I am no longer the ET2

*Adam*

Alastor DravenET has left the castle, and I don't think that's a good thing. In fact, he makes me very nervous.

The new ET2 that King ET1 Gene just appointed to replace me seems a little deranged to me, and I wouldn't be surprised if he hasn't actually been diagnosed with something like... being a fuc... psychopath. Is that a diagnosis that can be obtained and still allow one to roam freely?

I need to find out where he's gone and chase him down. I have decided to gather all the forces that are technically part of the king's guard but are most loyal to me and take them with me. Alastor took a small number of troops with him when he left, heading for ET1 Mark's castle, so I know I'll have to have some troops with me or else I'll be at a distinct disadvantage.

The only problem is that asking these soldiers to go against the king is technically insurrection. That would make me a traitor, and if they catch me, the penalty is death. I am sure that King ET1 Gene will not hesitate for a moment to execute me, since he has already demoted me from my position as a ET2. He clearly doesn't value me right now, and I guess I shouldn't blame him since I'm now acting against him.

"It's too dangerous," Shelby says, arms crossed. "I don't think we should be doing this." I think you should just contact the ET1s and let them know that Alastor is on his way to the castle to kill them all.

I look at her, trying not to sigh. "That's not enough, Shelby." Everyone is busy right now with the babies and Kamila. I have to go there myself. Besides, what's the point of staying here when Gene doesn't like me anymore anyway? He's likely to come after both of you. That's why I want you to go to your mother's house for a while.

She shakes her head. "I'm not going to do that, Adam." I'm with you.

"Absolutely not!" I tell her, taking her by the arms so she can look at me. —It's too dangerous, what I'm about to do. I cannot allow you to be hurt in battle or King Gene to sentence you to death for being a traitor like me.

“I'm not asking for your permission, Adam,” he declares, pulling away from me. -We are together in this! Where you go, I go.

—That doesn't include the battlefield, Shelby. You're not trained to be there. I hope she can see reason, but her expression tells me she's not listening to me.

"I've trained to fight, as has every ET in my pack, and I'll be fine out there." Besides, even if the worst happens, I'd rather be there with you, dying by your side, than stay here trying to avoid Gene or go to my mom's house and be there asking me if you're okay or bothering me over the mental link every five seconds to make sure you're alive.

“Would you rather just watch me die on the battlefield in person?” I ask, and I'm only half-joking.

She narrows her eyes at me and crosses her arms under her chest. Clearly, my wife doesn't think jokes about my death are funny. —No, but if you're not careful, you'll die right here.

I laugh, but something tells me she's not really joking.

—Adam, I'm going with you. If you don't like it, it's too fucked up.

Her seriousness shows in her eyes, and I decide it's a waste of valuable time to continue arguing with her.

-Alright. But stay near the end, and don't do anything stupid," I tell him.

Shelby snorts. —When have I done something stupid?

I know it will literally kill me if I'm stupid enough to answer that question. “Okay,” is all I say, and I prepare to go make a pitch to the people I think will join us. I'm terrified, though. All it takes is for one of them to turn on me and arrest me, throw me in jail, and then... it could all be over for all of us.

Before I leave for the barracks where the guards spend their free time, I send a message via mental link, deciding that it would be best to simply warn one of the ET1s, and since it's Mark's castle that Alastor is heading to, I choose him. .

'ET1 Mark,' I say, waiting for him to recognize me before continuing.

'Not now, Adam. We have a crisis on our hands here in the castle,' he says, his voice showing the tension in him even through the mental link.

'Oh, you know that, then? 'Does that mean he has arrived?' I ask, not wanting to be completely sidetracked by his derogatory statement in case we're not talking about the same thing.

'Who has arrived at the castle?' he ask me.

'Alastor DravenET, Gene's new ET2. He is leading a force towards the castle to attack and kill them all.'

He's silent for a moment, and I start to think that maybe he hasn't heard me, but then he asks me, 'Does King Gene have a new ET2?' 'And he's coming to my castle to kill us all?'

'That's right,' I tell him. 'She left about thirty minutes ago. Walking'.

'Shit,' Mark mutters. "Now is really not a good time."

I'm not sure how to answer that. It's not like I had anything to do with it, although I suppose I could have warned before. He had intended to do so, but the situation here in the castle keeps changing, and it took a while for ET2 Alastor to gather his troops to march towards Mark's castle, since most of the soldiers in Gene's army have sworn loyalty to the ET1s and do not want to fight them.

'I'm planning to leave a force from here and go after him,' he explained to ET1 Mark. 'But I thought you should be aware of the situation so you can prepare your own army.'

'And how many troops do you think Alastor has with him?' he ask me.

'I'm not sure,' I admit. 'But it didn't seem to be much of a force. I think he thinks he can order everyone to come with him or somehow sneak into the castle and get you out that way. I think Gene may have some people working for him on your staff.'

'My personal?' I hear the doubt in her voice. 'No. All my staff members are completely loyal to me.'

'Uhm... no disrespect intended, ET1, are you sure about that? I mean, Gene has recently received information about the situation at the castle that he couldn't have known unless someone there was talking to him. He even knows the name of the doctor he delivered to the babies.' I hope you listen to me because I'm about to run out of patience and time.

'Alright. I'll look into it,' she says. 'But it may take me a while. We'll be ready for Alastor to arrive, but we need to focus on the other matter we have right now.'

'What other matter?' I ask him, thinking he might be talking about Kamila and her babies.

So I'm surprised when he says, 'Find Kelly.'