Shackled Exalted

Emil

"H-House Nacht. S-She's been sent to House Nacht."

Emil ripped off his mask to gasp for air. The leader of the Rubare clan laid dead in a puddle of blood. A sword jutted out of the stout man's throat. A stiff, harrowing expression of his final moments was engraved on his face. Emil walked over and removed the sword from the dead man's body.

He got everything he needed from the man. Mia wasn't here. Not anymore. After being kidnapped by the Rubare's associates, she was temporarily placed in the cells of this underground hideout before being transported to House Nacht.

The noble family was the other client of the Rubare. House Nacht apparently ran a prolific human trafficking business that stretched across Ardair and extended to its neighboring nations. It was the foundation of their wealth and the reason why the house managed to ascend rapidly over the past few years. The Rubare clan served as one of House Nacht's many middlemen scattered across the kingdom.

I'm surprised the witch didn't know about this.

The Rubare clan wasn't exactly subtle about their kidnappings. Or perhaps their recklessness was a more recent phenomenon. The leader of the Rubare did mention that House Nacht had increased their demands in the past week. Likely another an indirect effect from the ripples caused by Vigil's emergence.

"Emil, you—"

"Save your breath," he hissed, cutting Petra off before she could admonish him for his cruelty, "All I've done is clean up a pile of human trash. I don't regret a thing."

Petra winced, wearing a difficult expression as she stared at him with concern. Emil ignored the pained look on her face and thought about what to do next instead. House Nacht being the perpetrator of these kidnappings posed a problem. The noble family had a formidable number of Exalted under their command thanks to the riches they had amassed by dealing in human lives. Infiltrating and rescuing Mia wasn't going to be an easy task.

Normally, when dealing with corrupt nobles, he was able to use Steiger's authority to make an arrest. If the target was violent, he could also count on other Steiger agents in the area to provide combat support. Here in Azure City, however, he did not have those luxuries. Steiger had no legal power in Azure City and Petra was the only other agent he could rely on.

What do I do?

"I have a feeling I know what you're brooding over. But I don't think it's a good idea," Petra said, "House Nacht is not a power that we can take on head-first. Especially when we don't have legal jurisdiction here."

"I know," Emil snapped back.

"We have Mia's whereabouts. We can regroup tomorrow and discuss a plan of action. I'll contact the closest Steiger cadres to see if we can get reinforcements inside Azure City. And then there's your injuries…"

Emil grimaced. The rush of adrenaline in his bloodstream was beginning to wear off. The buzzing in his limbs were steadily replaced by throbbing waves of pain. His body protested from the abuse. Everything hurt.

Maybe Petra was right. Trying to intrude on House Nacht with a reckless plan was a foolish endeavor. With the state of his body, not only were the odds of rescuing Mia low, but he might just get himself killed or captured in the process. Hortensia would not vouch for his release. Steiger would discard him without question if it meant avoiding a political dispute between it and the Council of Mana. For the first time tonight, his resolve wavered.

But even so—

He imagined Mia alone, locked up in a cell, subject to the whims of her captors. Emil was no stranger to the cruelty of the human trafficking business. His undercover missions in the syndicates of Lower Dannan gave him firsthand experience into the barbarism behind these operations. How many times did he force himself to turn a blind eye? How many did times did he swallow his rage? How many times did he nearly collapse with guilt as he watched innocents get exploited?

When he envisioned Mia in place of those poor souls—

He couldn't take it. The unthinkable would break him.

I won't allow it.

All of the sins that he unwillingly committed. All of the agony that he painstakingly endured. When he sold himself to the devil and accepted his second chance at life, it was for one purpose and one purpose only—Raz and Mia's safety.

Everything would crumple if something happened to them.

"It has to be tonight," he blurted out. The lights within the Rubare's hideout suddenly felt nauseatingly bright. Emil realized he was shaking and short of breath. He squeezed his fist, trying to fight for some semblance of control. "We can't delay. There's no guarantee that Mia will still be held within House Nacht by tomorrow. And frankly, I don't trust those bastards to be civilized."

Petra shook her head. "But it's suicidal. Emil, think of the bigger picture. We can't just—"

"There's no picture without Mia!"

She flinched, taken aback by the outburst. She instinctively stepped back. The edges of her eyes were quivering. Fear. She was scared. Of him. Emil glanced down, realizing that he had just stomped on a pile of gore. Blaze cackled in his ears. His mind felt like it had been doused in cold water. Without the veil of bloodlust, clarity forced him to acknowledge the savagery inflicted by his own hands.

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Emil closed his eyes, holding onto his head against a vicious headache. He was suddenly aware of all the blood on his sleeves and clothes. He must have looked like a madman.

"…Fine," Petra suddenly said, her expression stiff. There was a clear resignation in her voice. "I won't stop you. But I won't help you either unless you have a solid plan. We can't just intrude onto the Nacht estate. We'll be treated like villains."

Like villains?

Emil raised an eye. Petra's analogy sparked an unlikely idea.

There's a masquerade happening right now at the Nacht estate.

He had almost forgotten in the midst of his madness. Anna and Aoife had both mentioned it earlier today. When he considered the details, the scenario that he found himself in sounded dreadfully familiar.

It's just like Vigil's attack on the Academy.

The parallels were uncanny. A vague outline of a plan began to form in his head. Emil sneered. It rubbed him the wrong way that he was using his enemies as his inspiration.

It doesn't matter.

If it was for Mia, he could do anything.

Mia

The dank smell of wet stones and rot permeated the area. The chilly floor pressed against her back and limbs. The air was frigid—the type of cold that seeped through the skin and directly assaulted the bones. It was unpleasant and uncomfortable, but also nostalgic at the same time.

As a child of the slums, Mia could never forget the grit and grime of living in the backwater alleyways of Lower Dannan. The ever-present stench of trash and human excrement overhanging the air. Taking shelter from the rain and snow under porous dilapidated ruins. Going to sleep on an empty stomach without knowing when her next meal was going to be. Being forced awake because of her trembling body in the absence of warmth.

In comparison, her current living situation was paradise. A roof over her head. A room to herself. A bed. A protective guardian who dotted on her. And a kitchen with all the tools and utensils she could have never imagined to make all of her favorite meals.

The incongruity was hard for her to reconcile at times. Her current life felt like a dream. Or was it her past that felt like a nightmare? She wasn't sure which one was more apt to describe her situation. Sometimes she felt herself still trapped on that wretched day when everyone in the compound died from the terrible incident. Other times, her memories of the past were hopelessly vague. Still, she never allowed herself to forget the tragedies that led her here. This new life of hers was fleeting. It was brittle. It was built on the back of Emil's sacrifices and held together only because of his devotion to her and Raz. The two of them were his curse. At any moment, this walled garden could crumple.

Looks like today's when I finally wake up from this dream.

Mia opened her eyes.

She was inside a cell behind barred doors. Somber incandescent lights kept the halls outside her cage dimly lit. It was quiet. She could hear droplets of water descending from the ceiling, pattering against the stone floors with a rippling plop. There was a strong earthy smell in the air that accompanied the rot.

A cavern? Or am I underground?

She had been blindfolded on her journey here. The exact moments of her kidnapping were vague. It happened in an instant—she was taking a shortcut back into the First Sector from an alleyway when she was ambushed by two men. Startled and with her hands full with groceries, Mia could do nothing as she was easily overpowered and taken away.

I'm never taking that shortcut again.

That alleyway had always felt a little bit sketchy, but it was the fastest way that allowed her to exit the Second Sector. Plus, it hadn't been the first time that she used it, so she ignored the alarms gnawing at the back of her mind. If she had just trusted her instincts—

Mia sighed.

And I was doing so well to not cause trouble for everyone.

She was in a rush because she was running late after doing her usual grocery shopping. Petra was about to come home and Mia didn't want to delay her dinner. The woman always had a tired and languid expression on her face that only lit up when served a warm meal.

While Mia wasn't aware of the whole situation at the time, she was not naïve to the fact that Petra had taken them in reluctantly.

Emil's work for Steiger took him to Azure City. He brought her and Raz along, but Petra was the one who was burdened with their presences. In order to make sure Emil's reputation didn't suffer and to show her gratitude, Mia did everything she could to make Petra's life easier as her assistant. And despite Petra's frosty exterior, the woman was surprisingly kind. Once they had warmed up to each other, Petra began to treat her like a little sister.

It was nice. For the first time in ages, Mia had someone older to depend on. Emil was often absent due to his missions for Steiger and so, Mia was mostly left alone to take care of Raz. Petra's presence gave her a sense of security that she hadn't felt since the tragedy in the Lower Dannan slums.

Her wrist suddenly flared with pain. Mia looked down as she rubbed the rope marks burned into her skin. Her hands and legs had been tied together until she was transported into this cell. Coarse strands of rope remained scattered on the ground near the barred doors. Her captors had cut her loose, but they hadn't bothered to clean up the residuals.

Mia shuffled over and swept the fragments of rope into her pockets. The strands were short, but the material was strong. She could use this. There was always something that could be done with rope.

Thud.

She nearly jumped at the sudden sound.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Footsteps.

The echoes grew progressively louder. The lumbering cadences suggested that it was someone imposing. Recalling one of Emil's warnings, Mia took off the remaining shoe on her foot and flipped it over. The sole was caked in mud and dirt. Without hesitation, she smeared it against her face. She made sure she was thorough. By the time she was done, she could feel the earthen mess in every pore of her skin.

The visitor stomped into view.

A mountainous man. Muscles bulged in areas where she didn't think was possible. Scars were scattered along his face like gemstones on a nobleman's outfit. A particularly nasty one resembling a dagger's blade was drawn across the bridge of his nose.

What gave Mia pause, however, was the dangerous glint in his eyes. She recognized it instantly. She had to—she was a woman after all.

The man peered into her cell. Mia stared at him with a scowl. She didn't fidget. She didn't tremble. She remained frozen like an ugly doll, hoping that her last-minute countermeasure would be enough of a deterrence.

Everything was still. Only droplets from the ceiling marked the passage of time.

The man suddenly grunted. His ogre-like face twisted in disgust as he continued to stomp down the hall. Mia only relaxed once his footsteps grew faint.

In the distance, she overheard the sharp creak of metal. She pulled herself onto the other side of her cell to create as much separation as possible from the source of the noise.

Instead, she glanced at the dirty shoe in her hand. Petra had made it for her. She had grown out of her old ones.

What a shame. I really wanted to treasure these, she thought, trying to distract herself from the terrible whimpers echoing from down the hall.

When the sounds became too distressing to ignore, she drew in a heavy breath. A quiet flame flickered in her chest. She reached into her pockets and fiddled with the rope, forcing her shaken mind to think.