Chapter four
1202 Words
Octavia’s POV
My breath caught in my throat. I looked at the small camera, then back at Cassian. All my work… the wires, the hidden clock parts, my secret plan, he had watched it all like a movie.
"You think this is a game?" I asked. My voice was a sharp whisper.
"Everything is a game, Octavia," Cassian said. He stepped even closer. I could feel the heat coming off his body. "The only difference is that I always know the ending."
I didn't back away. I looked him right in the eyes. "If you saw me working to escape, why didn't you stop me? Why let me finish the signal sniffer?"
Cassian leaned down, his face inches from mine. "Because I wanted to see if you were actually good enough to do it. Most people just cry and beg for mercy. You? You used a hairclip and a clock to fight a trillion-dollar security system. That isn't just clever. That is dangerous."
"I am not your toy, Cassian," I said, my jaw tight.
"I know," he murmured. "Toys are easy to replace. You... you are a rare piece of technology."
Before I could reply, a loud, heavy THUD shook the floor. It wasn't the sound of an explosion, but something solid hitting the ground with immense force. My hand instinctively reached for the heavy wrench in my pocket, my muscles tensing. Cassian didn’t flinch, but his eyes turned sharp, moving instantly toward the heavy steel door of the weapon room.
The door slid open with a hiss.
Orion Steele stood there, his athletic frame blocking the light from the hallway. His face was red, and he looked like he was about to explode.
“Dammit, Orion!” Cassian yelled, his voice echoing off the metal walls. “Don’t ever knock that way again. You nearly made me pull my trigger! You know the rules about sudden movements in the armory.”
Orion stepped into the light. His perfect blonde hair was slightly messy, as if he had been running, and he looked unusually pale. He didn't look at me at all. He kept his eyes fixed on Cassian.
“I... I apologize,” Orion said, his voice shaking just a little. “But the system... Boss, we have a problem on the lower levels. The silent alarm in the server vault was triggered. It’s urgent.”
He walked over to Cassian and whispered something in his ear. I couldn't hear the words, but I saw the change in him immediately. The curious, playful look he had when he was teasing me about the camera vanished. He was the "Ghost" again… cold, distant, and dangerous. Whatever he told him was serious enough to make a trillionaire lose his cool.
“Now?” Cassian asked him quietly.
Orion nodded quickly. “Yes. Right now. Damon and Lucien are already waiting for you in the Command Center.”
Cassian turned to me. The heat that had been between us just a moment ago was gone, replaced by an icy, invisible wall. I felt like a bug he had finished studying for the day.
“Our conversation is over,” he said. He looked toward the door and barked a name. “Ronan!”
Ronan Drake stepped forward from the shadows of the hallway. He looked like a mountain of muscle, his face a mask of permanent scars and cold loyalty.
“Take her back to her room,” Cassian ordered. He looked me straight in the eyes, his voice dropping low and threatening. “And Octavia? Don’t try anything stupid. No more clocks. No more hairclips. If you try to escape again, I won’t be so ‘interested’ next time. I’ll be annoyed. And you don’t want to see me annoyed.”
He didn't wait for me to speak. Him and Orion walked fast in the opposite direction. Their boots clicked loudly on the marble floors as they hurried toward the heart of the fortress. They turned a corner and disappeared, leaving me with the giant.
“Move,” Ronan barked.
I didn’t argue. I knew I couldn't fight a man like Ronan with my bare hands, and I didn't have the tools to trick him yet. He walked two steps behind me, his heavy footsteps a constant reminder that I was a prisoner. Every time I looked at a vent or a side door, I could hear him shift his weight, his hand resting near the pistol on his hip.
We reached my room, the glass cage overlooking the city. The sun was starting to set, turning the sky a bruised purple. The marble floors looked cold and unwelcoming. Ronan stood by the door, his arms crossed. But I wasn't alone.
Lyra was already there. She must have taken a shortcut through the staff elevator. She was leaning against the doorframe of my bedroom, her arms crossed over her chest, watching me arrive. She looked at Ronan and gave a small, fake smile that didn't reach her eyes.
“Excuse us, Ronan,” Lyra said, her voice dripping with false kindness. “Cassian asked me to check her vitals and make sure she isn't hiding any more ‘projects’ in her clothes. You can wait outside the main door.”
Ronan hesitated for a second, looking from Lyra to me. Finally, he nodded. He stepped back into the hallway, and the glass door hissed shut, locking with a heavy electronic click.
I was alone with the woman who hated me.
Lyra didn’t move. She didn’t check my pulse or look for hidden tools. She just stood there, staring at me like I was a piece of trash that had drifted into her perfect penthouse.
The silence in the room became thick and heavy. I could hear the hum of the high-tech air conditioner and the frantic thumping of my own heart.
Finally, she took a step closer. The icy, floral smell of her perfume felt like a warning of a coming winter. She looked at the bed where I had hidden the clock, a cruel smirk touching her lips.
"You think you're so smart, don't you?" Lyra whispered. "You think Cassian likes you because you can fix a few wires and act brave. But you're just a ghost to him, Octavia. A ghost of a dead man."
I narrowed my eyes, trying to keep my voice steady. "What are you talking about, Lyra? If you have something to say, just say it."
Lyra stepped into my personal space, so close I could see the anger burning in her blue eyes. She reached out and touched the collar of my technician's shirt, twisting the fabric between her fingers as if she wanted to choke me.
"Cassian keeps you here to feel powerful. He likes to watch you struggle because it amuses him," she said. "He knows everything about you. He knows things you haven't even realized yet."
She leaned in even closer, her lips almost touching my ear. Her voice dropped to a terrifying, quiet crawl that made my skin prickle with fear.
“Tell me, Octavia,” she whispered, her breath cold against my skin. “Do you feel something for Cassian?”
- Writer
