Chapter 134

Catherine POV

I’d wondered where Claire would be when all of this happened.

I knew they had a spot reserved for her on the stage. And part of me had wondered if I should just tell the assassin to take her out during the uproar.

But ultimately I decided killing my cousin wouldn’t be necessary.

I didn’t want her to die.

Even though I was next in line to rule if anything happened to her, I’d never cared for the idea of sitting on the throne.

I was happy to leave that to Claire.

All I wanted was Nathan.

Still, it was deeply satisfying to know she was going to be front and center for tonight’s main entertainment.

She was going to be there the moment I proved myself to Nathan, and made sure he knew exactly who was the most devoted to him.

I dealt with her hypocritical jealousy as I waited for the candidates ahead of Nathan to finish their speeches.

She thought she had a right to be angry about what I said to her.

But she didn’t.

And she just didn’t matter to me anymore.

Every part of me focused on the stage as the host thanked the other candidate, and then called Nathan’s name.

He walked across the stage and took his place at the podium, holding up his hands to signal for the applause to die down.

It took a while. Everyone loved Nathan.

And then the moment came, the one I’d been waiting for.

And still, everything inside me jolted at the sound of those first few shots.

Even though I knew they were coming.

Even though this was the exact moment I had told the assassin to take her shot, just as Nathan was about to give his closing speech.

The shots I told her to aim wide.

And miss.

And still, they startled me so badly I jumped.

Annoyed at myself, I made my feet finally start moving as more shots rang out.

They weren’t going to hit anyone, I’d been clear about that.

But I did want to cause as much fear and chaos as possible.

People needed to believe that lives were really at risk.

So the gunshots rang out at seemingly random points throughout the crowd, narrowly missing an arm here, pinging off the metal of a folding chair there.

And chaos did indeed erupt.

Screams tore the air nearly as loud as the gunfire, and everyone scattered.

As people backstage began to realize what was happening, Betas and security personnel suddenly moved as one large force toward the steps leading onto the stage.

The steps where I had so carefully positioned myself, ready and waiting for this exact moment.

The fact that Claire was going to be there, right there, to see it all?

That was just icing on the cake.

I shoved Claire away from me and then ran up the steps, needing to make sure I was ahead of all the security people moving toward this location.

I needed to be the first one up on the stage.

And I was.

With every ounce of my energy I screamed Nathan’s name.

He crouched at the podium, taking the only cover he had available.

But he stood when he heard me scream, just as I’d hoped.

From the upper reaches of the arena, my assassin followed his movement, sighting on him with a laser scope, the red dot tracking right toward his chest.

She’d coached me very carefully on where she would aim, and where I would need to stand.

I had to be at the perfect angle for this to work.

Otherwise, I’d die right there on the stage.

But if I died, it would be in Nathan’s arms.

And so I had just smiled when she warned me of the risks, and told her it was worth it.

It would all be worth it.

I shouted Nathan’s name again, leaping toward him.

Diving in front of him as the laser sight finally settled over his heart.

I threw myself in front of Nathan, using my own body as a shield.

And a gunshot rang out.

Nathan POV

It happened so quickly.

One moment I was standing at the podium, raising my hands to acknowledge the applause from the audience, and encouraging them to quiet down.

I felt the buzz of nerves in my chest, hoping I deserved their applause, and all the shouts of praise that rang out.

Then, just as I was about to take out my speech notes and settle in to my final address before the election next week, I was startled by a loud, sharp explosion of noise to my right.

And a piece of a sign hanging on the stage as a backdrop disintegrated into splinters.

Then there was another bang. And another, and another.

Screams burst out, replacing the shouts and calls from just a moment before. And my body dropped into a crouch before my mind could catch up and realize what I was hearing:

Gunfire.

We were under attack!

I flashed back to the rogue attacks, the way the enemy had moved with so much stealth and cunning through the darkness.

The way an attack, from any direction, had always been a constant possibility.

The flashback made my hands shake, and I struggled to catch my breath.

Around me other people on the stage dove for cover as best as they could, either behind their upturned chairs or simply picking up the heavy curtain at the back and jumping off the stage.

The gunfire continued, and the madness of an arena full of people all trying to escape at the same time overwhelmed my senses.

I couldn’t decide which way to go. Toward the back of the stage, or the side with the steps where I’d walked on?

Part of me wondered if I should just stay where I was, protected by the thin cover of the podium.

But just then a bullet pierced the side of the podium, burying itself into the floor right beside my foot.

And I realized I needed to move.

Then someone screamed my name, and I stood without even thinking.

My first thought was Claire, but then I blinked and realized it wasn’t her.

It was Catherine.

And she was running straight for me.

Before I could even think, she was leaping toward me.

And another gunshot exploded.

And then Catherine was in my arms, collapsing against me, her face so pale under the strong hot stage lights.

Confusion filled me.

What had just happened?

Confusion was quickly replaced by alarm when I looked down.

There was blood pooling on the front of my shirt.

Catherine’s blood.

She’d been shot!

Fear spiked through me, but I lowered her to the floor as gently as I could.

“Hang on, Catherine. Just hang on. It’s going to be okay.”

I could hear her breath wheezing, bubbling.

“Nathan,” she said hoarsely, reaching up to touch my face with blood-tipped fingers.

“I…love you…”

Her hand dropped away bonelessly, and the fear inside me grew larger.

She’d taken a bullet for me.

She couldn’t die, not like this.

I shouted for help, and felt a surge of relief when I heard footsteps running toward me.

“I’m here! Let me see,” a voice demanded.

A familiar voice.

“Claire??” I cried. “What are you doing here?”

She brushed my question aside. “There’s no time for that. Let me see if I can help Catherine.”

The chaos continued around us as she put her hands over her cousin’s chest, scanning the wound as I’d seen her do that terrible night when Andy was hurt.

“The bullet nicked her lung. It’s lodged in her ribs. But I can fix it.”

She looked up at me. “I can heal her, but she’ll still need surgery. We need to get out of here.”

Nodding, I picked her up and ran with Claire back down to the backstage area, fighting against the crowd there.

Finally we made our way outside, and Beta Evan immediately spotted us.

“Sir!” he called. “Thank god. I’ve got the car ready - wait, what happened??”

Brushing aside his shock at seeing Catherine clearly wounded, I demanded he drive us to the hospital.

Jumping into the car, we rushed to the nearest clinic.

And Claire knelt in the back, desperately trying to heal her cousin.