My gaze darted back and forth between them, my mind flickering between the instinct to run into the middle of the dance floor so they would know I was there, or to chance stealing a weapon to shoot every person around us who cheered them on.

At the ding of a bell by the ambassador Jungkook sprang forward, lunging at Taehyung so that they both fell to the floor with a grunt. He punched Taehyung in the jaw before they rolled over, Taehyung straddling and hitting him with the metal covering over the place where his right hand should have been. I put my hands over my mouth as Jungkook came at him with an uppercut to his side, gaining the momentum that allowed him to push Taehyung away, his body sliding across the floor in my direction.

He skidded to a stop just a foot away from me, Jungkook lifting his head to look into the crowd for the first time and meeting my eye. His skin was tinted a mix of yellow and purple where there'd been bruising on his ribs and blood dripped from his nose to his mouth, his hands swollen from fighting and wet hair sticking to his forehead.

Around me the crowd switched from cheering for him to Taehyung as he rose to his feet, positioning himself so that he was balanced and ready to fight again. Beside me Emmanuel watched intently, his arms crossed over his chest like he had a serious stake in the battle.

I pushed through the crowd in a fury, my sight set on Gideon who watched with a sinister smile and Shelby, deep in a conversation with one of the women I recognized as being higher in rank. I charged toward them, ready to force them to shut down the entire event when someone grabbed hold of my wrist, Yoongi tugging me to him right as I entered the small gap fashioned as a path out of the ballroom.

"Fix your face, they don't need to know they're with us." He pretended to be completely uninterested in the match, shielding any view of my face by standing directly in front of me.

"What do we do?" I asked with a trembling breath, the rage I felt a cover for the pain of knowing that they'd been here the entire time, held somewhere until Gideon needed them for his sick game.

We were too close to watchful eyes and open ears, Yoongi putting an arm around my waist and turning us so that we faced the dance floor again. Taehyung rubbed his forehead after head butting Jungkook so hard that he laid out cold on the floor. Onlookers whooped, their cheers for Taehyung a continuous buzz of noise as one of the men left his position, lifting Taehyung's hand into the air in victory. Jungkook's head turned toward us slowly as two men slid his arms over their shoulders to carry him out of the building, Taehyung holding his wrists out to be bound in acceptance of their new normal.

Yoongi's arm tightened around my waist as my body urged toward them again. I needed to know where they were being taken.

Almost as quickly as the night had shifted, the event transitioned back into a bustle of conversation, the band picking up with a joyous tune that felt the exact opposite of the scene that was being mopped away.

Yoongi moved us so that we walked discreetly from the ballroom to an open area where people mingled, keeping an arm around me and reaching across to grab one of my hands. "Start hyperventilating." He instructed, rubbing my back in small circles as we approached an exit at the side of the building.

Two guards stood at the door to keep anyone from using the exit, raising their eyebrows when I put a hand over my chest, gasping for air and exhaling through whimpers.

"Is she okay?" One of them stepped forward. I wondered how quickly I could take his gun, but decided against it for now, knowing that Yoongi had a plan.

"She needs some fresh air. We haven't been around this many people in a while." He provided an excuse, the two guards exchanging a look before deciding to let us through the door, creating a tiny opening for us to slip outside.

It was completely silent, only the sound of gusting wind through my ears. Though I'd been pretending to panic, the cold night air away from everyone was refreshing.

"We need to leave here." He started, whispering despite there being no sign of anyone watching. "Do you think you can trust Shelby?"

I froze, a question I'd never felt more unsure of than now. "I don't know," I admitted, "but let me talk to her. I'll find out where they are and maybe I can convince her to come with us."

"Okay, I trust your judgment. Try to talk to her tonight. If we want to do this we should do it while Gideon is away." He extended his hand to me, retracting it when a voice came from around the corner.

"Alena?" Emmanuel appeared, his face relaxing with relief when he met my eye. "Someone let me know you weren't feeling well."

I picked up on the way he glanced at Yoongi, mistrust and a hint of jealousy in his expression. I took the opportunity to express a subtle interest in him, stepping away to place a hand on his chest. "I just got a little warm in the crowd. Thank you for coming to check on me." I traced my fingers down his arm, curling them around his bicep.

"Maybe I should go ahead and walk you home for the night. The ball is about to end. I'll return for the king and queen." He nodded at Yoongi smugly.

He started a slow stroll toward the house a few buildings away, not a sound between us until I spoke. "How long will you be away?" I hoped that my feigned interest would lead him to open up.

"At least four days, but I'm sure you know how things can be out there." He answered, the way he pulled his arm and subsequently me closer made me cringe.

It was a short walk to the house and he faced me as if we were supposed to have some grand farewell, releasing my arm to hold onto my hand.

"Be safe." I left him, struggling to fake it when, I hope you die out there, would have been a more honest statement.

The sound of the door shutting echoed with the empty house. I stomped up the stairs and to my room, standing by the window for any view of the building where the ball was held. I could only see part of the front, people filing down the stairs as the night came to an end.

It was easy to spot Shelby and Gideon, her extravagant dress standing out among those who walked back to their living quarters. I scurried to the door at the sound of them entering the house, pressing an ear to the wood to listen.

I picked up on their footsteps, three pairs when they entered, a moment of silence and the lightest murmuring before one left, my guess that Emmanuel completed his evening of drop-offs. Shelby and Gideon's shoes pattered up the stairs, the door to their bedroom opening and closing.

With my back pressed against the door I waited, anger building with every minute that passed until the door opened again. I listened to the mutter of their voices, a loving goodbye shared between them before Gideon's heavy footsteps skipped back down the stairs, the front door barely clicking into place before I opened mine.

I rushed down the hallway so quickly that when Shelby's bedroom door opened at the very second that I reached it, Shelby on her way out, we collided, nearly losing our balance.

"I was just coming to check on you." She rubbed at her nose where I bumped it with mine.

Completely enraged, I pushed her back into the bedroom, my hand against her chest to hold her against the wall once the door closed behind us. "What the hell was that tonight?" I gritted.

Her expression read with pure perplexity. "What are you talking about?" She seemed to be racking her brain for a situation that would have upset me. "Is this about Emmanuel?"

"I don't care about Emmanuel. The fighting or entertainment as your precious king called it." I clarified, unable to tell if she was truly clueless or playing dumb.

She reached a hand up, cautiously taking mine to move away. "Oh, that's just Gideon's stupid thing. I'm not really a fan. It's a bit too carnal and old school for me so I barely watch." She took a seat on her bed. I remembered seeing her during the fight, staying focused on talking with townspeople instead of cheering the battle on.

"Shelby, you have to take me to them." That fine line between ire and devastation thinned, my eyes welling with tears.

"I can't. Gideon handles all of that." She replied immediately, my desperation finally dawning on her. "Wait, you know them?"

I nodded, the urgency to see them rising the longer we talked. Shelby stood to hug me, drawing me to her chest. "I'm sorry Lena. I can't take you to see them." She repeated, her rejection reigniting the fire in me.

"What do you mean you can't? You know what, I need whatever this is to go away. I don't need this dress picking, oblivious, trophy wife shell of you right now. I need my best friend. As a matter of fact, I need the queen." I pleaded through my madness.

The additional minute she took to think nearly drove me over the edge, Shelby covering the fear behind her eyes with a silent determination. She grabbed a lavish coat from the closet, leading us from the house and to my surprise, the building next door.