The following days were busy ones.

  Vanessa made contact with four assassins.

  Each one from a different pnet, and each one holding a bitter hatred for Gelmidas Atheneum and the Scorched Archer.

  Yes, she had even made pns for Nadeden.

  Vanessa knew that she would survive her journey to Rome. It was practically granted. She was well aware that the woman could do anything she set her mind to.

  When she was informed that Nadeden was on a Republic colony pnet in the fifth region sor system, all it did was confirm that she was indeed alive; even if she was wounded, she could still make it to Rome.

  Although the news that Nadeden wasn’t traveling alone did strike Vanessa as incredibly odd, if her companion was half as skilled as Nadeden herself, they could very well mess with her pns.

  She recontacted the assassins and warned them of such.

  Two of them, a Fluoredon eager to prove himself as a gactic warrior and a bloodthirsty Lungoza, had already arrived in Rome, and as such were unable to receive her warning.

  But the two others, a Squideel half-breed ciming to be the son of the te Division Swordsman Sergeant Brian Thorn and a blind Martian capable of communicating with birds, received the warning.

  However, all of the Assassins did receive one very specific command upon first being contacted that Vanessa was sure to stress.

  Each one of them could not act until after the wedding had either gone through or failed. After that, Vanessa would give the signal to attack the Pza.

  The signal would be a simple and obvious one. Adamus would be unleashed upon the city under the impression that a group of assassins was after his Father.

  Once the assassins saw Adamus, they would battle to the death and hopefully cause as much destruction as possible, not to mention battle long enough for the beast to take control of Adamus.

  In the midst of all that chaos, Vanessa would find an area safe from harm where she would await three possible outcomes.

  Possibility one: An assassin or Nadeden would succeed and indeed kill Gelmidas, unching Adamus into a rabid killing frenzy that would drag the Atheneum name so far through the mud that the chance of him ever inheriting his Father’s crown would be near zero. After this, the boy was likely to be hunted, hated, and shunned for the rest of his miserable life.

  Possibility two: Adamus succeeds in stopping Nadeden and the Assassins. This would then be a simple matter of killing Gelmidas herself and framing it as one of the assassins getting to him before anyone could have saved him. She would have to act quickly in this scenario, but Tendo would be acting as her eyes and ears, and should all else fail, he would kill Gelmidas himself.

  If the beast was indeed still in control of Adamus, there was also the slim chance she could frame him for killing his Father.

  This was the ideal scenario for Vanessa, but very unlikely to happen.

  Possibility three: Adamus fails and dies. In this case, Vanessa would be working under the assumption that the beast would take control of Adamus and still unleash destruction on Rome.

  However, she would also assume that all or at least most of the assassins, including Nadeden, would survive and compete to kill Gelmidas.

  This was a very likely scenario.

  In this instance, Gelmidas’s death would be left to chance. That is something Vanessa absolutely could not allow.

  If Gelmidas survived everything she had worked for would be rendered pointless.

  If this were to happen, she would have no other option than to kill Gelmidas herself and hope that she wasn’t caught in the act.

  Even if Vanessa couldn’t rule over both the Republic and the Division, she needed to ensure that an Atheneum would never hold the Division crown.

  Vanessa had pnned for all possibilities.

  She was so certain of herself that it hardly even bothered her to find no useful information in the book Cassandra had put together.

  Vanessa did, however, make one mistake.

  She assumed that she wouldn’t come face-to-face with her greatest pawn.

  “Hello, Madam President.”

  Vanessa nearly screamed when she opened the door to her office and found Adamus and the Division messenger at her desk.

  “Go wait outside, Davon,” Adamus ordered the messenger as Vanessa sat down.

  Davon gred as he stepped past her and opened the door. It was as if he could see right through her. Like he sensed the plot within her and the terror that consumed her in that moment.

  Even still, she did her best to put on the facade of an elegant, courteous ruler as Adamus spoke to her.

  Surprisingly, it was quite the interesting conversation, and quite the revealing one as well.

  Adamus had believed his Mother died in a fire when he was young. The fire left him near death as well, but it was what regenerated him that Vanessa found intriguing.

  Gelmidas had used the heads of the ancient machines to wish Adamus back to life, and somehow this wish also brought the Rusting into reality.

  Vanessa instantly made the connection.

  However, it was unclear if the creature inside Adamus was an embodiment of the Rusting or if Admaus himself was.

  The next revetion was a more troubling one.

  Cassandra had revealed Vanessa’s pn to Adamus.

  But, Adamus’s sheer stupidity worked in Vanessa’s favor. He thought that Cassandra was the true threat and that Vanessa would never try anything so bold.

  She simply couldn’t control her ughter.

  Vanessa decided to throw the dog of a boy a bone and told him the whereabouts of the Scorched Archer. But much to her shock, and adding to her suspicions, Gelmidas had forbidden Adamus from going after Nadeden.

  Still, Adamus’s self-centered mentality worked in her favor yet again.

  Adamus stated he had no intention to pursue his Father’s political position, fancying himself a hero of the people instead.

  Once more, Vanessa could not contain her ughter as she dismissed the boy.

  Everything was working in her favor.

  Punishing Cassandra, or rather putting her back in pce, was an ugly matter but a necessary one.

  Vanessa simply had to let her daughter know that she couldn’t let secrets slip so easily.

  In order to further throw the girl off her trail, Vanessa would tell Cassandra that she had to agree to marry Adamus no matter what.

  Vanessa made use of Mitika again. She had Loeb and his men kidnap the family of Lungoza in Cassandra’s youth and made use of them as spies to keep Cassandra from revealing the truth of their family arrangement.

  Vanessa always knew that if word were ever to get out that Cassandra wasn’t her daughter by birth, there would be a controversy that, while she might have been able to recover from, was still too dangerous to risk.

  When Cassandra did mutter the truth under emotional stress, Mitika and Vanessa regrettably had to take action.

  Vanessa had let the family of Lungoza go afterwards, but remained in contact with them should she ever need their services again.

  The incident had mentally scarred Cassandra, and Vanessa knew it served as a constant reminder that she was the one who held power over Cassandra’s life. Therefore, she knew that all Mitika had to do was show up after Cassandra’s coming-of-age concert to send the clear message that she would have to do as she was told.

  It was only minutes after the Soryu’s made pnetfall that Vanessa discovered that the message hadn’t worked as intended.

  Cassandra kept to Adamus and even ran off into the city with him, much to Vanessa’s dismay.

  Still, she decided to take advantage of the situation.

  Now that she was alone with Gelmidas, she could show her hand.

  “So…” She started in a soft voice, “You wouldn’t happen to know where I can get my hands on a mystical machine head, would you?”

  Gelmidas went pale. “Who told you?”

  “Adamus did. He and your Messenger met with me a few days ago.” Just as Vanessa had predicted, Gelmidas cursed himself and had no choice but to show her to the basement.

  “So this is where the Rusting was born?” She asked in a cluelessly curious voice that echoed in the stone.

  “Yes.” Gelmidas nodded. “I haven’t been down here in years.”

  “Why not?” Tendo asked, growing more alive as he ran his fingers along the open container lying at the center of the room.

  “Because of what happened to Adamus,” Gelmidas shot out, clearly offended by Tendo’s ck of awareness.

  “I understand,” Vanessa caringly said. “It must have been very traumatic for you.”

  Gelmidas nodded again, sadness taking him.

  As the three of them walked out, Tendo whispered to Vanessa, “Is there a way for you to tell your friends to stay out of here?”

  Vanessa squinted at Tendo. “Why?”

  Tendo shrugged, “No reason. I just figured that it’s historic, is all.”

  His hand pressed longingly against the doorway as he followed Vanessa out.

  “Well, I figure they’ll all keep away from it regardless.”

  “Good,” Tendo muttered, wiping his palm on the red of his suit.

  It was then that Vanessa saw the tattoo just above his wrist. A single number.

  One.

  She didn’t say a word.

  Everyone has their secrets, and Tendo could keep his.

  He has served her well, after all.

  “Davon Yemer is dead.”

  Gelmidas Atheneum couldn’t believe the news.

  Vanessa, on the other hand, assumed that Adamus would have told the Messenger of Nadeden’s whereabouts. Although she definitely hadn’t expected Davon to go alone, she knew that his fate was sealed the second he made the mistake of going after Nadeden.

  Someone like the Scorched Archer couldn’t be dealt with in such a bold fashion.

  “How?” Gelmidas asked as Vanessa took a sip of tea.

  “A Republic Officer apprehended an Elf who confessed to the crime.” As he spoke, Vanessa knew that the representative was withholding information, but Gelmidas was far too overwhelmed with emotion to notice.

  The man was on the verge of wailing like an infant.

  Vanessa kept the teacup on her lips to hide her smirk.

  “I need to…” Gelmidas stumbled out of his chair, removing his gsses. “I need to go to my chambers. I apologize, Madam President.”

  “I perfectly understand.” Vanessa waved him goodbye and set down her tea.

  The representative kneeled before her once Gelmidas left the room.

  “Now give me the real report,” Vanessa demanded as she stood over the man.

  “It happened the day before Lady Cassandra came of age. The Division Messenger arrived on the pnet and interrogated a prisoner who had provided the Scorched Archer with medical treatment. Apparently-”

  “Don’t give me apparently, give me facts.”

  The man gulped down his nerves and corrected himself, “Yes, Madam President. The Messenger insisted that the Scorched Archer was on the pnet, and he left after speaking to the prisoner. Hours ter, when dawn broke, several witnesses reported seeing a Stone giant standing below the city’s cliffside.”

  “A giant?” Vanessa scoffed. “The giants haven’t been seen for centuries, but these are strange times… Continue.”

  The representative did just that: “The giant left sometime before nightfall. When Republic officers visited the vilge that the Scorched Archer and the giant were said to be in, the vilge chief stepped forward and cimed that she was the one who killed the Division messenger.”

  “Is that all?” Vanessa asked the troubled man beneath her.

  “No.” He mumbled. “The Elf that confessed…”

  “Yes?” Vanessa softly inquired, hoping to encourage the man.

  “Is the Elf of Death. Lady Triminiv herself.”

  Vanessa went cold at the words. “I see.”

  She pced a palm on the man. “This is all true?”

  He trembled at her touch. “Yes.”

  Vanessa’s face went as dark as the tassel on her beret. “Rise.” She commanded the representative.

  He did as he was told.

  “You are to order Triminiv to be brought here. Tell no one of the other details we spoke of. Once you leave this room, you are to spread the word of the Messenger’s death and do anything you need to ensure that Lady Triminiv arrives on this pnet precisely the day after the wedding, no sooner and no ter, understood?”

  The representative nodded. “Understood.” He then made for the door.

  Vanessa chuckled. It was almost too perfect.

  She had secured a fifth enemy for Adamus to face without even having to lift a finger.

  The Elf of Death had fallen straight into her p. The threat of the assassins was already more than enough, but because Triminiv had already confessed to killing Davon, Adamus would no doubt leap at the opportunity for revenge.

  And if the stories of the Elf’s destructive powers were indeed true…

  If Triminiv were to fight Adamus…

  Rome was as good as dust.

  However, the giant could ruin all of that.

  Vannesa would have to deal with them quickly before the assassins could act.

  The giant left before Triminiv confessed, and the Officers hadn’t found Nadeden in the vilge, so the giant had to be working as Nadeden’s transport.

  Of course!

  Nadeden couldn’t use a typical spacecraft; she would be found too easily. She had to be using the stone giant to travel. So when Nadeden arrived in Rome, it would be with the stone giant.

  Once she did arrive, Vanessa would need to send a team to destroy the giant before it could make it to the surface and ruin her pns.

  Although there did remain the possibility that the giant would nd on the surface with Nadeden, but Vanessa knew that wasn’t Nadeden’s style.

  No. Nadeden would want to enter Rome quietly and avoid suspicion, and she would bring that pale companion of hers as well.

  So it was decided. The instant that Nadeden was seen in Rome, Vanessa would act to take out the giant. However, she would have to do so quietly.

  It would be best to send the team after Triminiv’s arrival and hope that the giant didn’t make it to the surface before then.