Queen of The Dome (QOTD)

Cade felt dizzy as he stumbled through the hallways to get back to his room.

She knew. This whole time she knew. The pieces began to fall into place leaving him winded. He wanted to hate her. He really did, but every cell in his body was so ridiculously in love with her. There was no easing the vice grip that she had on his heart.

It hurt, really hurt. Why wouldn’t she just tell him? Did she think that he’d be angry at her for the restoration? His mother was who she was talking about before she restored Devin. The one that went wrong. But how could she possibly think that he’d blame her for that? All he would’ve wanted was the truth.

And Lia. Despite Cade’s struggles growing up in the western sector, he knew that Lia had it harder. Not only did she start out alone, but she grew up to be ostracized, bullied, and cast out. All for things that she couldn’t control.

Deianira wasn’t to blame for her upbringing but she could’ve given Lia the only thing that she’d ever wanted. She could’ve given Cade a fraction of the person that he’d missed for ten years. But instead, she kept it from him, from them. Does she really care that little? As much as that thought made him want to tear his heart out, he didn’t regret a second with her. She gave him something to live for, for a short while. He couldn’t take that from her.

Cade just needed some time. Some space. He was just entering the guest wing when he heard it. BOOM! The whole palace shook. Startled, Cade ran to the closest window and looked out. Like a light in the dark, flames raged from the side of the palace. Only seconds later, the lights in the hallways went out and were replaced with a red hue. Lockdown procedure.

Cade should have been running to the arena but that was the last thing on his mind. Deianira. That was all he could think of. It was just cruel that he still couldn’t escape her after everything that had happened tonight. That his first instinct was to go to her, to make sure she was safe. Cade cursed. With Deianira on his mind, he ran back in the direction he came. He was almost at the stairwell when he heard the familiar beat of boots marching behind him. Enforcers.

He turned, hoping to see someone he recognized, to ask what was going on. As he passed the staircase entrance and the enforcer in the lead came into view, Cade felt a shiver up his spine. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it but something wasn’t right.

Trusting his intuition, Cade backtracked toward the stairwell as casually as he could. As soon as he reached it, he threw himself through the doors to the staircase, just before the shooting started. He didn’t even give himself a second to breathe as he bolted into the stairwell.

Why in Terra were enforcers shooting at him?