DIVISION 52 - BOOK I

CHAPTER XLI

"Power is not a means; it is an end. One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship. The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power. Now you begin to understand me."

― George Orwell,

– M A K A Y L A –

The night was an experience I won't forget. It seemed like the Queen of the Underworld enjoyed permanently throwing me into new situations just to watch my eyes widen. I couldn't help it, I was the kind of deprived you only came across in Sector 1. By no means a hardship of life compared to what I'd seen in the Sectors Alex had grown in... but an ignorance we all shared in the glass towers of the upper sectors.

Her eyes were always so different now. It cracked me every time to see the softness in the eyes I once matched to a demon. That burning gold may as well be honey. Though her fire fiercely burned on, she had something to hold her to humanity now. I had to believe it was me. The blood she saw on her hands was bearable with me at her side.

"You make me want better." She had said as she gazed at my eyes. My head was in her arms and our breathing had slowed down considerably.

We were in one of her safe houses. By no means shabby accommodation but nothing compared to the grandeur of her keep that had been burned by the rebels weeks ago. Her second was out preparing the next headquarters tirelessly to ensure standards were upheld.

I had watched her for a few seconds. "From yourself?" I asked carefully.

She twisted her mouth a little in thought. The action alone was adorable on her otherwise lethal beauty.

"I think so. I've never had to question the action I've taken before. I only wanted to reach the top so I can change the top."

"Were the previous rulers so bad?" I asked slowly. She knew what I meant. The flash in her eyes a mix of sadness and anger. I'd seen it only a few times so raw. I had always wondered at what the outer Sectors were really like before her ascension. My father always held them in the same regard.

"They didn't want power for change, they wanted it for themselves. It didn't matter what the costs were." She said in an empty voice devoid.

I loosened the frown in her brow with two of my fingers. She drew them down and kissed them before watching me again.

"We don't have to talk about this–"

"But I can see the questions burning at you." She finished with a small smile. "Who would I be if I denied you the past. Just another tyrant afraid of their own shadow." She snorted humourless.

"You don't give yourself enough credit." I told her seriously. "Maybe lower the death penalty a little but–" She threw me a flat look that said it isn't so simple.

"It's the language they speak here. It's hard to explain to one that speaks in champagne flutes and silk gowns." She grinned. I smacked her bare arm and it made a satisfying sound.

"Ask me about the outer sectors, I'll answer you." She said as her grin faded.

I pondered this. Tracing my finger along the ink patterns on her arm as I did so. It raised goosebumps where I went.

"When I saw your throne it had five daggers." I began. She waited.

"There were five rulers."

"Yes, detective." She smirked.

I rolled my eyes. "You killed them all and what, claimed all sectors from 11 to 52 in a night?" I deadpanned in disbelief.