Sienna finally got off work, but it was so late when she did. She had only handled the most critical and complex cases but cases like that were many today. By the time she was finally free, she was so exhausted that she collapsed right in the waiting area, asleep before her head even touched the seat.
Ava, who had gone to get them dinner, sighed deeply at the sight. She hated seeing her mistress like this. In fact, she was one of the few people who secretly wished Sienna would retire early, find some peace, live a life that wasn't consumed by duty.
Even though Sienna had been granted her personal freedom years ago, it never looked like she was truly free. She visited patients on her days off. She buried herself in medical files and journals when she was supposed to be sleeping. And most times, like today, she couldn't even enjoy a sick leave without being pulled back into the chaos.
Sienna was still a young woman. A young woman who was supposed to have a man by her side and, if not a man, then at least a life filled with good friends, laughter, and something beyond the walls of a hospital. But no. Ava was fairly certain Sienna still had her first kiss. She couldn't name a single true friend her mistress had. Medicine had consumed her entirely.
Ava walked closer, preparing to lift Sienna and carry her to the car, when Sienna suddenly jolted upright like she had been struck by lightning. Her eyes sparkled with such intensity that Ava instinctively stepped back. She knew that look. It had everything to do with a medical case.
"Get me my phone, Ava. I need my phone." Sienna's said, voice urgent.
"You need to rest, Doctor," Ava replied flatly, making no move to comply.
"I've rested enough. Now I really need my phone."
"Doctor…. "
"When you don't give me my phone is when I would die, Ava."
Ava sighed in surrender. She reached into her inner pocket, retrieved the phone, and handed it over. The moment it touched Sienna's palm, she was gone, fleeing down the hallway toward her office before Ava could even draw another breath.
"What in God's name!" Ava exclaimed, staring after the blur of her mistress. Sienna was truly the wrong person to pity.
---
In her office, Sienna was practically vibrating with excitement. She dialed the number Isaac had used to remind her of her deadline. The first ring passed. Then the second. On the third, the call finally connected.
"Doctor Rivers?" Craig's voice carried quiet surprise.
"Craig, please tell your master he needs to be in Dilrik as early as possible tomorrow."
There was a brief pause, a muffled exchange, and then Isaac's voice came through, smooth and calm but edged with curiosity. "Are your hands not full at the moment?"
"Because of that, I need you to come to my office at the hospital instead of the tea shop." She lowered her voice instinctively, though the office was empty. "And please be as discreet as you possibly can."
"No problem."
The line went dead. Sienna set the phone down, her mind already racing ahead.
She should have been asleep. But a memory had surfaced from the depths of her exhaustion. A month ago, she had treated a mentally disabled patient with violent tendencies. Those tendencies would vanish the moment his fiancée walked into the room. He would go completely calm and unreactive, especially when she held him. She had discovered it was the bond between them; his brain recognized her as safety, as protection, as someone who would never harm him rather than as a threat.
Though Isaac's case was different. He had said it was her scent, not any emotional attachment. They had no feelings for each other. But after turning it over in her mind, weighing the possibilities, she had landed on something.
That one night they had shared might be the reason his body responded to her scent. It was all theory, of course. But if she were right, her entire treatment plan would need to shift.
---
At that same moment, across the border, Isaac was not in his "cage".
He was walking out of a business complex with Craig and another of his trusted men, Ray, when Craig picked up the call. Unlike the young Craig, Ray was older, older even than the king himself. He had been transferred from the king's security personnel to guard Isaac two years ago and somewhere along the way, his loyalty had shifted entirely. It now belonged to Isaac alone.
The call ended. Isaac slid the phone away and turned to Ray.
"I am returning to Dilrik tomorrow. The king should not come looking for me for the time being. Company matters remain in your hands for now."
"Understood, Master," Ray said and added. "Should I prepare a disguise?"
"No. Prepare some poor-quality Dilrik clothing instead."
"Yes, Master."
Isaac turned to Craig. "You know what to do."
"Yes, Master."
They climbed into the car and began the drive back to the "cage." Isaac's thoughts were already somewhere else. Returning to Dilrik now was only good. It would give him another opportunity to snag more of Sienna's things. His establishments required his physical presence at this point; running them through Ray's hands was no longer enough.
---
While Isaac moved through the shadows' busy with his own business, the country was also busy.
King Draven was already implementing the first phase of Isaac's written plan. High-value military assets were being relocated from military bases into the heart of Subrind's most populated civilian centers. If Dilrik struck their military installations now, they would find nothing but empty buildings, a move that cost Subrind nothing. And if Dilrik instead targeted the places where Subrind had hidden its weapons, it would be committing a war crime, slaughtering civilians in the process.
It was a brutal trap dressed in strategy.
All through this the king was smiling, enjoying his minister's praises on a brilliance that wasn't his.