for a few seconds, before returning the gesture. Looking over Cassian’s shoulder, Cade lowered his brows at Lia. She gently shook her head and waved a hand. She’d tell him later.

Then it dawned on him. Cassian couldn’t be here. Cade had only survived his first day by the grace of the Gods and he was innocent. What would Deianira do to his brother if she knew that she was in the same room as the real killer?

Stepping back, Cade patted his brother on the back, suddenly all too aware of the fact that they weren’t alone. Clearing his throat he turned to the other two people in the room.

“Dei…” He quickly amended his address. “Your Majesty, this is my brother, Cassian, and my friend, Lia.”

Deianira didn’t speak, but just motioned for them to sit. And she didn’t look impressed.

Deianira

By the time they were all seated, Salem, Jude, and Hewn were at the door, as per Deianira’s request. Waiting for them to get settled, she surveyed the two strangers. Cassian, as Cade called him, didn’t bear much resemblance to him. If it wasn’t for the shade of his hair, she wouldn’t have been able to guess that they were related. He was tall like Cade but he was leaner; his features were slightly sharper too. Younger, yet sharper. From his hard blue eyes to his diamond-cut jawline, they were almost opposites.

Moving on to the next, Deianira struggled to contain her anger as she examined Lia. She was beautiful. With her almond skin and thick dark curls, she and Cade complimented each other perfectly. They made sense. What they had wasn’t some delusional fantasy. Their embrace had been nothing short of loving. The thought only had her anger rising.

For two seconds outside the gym, she’d allowed herself to breathe for the first time. To live for herself. As much as it pained her to admit after seeing him embrace his ‘friend’ like a lover, she’d never felt more alive than she did in that moment.

But it was over. The bubble had burst. Despite her desire to rip his tongue out and feed it to him, Deianira couldn’t blame Cade. He obviously didn’t think he’d see her again so he made the best of a bad situation. He took the consolation prize. Her.

Once silence descended upon the room, Deianira got straight to the point.

“Start talking.”

Lia looked to Cade and at his nod, she turned to Deianira.

“So, I’m a seer and…”

“Excuse me?” Deianira interrupted, all her other comrades just as taken aback.

“I’m a seer?”

“How?” Jude asked this time.

“I don’t know.” Her voice quieted. “I was born on the outside but I’m an orphan.”

That had Deianira’s hackles rising.

“What is your name?” she asked bluntly.

The girl looked confused. “Uh, Lia.”

Deianira wanted to roll her eyes. “Your full name.” Seeing the others watching her suspiciously, Deianira quickly came up with an excuse. “I’m assuming Cade and Cassian share the same last name. I don’t have yours,” she said, flicking her eyes to Cade briefly.

“Oh, Eulalia Sambor.”

No. She’d heard Cade introduce her as Lia, but Eulalia Sambor? There was no way that was a coincidence. How hadn’t the thought occurred to her in the first place?

Memories attacked Deianira from all sides. That familiar ache began to throb in the back of her head. Not again. A hand on her shoulder brought her out of her trance. She looked up to see Salem staring at her, brows furrowed in question.

Deianira gave her a small nod and focused back on Eulalia as she continued.

“A few nights after Cade was arrested, I had a vision of him. Up until then, I thought he was dead so when I saw him, I knew I had to come here. But in the vision, he was…hurt. I can’t explain it but someone was hurting him.” She shook her head. “I couldn’t make out a face either but whoever it was really wanted something from him. I don’t know what, but they weren’t taking no for an answer. We came to warn him. To help him.”

“Finch?” Deianira called, eyes still on Eulalia.

She couldn’t get past the resemblance. How didn’t she realize the second she saw her? Deianira had been so distracted by her own emotions that she didn’t even think about her name or look past her face.

After a few seconds, Finch responded, “Truth.”

Deianira closely observed their reactions. The girl didn’t seem fazed in the slightest. The brother, however, went ashen. Interesting.

“There’s something else.”

Everyone turned to look at Cassian. Those were the first words he had spoken since he’d arrived.

“What is it?” Deianira asked. She couldn’t take much more tonight.

“I’m the one who killed the officials. Cade took the fall for me.”