Page 222 of Night's Fall

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I couldn’t eat a thing.

“Please tell me,”Ibegged.

My torso rose asAlekseidrew in a huge breath.

Then he let it out.

“The team was scattered.Anthemedown…”

I closed my eyes tight against the sound of her hitting the pavement assailing me for the millionth time.

“…Diablo andFannonwere on you,Geleenawas on your females,” he continued. “Onceshe got them secured, she gave chase, but it was too late.Thekiller got away.”

Got away?

I tipped my head up to look at him. “Isaw a male lying on the pavement.”

“An innocent bystander, caught in the stream that gotAntheme.”

Oh no!

“Did he…?”Icouldn’t finish that.

“He passed too, love.”

And it gets worse.

I swallowed my grief for that unknown male.

It didn’t go down easy.Notat all.

“How could he get away?Thereare cameras all over the city,Aleksei,”Ipointed out.

“Yes, and they caught him jumping into a craft that launched without course approval.Italso had its tracker disabled, so traffic control couldn’t follow it, it had no identi-tags, and it disappeared before they could lock a trace on it.”

I lifted my head to look at him. “Doyou thinkAnnahas gone this far around the bend?”

“No.Ithink something else is happening, andIthought that beforePrinceTanyncommed and askedFatherandIfor a meeting.”

ByLilith.

“Arnaud?”Iasked.

“I don’t know.Tanyn’sflying down tonight.We’remeeting first thing in the morning.Whateverit is, he has something to share, and the timing cannot be coincidental.”

I nodded, because he was correct.Nothingwasthatcoincidental.

“It was a fucked-up thing to say,” he admitted. “ThatAnthemewas a hero to the realm.Ijust didn’t know what else to say.”

It hit me that he’d known her longer thanIhad, but it was me who was bringing the drama.

I pulled myself together, doing this the easy way, by cuddling closer to him. “Areyou okay?”

“I’m fine,” he said tersely.

He was so not.

“Your creature flew,”Inoted carefully.

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