But the woman let go of Grace's neck, and suddenly she held a gun in her hands, pointing it right at Aria's head.
"I knew it," she said, "I knew you were up to something."
"Mom, please, don't do this," Brent said, rising to his feet.
Aria was glued to the spot; she couldn't move forward. So she stayed standing, staring down the barrel of the woman's gun.
"On your knees," she said, "All of you!"
"Mom-"
"I said all of you," she said, now pointing the gun at Brent.
Aria couldn't really believe her eyes. How could she do that? How could she point her gun at her own son?
Aria, Adrian, and Brent dropped to their knees.
A second later, Grace's hand shot up and knocked the gun out of the woman's hand. It skidded across the floor, stopping right in front of Brent.
The woman put her hands back down on Grace's neck.
Brent picked the gun up and aimed it at his mother. "Mom! Don't make me do this," he yelled.
Grace's lips were turning blue, her eyes were slowly rolling to the back of her head.
"Mom!" Brent yelled again.
Aria got up, ready to tackle the woman again, but Brent beat her to it. He stood up and ran towards his mother. He brought the butt of the gun down on her temple, and she let go of Grace. She fell to the side with a thud.
"Tie her up and gag her," Brent yelled.
Aria went to Grace, hoping that the girl was still conscious.
Grace groaned, bringing her hands up to her neck. Aria could already see the bruises forming.
Adrian tied Brent's mother's hands and feet together, placing a gag over her mouth for good measure. No doubt, she'd scream for help as soon as she regained consciousness.
"We can't just leave her here," Grace said, her voice coming out strained and rough.
"We've already wasted enough time," Aria said, "We can't stay here with her."
She grabbed the radio she'd placed in her jacket.
"Listen up. The training area is secured. I repeat, the training area is secured. Make your way here in small groups," she said.
"Copy that," Hunt said from the other side.
"What if she wakes up? What if she gets away?" Adrian asked, looking at Brent's mother.
"I'll stay here," Brent said. "You guys head out with your groups...I'll-I'll stay with her. I'll make sure she doesn't get away."
Aria nodded; she hated to put him in that position. But they'd already lost enough time.
She grabbed a gun and waited for Hunt, right near the door. He'd be in the first group.
Eventually, there was a quiet knock.
Hunt, Isla, and a few others came outside and armed themselves.
Grace, Isla, and the others that had come left shortly after. They were the ones that had to go to the village. They should have already been halfway there by now.
Aria put her head in her hands, trying to calm herself down.
Their plan had just gone into effect, and already things weren't going as planned.
"Aria," Hunt said, putting a hand on her back, "We should go."
Aria nodded and followed Hunt out of the door.
Chapter 47
Warren's room was the furthest from the training area.
Aria and Hunt quietly made their way there, stopping at every corner to check for guards. It was dark, the only light coming from the little lanterns hung about ten feet apart. But Aria was grateful for the darkness; it made it easier to blend in.
And although her teeth chattered, she was grateful for the cold, too. It kept a lot of the guards in their rooms. There wouldn't be as many out in the open.
They'd just turned another corner when Hunt held his hand up, silently telling Aria to stop.
Aria stood on her tiptoes to look over his shoulder. She wanted to know why they had stopped; they were already behind as it was.
She noticed a figure about ten feet ahead of them—a man.
A guard.
But luckily, he had his back turned, walking away.
Hunt took a step backward, and Aria did the same. They had to get back behind the corner; the man could turn and see them any second.
Aria turned; she was almost there when
"Stop," a voice shouted.
She heard the guard running towards them. But she was already at the corner. She turned and stood against the wall.
Maybe she shouldn't have abandoned Hunt like that. But it would be more suspicious if they were both caught. This way, it'd only be him. Aria was sure that he'd think of something that he'd have a good excuse for being out in the open in the middle of the night.
She held her breath, trying to listen.
"What the hell are you doing out here?" the guard asked.
He was close.
"I was on my way to see Warren," Hunt said.
He had stopped moving.
"In the middle of the night," the guard said. Aria could hear the skepticism in his voice. She wanted to peek around the corner, but he was so close, he couldn't have been more than five feet away; he would definitely see her.
"Yes. Something's come up," Hunt said. "Something he needs to know about."
"And what's that?"
"It's classified information. Nothing you need to worry yourself over."
"Is that so?"
Hunt had sounded confident. She wasn't sure why the guard wasn't buying it.
"Excuse me," Hunt said, sounding as surprised as Aria felt.
"It's kind of funny. Today we were given orders to pay close attention to you, Kieran. And here you are...in the middle of the night, sneaking through the palace? What are you up to?"
"I'm not up to anything like I said, I've got some information that Warren needs to hear. So I'd appreciate it if you let me through," Hunt said. He sounded more nervous now.
"I don't think so," the guard said. Aria could hear him move. "Get on your knees."
"This is madness. Just let me through and-"
But he didn't finish his sentence.
Aria couldn't stop herself from peeking around the corner now.
The guard had his gun aimed at Hunt, who was now wordlessly putting his hands up. Aria
