The briefing room was unexpected.

Sure, the design of the room was the same with the rest of the palace- an ornate design. But the modernity of the twenty-first century slowly seemed to be taking over. Large, computer screens were placed against filigreed wallpaper. Desks were combined with antique tables. The carpet littered with power cables and pelican cases.

"You're not supposed to see that," Vlad murmured, leading me past the operations room. There seemed to be a standard skeleton crew bolstered by the recent chaos.

This is a lot bigger than expected, I couldn't help but think.

Vlad led me into another room. It was a relatively-serious looking war room. There was a conference table in the middle and a wall full of computer screens. I stifled a yawn. Forty minutes after Cas had disappeared, I'd been summoned. In that moment, I was thankful that I'd stayed in my normal clothes instead of opting for my nightwear.

The war room was full. People lining the walls. Serious-looking faces with clipboards and laptops. Cas was in the middle, and his father was across the table. I noticed the Minister for Defence and a few other important looking faces. The room was full to the brim. Vlad gestured to the doorway, I did my best to silently step forwards.

I looked over the screens. There were a few faces across one side of the display. Mug-looking shots. There was a map laid out. I narrowed my eyes. It was Eclypsis, a neighbouring town to Ardeena.

That's very close, I thought to myself.

"Hello?" The speaker asked, turning to me. Most of the room turned, including Cas. My stomach dropped to my knees and I looked to him.

"Hey," Cas reached out a hand. The assistant beside him, picked up the items and moved to the side.

"Uh, okay," I moved forwards quickly, taking the still-warm seat.

The speaker gave me a quick look over. Cas gestured for him to continue his presentation. "While there was two suicides from the Insurgent terrorists, we still have two others in captivity,"

"When did they take themselves out?" A greying man asks. 

"Cyanide capsule, classical but effective," 

"They were willing to die?" Cas seemed almost aghast at the thought. 

"Yes they were, Your Highness," The man motions back to the board.

"Do we know anything about the identities of those who died?" The grey-haired man spoked quickly. It seemed that this event had taken up the larger portion of excitement of the day. Some were a little more weary-looking than others, burdened with the weight of many meetings and briefings. Some looked slightly fresher. 

"They were level five operatives, commanding most of the region's area. They had two level fours with them as well as a long list of lower-level members. Everything from active terrorists to people subscribed to their political newsletter," Cas bit down a grin behind a fist. The room shuffled in interest.

"Do we have any intel on future movements?" Another man asked, he looked slightly younger than the king. 

"Five high level attacks in the next ten months were planned," The speaker nodded, "eighteen non-violent mass gatherings and a hundred and sixty-six local events,"

Woah.

"They're busy," the grey-haired man commented, "no time to mess around," There was a communal nodding around the table. I looked to Cas, his face had fallen.

"The five attacks, the most recent planned was for the family gathering of the royal family in regional Ardeena," The speaker clicked a button. The map zoomed into the observatory. 

My stomach sunk, the next attack was planned for our wedding. 

"Luckily it was for the decoy date and not the actual one. This has allowed us to shortlist potential leaks,"

There was only supposed to be a handful of people that knew about this! I wanted to throw a glare at Cas. If they'd been planning for the decoy date (the following one), then it would've come from his side of the vendors, not mine.

"When can we have the shortlist finished by?" Cas' mouth was twisted in annoyance. He avoided looking at me. 

"Probably by Monday," A man at the table spoke. He looked serious, wearing a suit like Vlad's. I wondered if he was related to Vlad's division. Cas seemed semi-satisfied with this. 

"How were they going to do it?" He had a way of making something so serious appear easy. As if it were another day back on the battlefield. Cas barely blinked when he asked the question. 

"Poisoning," The speaker flicks through his PowerPoints to a few scans of the documents and plans. They were comically immature and incredibly basic. I felt almost offended. To be sitting in a briefing room, approaching midnight. I was surrounded by decorated men and women in serious suits for such a basic looking plan. "They were going to rely on local connections, slight of hand tactics and a few chokepoints in the road,"

"I'm sorry, which plan is this?"

"There were three of them in effect, Your Highness," The speaker said. His face grim.

I thought quietly for a moment, something tugging at the back of my memory. I couldn't remember what, but I knew it was there. I looked to Cas. He squeezed my hand gently, I gave him a smile. Our lives were under threat, but at least I still had him. 

"They were going to rely on a three-tier assassination; poisoning for the majority of party guests. As people were either being evacuated or fleeing, roads would be cut off in major checkpoints," the speaker maps the movements of the part guests, "any aircraft moving to escape would've been shot down from this ridge here,"

He drew a line with this finger to the ridge. My stomach continued to plummet. Without the efficiency of those inside and outside of the room, my entire family and I would be dead.

Seeing my shocked face, Cas gave my hand a re-assuring squeeze. But I didn't want to be re-assured. I wanted my family to be safe.

Alek was with these people. I fractionally shook my head in horror. Alek had a part to play in it all. Did he know that I would be there? Did he know that it would be my family that would be the ones to die? Did he know that he would be killing me? 

I clenched and unclenched my fists underneath the table. I had no way of contacting Alek, but if he did, it would be the last time he contacted anyone.

The conversation continued in the background. Chatter about this and that. About how plans were intercepted. About the most recent intel on those who'd been arrested. Their connections and those who were close to them. There'd been no other arrests made. Simply because these people were secluded. They relied on lower level 'runners' to make movements. These runners were either devoted to the cause or under some kind of blackmail.

"Will we be able to go ahead next week?" Cas asked suddenly, bringing my attention back to the conversation. 

There was an uncomfortable shuffle. A few people exchanged glances, some visibly winced. 

"I don't know if that'd be the best idea, Your Highness," one of the more talkative men slowly spoke. 

"Why not? Is there any other concerns that we need to address?" King Miezko quirked his head. One or two people looked at each other, waiting for an objection.

"The plan makes space for two more operatives," The man in the suit spoke, "at least. They're likely sleeper agents without any kind of information. But if we can find those who were supposed to be involved, that'd certainly put everyone's minds at ease,"

There was a murmur of agreement at the table.

"How soon?" Cas was reaching an impatient level, fatigue tearing at the edges of his features. 

"That's what we're working towards," The speaker nodded, zooming in to a few locations throughout the region. They were notes for future movements for the organised taskforce. I noticed one very familiar-looking point. A location I knew very well. A lump formed in my throat.

Level Five Operative.

It was time for some skeletons to be revealed.