Page 50 of Consort of the Crime Queen

"Aurora," I gasp out to Ricky, and I struggle free from his grasp. If this is a mutiny, I need to keep Aurora safe.

But as I turn to run for the house, I feel it—the burning shove of a blade in my back. It shocks the air from me, but I keep moving, stumbling forward even as people are falling around me.

From my right, someone approaches, a shout of triumph already sounding from them—cut off in an instant as I pivot and open their throat in one vicious swipe. Hot blood drains out of my would-be killer—one of the rank-and-file, he should've known better?—

But I'm going down on my knees as the pain of the wound in my back really hits me. Darkness swarms my vision. I sway, clinging desperately to consciousness through sheer force of will, but someone leaps on me, pinning me to the ground.

So this is it. Thank God Lyssa is with Aurora. The two of them should be safe as long as…they can…

Aurora's beautiful face is the last image I have before the cold darkness rushes up to swallow me whole.

CHAPTER 25

Aurora

Lyssa and I are each pacing up and down in the training room when a deafening explosion sounds from outside, stunning us both.

"What the fuck was that?" she says sharply. She's not expecting a reply, gun already in hand.

"Hadria might be—" I begin.

But Lyssa shakes her head. "Came from a ways off, whatever it was, not from the direction of the lawn. Down at the gate, maybe. In which case…"

"Someone's attacking," I finish for her. "Nero?"

Her hands are moving over her body in a habitual gesture that I know well: She's checking that all her weapons are in place and easy to reach. "Possibly," she says at last.

We both know it's more than a possibility. "Hadria," I say again, with urgency. "Lyssa, if Elysium is under attack?—"

"We stay here," she says. "As ordered."

We wait a few more minutes. Nothing happens. No more explosions, at least. But I'm getting more and more worried.

"She hasn't come back," I blurt out at last. "Lyssa?—"

"She gave me my orders. Gave you yours. We stay safe in the house."

I grab Lyssa by the wrist. "She might need you, Lyssa. You, at least, should go. I'll stay here. I'll—hide, or something."

She stares at me for a long moment, and then starts moving, pulling me along with her so I hear her instructions. "I will lock down the room once I exit. That means the door can't be opened by anyone but Hadria or me. You can open it from the inside, if…if there's a fire, or…" She stops at the door and grabs my shoulders. "Do. Not. Leave. You hear me, Suzy?"

"I hear you. Please, Lyssa—please, just go."

She's out the door and locking me in before I take another breath, and that's how I know she's just as worried as I am. Alone, panic constricts my chest like a metal band. What the hell happened? Is Hadria okay? I pace the huge, windowless room again, anxiety tightening my lungs with each ragged breath.

And then gunfire cracks in staccato bursts somewhere beyond the door, the throaty rapport unmistakable.

I jump back, cautious, but I know the door and walls on this side of the room are solid steel. Hadria told me that once.

Hadria…

I can't just cower here waiting. I promised Lyssa I'd stay, but Hadria is mine, and the thought of sitting alone in here while something terrible happens out there…

No. I can't do it. I need to help.

All the weapons in the training room are blunt edged to avoid injury. So the first thing I need to do is find something I can use for protection. Mind made up, I listen carefully at the door, then punch the code into the panel. The door slides open and I slip into the dim hallway, moving as stealthily as I can toward the source of the ongoing fight. The sounds of frenzied combat amplify with each step—grunts and curses, furniture smashing, bodies hitting the floor. I hug the wall, slinking from alcove to alcove whenever running footsteps near.

At the corner of the hallway, I cautiously peek around into the marble foyer. It's chaos—Syndicate members grappling desperately with black-clad strangers and—oh God—and with each other.

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