Page 62 of Consort of the Crime Queen

Or is it someone I'm not yet aware of, working in the shadows?

CHAPTER 30

Hadria

The sky has brightened to a bright midmorning blue by the time I pass through the gates of Elysium again, handing off my motorcycle to one of the sentries guarding the perimeter of the house when I get up there. Most of the bodies have already been removed from the lawn, I note with satisfaction. Basic order is being restored, and we will be able to honor our fallen dead.

As for the others…we will make them disappear.

But I'll make sure to send Nero's body back to Don Imperioli. Let the old man bury his own mistakes.

I hurry inside, but I find Aurora exactly where I left her: in the war room, ministering to the injured. She rises quickly as I enter.

"Hadria! You're back." She's relieved, but the worries fly away from her face as soon as I reach out to touch it.

"I'm back," I agree. She searches my eyes and then looks me over; I think she's searching for fresh wounds after the encounter with my father. I offer her a reassuring nod. "I left Don Imperioli alive," I tell her softly.

Her eyes widen. "You did?"

"I did. But I also put him on notice. I doubt we'll have any trouble from him again. And if we do…" I shrug. "Then I will pay him another visit."

Aurora's shoulders relax slightly. "I'm glad it went smoothly." She reaches for my hand and gives it a gentle squeeze. Just that small contact soothes my lingering tension from facing my father. "What will you do next?" she asks.

What comes next is rebuilding the Syndicate—and Elysium, brick by brick. Restoring order and honor among those left. Thoughts of vengeance and conquest seem to have left me completely. When I look at Aurora, I see different possibilities spread before me. A future not only of necessary violence, but of shared joy.

"The Syndicate will regroup," I tell her. "And we will persevere." As I look around the room at the people there, I know without a doubt that I made the right choice to stick with my own people. "How's Lyssa?" I ask, moving past Aurora to crane my neck and find where Lyssa has been moved.

"Oh, well, she's much better, but—" Aurora begins, but I'm moving already, pleased to see Lyssa sitting up on a low cot, eyes as sharp and alert as ever. She's berating a medic who is attempting to check her bandages.

"I said I'm fine! Get away from me." Lyssa swats aside the man's hands impatiently.

I allow myself a small smile. If Lyssa has the energy to be abusive, it means she is recovering well. At my entrance, her stormy expression shifts to something softer.

"There you are. We were taking bets on how you'd decided to kill your father."

I raise an eyebrow. "Dare I ask if anyone bet I wouldn't kill him at all? Because that's what happened."

Lyssa snorts in disgust. "Please tell me you're joking."

"I'm not. But there's an explanation, too—I'll discuss it with you once you're feeling better."

Lyssa stares at me. "I'm feeling better now," she says. "So spit it out. Or is this all thanks to that girl of yours?"

"Shh," I hiss, looking around. I perch on the edge of her cot. "If you have to know, I realized that what I want is…something very different to the Imperioli Family."

Lyssa stares even harder at me, and then scoffs. "You finally figured that out, huh?"

Annoyed, I start to snipe back, but a soft throat clear behind me makes me turn—and get to my feet, fast. "Oh! Mrs. Graves—I—" I swallow. Next to me, Lyssa is smirking, which doesn't help. "I didn't know you were here," I finish weakly. I'm finding it hard to look her in the eye, so I find Aurora across the room instead, who is making a Sorry face at me, her teeth clenched in a wide, apologetic almost-smile.

Mrs. Graves takes another step forward, looking up at me—I was always a head taller than her, even at fourteen—and she puts her hands on my arms. "Hadria," she says softly. "I'm so happy to see you."

"You…are?"

"Oh, for goodness' sake," she snaps, and pulls me down for a hard hug. Over her shoulder, I see Aurora again, giving me a double thumbs up and smiling brightly. "I'm so sorry for what I said to you," Mrs. Graves says in my ear.

"But it was true," I mumble.

"It might have been," she allows, pulling back to look me in the face again, "but I could have found a more helpful way to state it. I was angry with you and afraid for Aurora."

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