Maya's POV
The "attack" lasted exactly four minutes.
By the time I grabbed a weapon and ran outside, Kaden's soldiers had already eliminated the threat—a pack of Crimson Ravagers that had breached the outer perimeter. Fifteen monsters dead. Zero human casualties.
I stood in the courtyard, adrenaline still screaming through my veins, watching Kaden coordinate cleanup like he was organizing a grocery delivery instead of a battlefield.
"That's it?" I said when he walked past. "That's a critical threat?"
He paused, those gray eyes finding mine. "Welcome to the Northern Kingdom. We handle threats before they become problems." Something flickered in his expression. "Get some sleep. Real introduction tomorrow."
But I couldn't sleep. Not with my mind racing about emotional compatibility warnings and the way Kaden had looked at me. Not with Cassandra's hatred burning through the walls. Not with everything I didn't understand about this place.
When dawn broke—or whatever passed for dawn under the crimson sky—I was already awake.
A knock on my door made me jump. A woman stood there, maybe thirty, with sharp eyes and sharper cheekbones. She looked me up and down like I was a specimen under a microscope.
"You must be the strategic genius," she said, voice dripping sarcasm. "I'm Nina Rodriguez. Doctor. Kaden sent me to collect you for the grand tour."
"It's Maya."
"I know who you are." She turned and started walking. "Keep up. His Majesty doesn't like waiting."
I followed her through corridors I hadn't seen last night, and in the morning light, the Northern Kingdom revealed itself fully.
It was massive. Not just big—organized. Efficient. Thriving.
We passed workshops where people forged weapons and tools. Gardens growing actual vegetables under artificial light systems. A medical facility that looked more advanced than most hospitals I'd seen before the Wastes. Training yards where soldiers practiced combat with deadly precision.
"Three thousand people," Nina said without looking back. "Kaden brought them here. Fed them. Protected them. Gave them purpose." Her voice held something complicated—respect mixed with wariness. "He's not a kind man. But he's a fair one. Don't give him a reason to be unfair."
"Is that a threat?"
"That's advice." Nina stopped at a massive door. "War room's through here. Try not to embarrass yourself."
She pushed the door open, and I walked into a space that stole my breath.
Maps covered every wall—territories, resource locations, enemy kingdoms marked in red. Holographic displays showed real-time data on supplies, population, threats. A massive table dominated the center, covered in tactical markers and battle plans.
And standing around it were the people who ran this kingdom.
Kaden stood at the head of the table, commanding even in stillness. Beside him, a man built like a tank with a scarred face and military bearing—Marcus, I guessed. And leaning against the wall with a smile that didn't reach her eyes—
Cassandra.
"Maya Chen." Kaden's voice cut through my assessment. "My inner circle. Marcus Grey, military commander. Nina Rodriguez, chief medical officer. And you've met Cassandra Vale, strategic operations chief."
Cassandra's smile sharpened. "We're so glad you could join us. Though I'm surprised you accepted Kaden's offer. Most smart people would have run."
"Most smart people don't survive a week in the Wastes," I shot back.
Marcus snorted—might have been a laugh. "She's got spine. I'll give her that."
"Spine doesn't win wars," Cassandra said. "Strategy does. And we already have that covered."
The tension in the room was thick enough to cut. Kaden watched the exchange with unreadable eyes.
"Cassandra's been our strategist for four months," he said. "She's won us six territories. Her systems work."
Past tense. Work. Not are working.
I caught it. So did Cassandra, her face tightening.
"But I want fresh perspective," Kaden continued, those gray eyes locking onto mine. "Maya, your first task: analyze our entire resource system. Supply chains, distribution, allocation. Everything. I want a full report in seventy-two hours with recommendations for improvement."
"That's impossible," Cassandra said flatly. "It took me two months to understand our systems. She can't—"
"Seventy-two hours," Kaden repeated, not looking away from me. "Can you do it?"
It was a test. Maybe an impossible one. But I'd reorganized Haven's Edge in a week, survived a typhoon, built a kingdom from nothing.
"Yes," I said.
Cassandra's laugh was cold. "Confident. Let's see if you can back it up, new girl."
"This isn't a competition," Nina muttered.
"Everything here is a competition," Marcus said quietly. "Survival of the fittest."
Kaden raised a hand, silencing them all. "Marcus, show Maya the resource centers. Give her full access to all data. Nina, make sure her people are settled." His eyes found Cassandra. "A word. Privately."
The dismissal was clear. We filed out, but not before I caught the look Cassandra shot Kaden—possessive, desperate, furious.
Oh. Oh.
She wasn't just loyal to him. She wanted him.
And I'd just walked in and stolen her position. And his attention.
I was so screwed.
Marcus led me through the kingdom, explaining systems with military precision. Food storage. Water purification. Weapon forges. Defense rotations. It was brilliant—more advanced than anything I'd expected.
But my Strategic Vision kept highlighting inefficiencies. Bottlenecks. Wasted resources. Problems hidden under surface-level success.
"You're seeing it, aren't you?" Marcus said suddenly.
"Seeing what?"
"The cracks." He stopped walking, studied me. "Cassandra's good. But she thinks like a warrior—hit hard, claim fast, worry about sustainability later. Kaden knows we need more. That's why you're here."
"Does Cassandra know that?"
"She knows." His expression darkened. "She just doesn't accept it. Be careful, Maya. She's dangerous when threatened."
Great. Add it to the list of things trying to kill me.
By hour forty, I'd filled three holographic notebooks with data. By hour sixty, patterns emerged. By hour seventy, I had it—a complete restructuring that would increase efficiency by thirty-five percent minimum.
I found Kaden in his tower office, staring at maps like they held answers to questions I couldn't hear.
"I'm done," I said.
He turned, surprise flickering across his features. "You have two hours left."
"I don't need them." I pulled up my analysis on his display system. "Your food distribution allocates forty percent to military forces, but they're only fifteen percent of your population. Your civilian workshops are understaffed by thirty percent, creating production bottlenecks. And your defense perimeter has three critical weak points anyone with tactical training could exploit."
I walked him through everything—charts, numbers, solutions. His expression stayed neutral, but his eyes sharpened with each point.
When I finished, silence filled the room.
"Cassandra designed these systems," Kaden said quietly.
"Then Cassandra's systems are bleeding your kingdom dry." I met his eyes, refusing to back down. "I can fix it. Give me authority, and I'll increase your output by thirty-five percent in two weeks."
More silence. Then Kaden smiled—a real smile, dangerous and approving and doing terrible things to my pulse.
"Do it," he said. "Full authority to restructure as needed."
"Cassandra's going to hate me even more."
"Cassandra works for me. Not the other way around." He stepped closer, and the air between us charged with electricity. "You've proven your worth, Maya Chen. Now prove you can handle the consequences."
Before I could respond, the door slammed open. Cassandra stood there, face white with rage.
"You're replacing me," she said to Kaden. Not a question. An accusation.
"I'm utilizing resources efficiently," Kaden said, voice cold. "Stand down, Cassandra."
"Stand down?" Her voice broke. "I've given you everything! Four months of loyalty, of victories, of building this kingdom! And you're throwing me away for some girl who showed up three days ago?"
"This isn't personal—"
"It's completely personal!" She turned to me, eyes blazing. "You think you're special? You think you're the first person Kaden's been interested in?"
The room went very quiet.
"Cassandra," Kaden's voice held warning. "Leave. Now."
But she wasn't done. She looked at me with something like pity. "Ask him about Elara. The woman from the second wave who tried to get close to him. Ask him what happened when she became more useful dead than alive."
"Out!" Kaden roared.
Cassandra left, slamming the door hard enough to crack the frame.
I turned to Kaden slowly. "Who's Elara?"
His jaw tightened. "No one. Cassandra's lying to turn you against me."
"Is she?"
"Maya—"
"Is she lying?" I stepped closer, searching his face. "Because right now, I need to know if I just allied myself with someone who kills people when they become inconvenient."
Kaden stared at me for a long moment. Then he said, very quietly: "Elara was real. She was brilliant. Strategic. A lot like you, actually."
My stomach dropped.
"And three months ago, during a territory raid, she died." His eyes were empty again. Haunted. "I let her die because saving her would have cost us the battle. Would have meant losing fifty soldiers. So I made the choice."
"You chose the battle over her life."
"I chose my kingdom."
The words hung between us like a death sentence.
"So that's my future?" My voice came out steadier than I felt. "Useful until I'm not, then expendable?"
"No." Kaden moved faster than I could track, suddenly close enough to touch. "Because Elara was a soldier. You're—" He stopped, jaw working like the words were fighting to stay trapped.
"I'm what?"
His eyes burned into mine. "You're something I can't afford to lose."
Before I could process that, alarms blared again. Different this time. More urgent.
[EMERGENCY: SURVIVOR 1039 STATUS CRITICAL. POISONING DETECTED. MEDICAL INTERVENTION REQUIRED IMMEDIATELY.]
My blood turned to ice. Survivor 1039. Derek.
I ran.