Page 3 of Consort of the Crime Queen

Hadria

I return at once to Elysium, needing the quiet of my war room to come up with a plan, but the familiar sight of home does nothing to lift the leaden weight pressing down on my chest. For the first time, the dark, hulking exterior of the house seems desolate rather than dangerous. For a moment I flash back to my earliest nights on the street, the deep sense of dread as I was cornered by three men.

It was Lyssa who saved me then. Perhaps she can save me now—and Aurora, too. She has a soft spot for "Suzy," I know it, though she'd never admit to it.

At the gate I sent word ahead for Lyssa to meet me urgently, and by the time I reach the front of the house, she's already there in the foyer, waiting impatiently for me. Her head snaps around as I enter, eyes narrowing when she takes in my face. I must look like death warmed over from her reaction.

"What happened?" Lyssa demands. She grabs me, none too gently, angling my face into the light as she scans for any outward signs of injury. Finding none, she releases me, but her expression is no less concerned.

I open my mouth to reply, but I have no voice.

Aurora, my bright and beautiful Aurora, is gone. And I can't say the words. Saying them would make this real.

Mrs. Graves appears then, drawn from the east wing by some kind of intuition. Her kindly face creases with worry as she takes in my wretched state. She and Lyssa exchange a loaded glance, their thoughts no doubt flitting to the darkest possibilities.

Lyssa catches the eye of the closest house guard, and says, "Get out of here. All of you."

They file out, and I'm grateful she took the initiative, although I dread the words I need to say.

But I have to hurry, if I'm to save Aurora. I take a breath, as Lyssa and Mrs. Graves stare hard at me. "I…lied about Aurora's location this past week. I claimed I sent her somewhere safe, and I did, but the truth is…more complicated." My voice hitches. I push forward, forcing out the words. "I gave her leave to experience a week of freedom, to decide her own path forward, away from Elysium and removed from my influence. But…"

Confusion wars with dawning horror on Lyssa's face as her mind supplies endless permutations of the rest of my sentence. Mrs. Graves presses a hand to her heart, face draining of color.

I finish in a ragged whisper. "She was supposed to meet me this morning if she wanted to return to Elysium, but she never came. At first I thought she'd made her choice, turned her back on me. But when I went to check the safe house, I realized…she's been taken. By Nero, I believe."

For a long, terrible moment, the foyer is filled only with stunned silence. Then Mrs. Graves moves forward, and when I look at her all I see is the depthless disappointment in her eyes.

"You foolish girl," she hisses, face pale with rage. "That poor child trusted you, and you cast her straight into the jaws of monsters." She steps closer, staring up into my face. "I warned you not to destroy an innocent with your coldness, your inability to trust, your selfishness. But you just couldn't help it, could you?"

I say nothing. Inside, I'm shattering into a million pieces. Because she's right.

My selfishness, my fear of vulnerability, my need to test Aurora—that's what put her right back into Nero's clutches. And now she's suffering for my weakness.

Mrs. Graves makes a low, disgusted noise. "I am leaving here," she tells me. "Today." She turns on her heel and walks away. The sound of a door slamming in a nearby hallway echoes through the foyer.

In the silence that follows, I stand motionless, staring after her, struggling to rein in my emotions. Lyssa steps up beside me, arms crossed as she gazes after Mrs. Graves, too.

"Well you've really done it now," she mutters. "I told you getting all moony over Little Miss Sunshine was a bad idea. But did you listen? No. And then you had to go and rile up Nero, flashing his stolen bride right in his face." She makes a derisive noise in her throat. "Christ, Hadria, Nero must have thought Christmas came early when he realized she was right there for the taking."

My teeth grind together painfully. Lyssa's words hit their mark with bruising precision. But she's right, just as Mrs. Graves was right. I taunted Nero, flaunted my power by stealing Aurora away, dangling her in front of him in that dress at the meeting we had…

Then I served her up by letting doubt cloud my judgment.

"I know," I rasp finally, shame burning through me. I turn to Lyssa, hating the desperation in my voice. "I know I made a mistake. One I may not be able to fix. But I have to try, and I need your help. Please. Help me get her back, Lyssa. I'm begging you."

My greatest fear is that she'll leave me, just like Mrs. Graves has announced. And when Lyssa searches my face, her expression is unreadable. Then she sighs, shoulders slumping. "You know I'd do anything for you, you silly bitch. But this mess..." She scrubs a hand over her face, looking suddenly exhausted. "Is Suzy even still alive?"

"Yes." I don't know. Can't know. But I can't exist in a world where Aurora doesn't, so I have to believe she's still alive.

"Then what's our move? And Hadria—listen—I'm not sure how we come back from this. Not just with Suzy, but the whole Syndicate…if they hear what happened, it will undermine everything you've worked for."

I know she's right. If my people hear how easily I've been undermined, my reputation will be shot. It won't matter a damn all the things I've done over the years—I maintain my position, maintain the Syndicate itself, by veiling myself in a mask of absolute power and competence. If Chicago discovers I'm not the untouchable fiend they think I am, the Syndicate will become a laughingstock.

And Elysium itself could come under attack.

I've endangered everything we've built with my hypocrisy and fear. But the thought of Aurora, scared and suffering, is the only thing that matters right now. I put her in Nero's path. Now I must do whatever it takes to get her back safely.

I look Lyssa dead in the eyes, pouring every ounce of my determination into my voice. "First, we focus on getting Aurora back. By any means necessary. But we keep it quiet. Just the two of us."

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