Page 54 of Consort of the Crime Queen

We hide our progress well, not coming across any further pockets of men until we enter what I always call "the disappointing library" in my own mind.

When I first saw it, I was thrilled—so many books, all in one place! And then I realized that about half the books were encyclopedias, and the other half were mostly non-fiction, and mostly about business or the history of Chicago, and there was only so many times I could read about Al Capone before I figured I knew everything there was to know.

The most interesting things, it turned out, were the glass-cased treasures set on thick, tall squares of marble. In those cases were everything from a set of prehistoric hunting tools to Roman coins, ancient jewelry to modern ceramics. Sometimes, Hadria had explained to me, the Syndicate's clients gave her gifts along with payment, and these were some of those gifts.

And it's here in the disappointing library that we realize we're on the right track—because we get ambushed. The door bursts open ahead of us as we're creeping through the room, and Hadria immediately shoves me to the side, then helps me scramble behind the thick marble plinth that holds a case displaying a Spartan helmet.

Thank God it's bullet-resistant glass, because the shots showering our location are taking chunks out of the marble, and if the glass were to shatter, it would rain down on us.

Together we make a little ground, Hadria calling out commands as she fires, and I stick my hand around the corner to fire wildly toward the men, providing cover as she moves from pillar to pillar, trying to get into a better position to take them out. But the shooting and noise has attracted another of Nero's men; a hulking brute barrels in through the opposite door, seizing me up in his arms while Hadria is distracted.

Terror liquefies my limbs as he starts carrying me away, keeping me carefully between him and Hadria. I writhe and scratch like a cat but his grip is iron. I watch helplessly as Hadria battles back toward me, despite the attackers harrying her from all sides. She's magnificent and terrifying all at once, but the further away I get, the more afraid I am.

Two more steps and the man will have me through the door, and then he'll be able to turn and run.

And then, like an avenging angel, Lyssa appears out of nowhere, her blonde hair soaked black with blood, a sleek shadow slicing through Hadria's assailants from the other side of the library.

Together they cut down the enemy and then head straight toward me with renewed ferocity, easily dodging the wild shots of the man holding me. With a roar, my captor hurls me aside, drawing a smaller handgun. I crash to the ground, trying to roll like we learned in training. I see Hadria on him when I look up again, her knife finding his temple and twisting viciously. He crumples immediately, and I have to look away as Hadria begins to pull her knife free.

Lyssa is leaning against one of the bookshelves against the wall, breathing heavily, her hand over her side. I stagger to my feet and go to her, concerned by the drawn look in her face, but before I get there, she stumbles and goes down on one knee with a pained hiss.

Hadria's head snaps toward her, concern overtaking her blood lust. We pull Lyssa's arms across our shoulders, bearing her weight between us. She squirms.

"I can walk fine. Let me go, dammit."

Hadria's tone brooks no argument. "Stop being stubborn and shut up. We don't know where Nero is yet."

Lyssa acquiesces with a grumble, sagging between us. I glance sideways at Hadria, reading the tightness in her jaw, the furrow between her brows that belies her worry. Lyssa's labored breathing and occasional whimpers of pain seem loud in the silence after the deafening gunfight.

"She needs help," I say. The fact that Lyssa doesn't even complain that I'm talking about her over her head doesn't bode well.

"Yes," Hadria replies grimly. "Let's get her to the war room. There are first aid kits there."

"Nero," Lyssa rasps.

"I will come back for Nero," Hadria says. "And you will protect Aurora in the war room. Deal?"

I start to voice a protest, but Hadria gives me a look over Lyssa's head, and I understand in an instant what she means. Lyssa is in no condition to move, let alone protect me.

It will be up to me to protect her.

There's only one problem with that plan. When we get to the war room, it's locked from the inside.

"Who the fuck is there?" shouts a voice from inside.

"Mario?" I exclaim. "It's—it's us!"

There's the sound of several locks undoing, and the door cracks open to allow the barrel of a shotgun to poke through, and then, to my intense relief, I see Mario's face, suspicious and angry, glaring out. In an instant, it changes to surprise and then ragged relief.

"Holy shit, Suzy!" He yanks the door wide. "Uh, and—holy shit, Boss, sorry about that, if I'd known?—"

"You were cautious," Hadria tells him as we drag Lyssa in. "Continue being cautious and we will survive the night."

After we place Lyssa carefully down on the floor and Mario puts his balled-up jacket under her head as a makeshift pillow, I have the chance to look around the war room.

And for the first time tonight, my heart lifts.

The room is filled with Syndicate members. A little bloody, a little tired, but when they realize Hadria has come into the room, and Lyssa too, the atmosphere changes from exhaustion to exhilaration. "Hades!" someone calls.

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