Page 90 of Kingdom of Today
That ... no. I’d seen her. “She lied.” Right? Sure, I’d felt pain in my back as well as my belly, but that was only because the bullet had gone all the way through me. “Let me guess. She blamed Mallow. Whose death was announced just before the shot rang out, by the way. But it’s not like he can swoop in and defend himself.”
“She says she didn’t see the prince’s face, only the emblem on his clothing.”
“Do you believe her?”
“In this, I don’t not believe her,” he muttered, and I stiffened. “She said the emperor tasked her with freezing as many glowers as possible. That every gun she carried contained the green bullets you noticed, and if she’d shot you, you would’ve been unable to move until an antidote was injected.”
“She lied,” I repeated. Down a flight of steps we went. And yet ... “That would mean Summit or Felix did the deed.” Not unfathomable, honestly.
“It could’ve been a civilian who picked up Mallow’s vest.”
Fair point. “It could be anyone, then.”
“There’s more. Lolli has heard whispers about the shooter finishing what he started.”
That, too, could explain Domino’s “life and death” urgency. But no. Just no. “She’s sending us on a wild goose chase, knowing she’s responsible. Why tell you this, helping me, her competition?” And Iwasher competition, more so than I’d ever realized. “She doesn’t want me accepting Briar Rose.”
A muscle jumped in his jaw. “Lolli claimed she’s Soalian. We left the temple last night so she could prove it. She let me see her glow.”
I’d once wondered if she were Soalian, but I had discarded the notion. Discovering she was indeed my ally threw a wrench in my case against her. “She risked her life to confess, which means she suspectsyou’re Soalian too. The fact that you didn’t turn her in only verifies her suspicions.”
“I did turn her in, right before my grandfather entered the temple,” he said, shocking me to the bone. “There was something off about her glow. A subtle difference that left me uneasy. My suspicion proved true when Emperor Piven congratulated me on passing his test.”
An excellent turn for us. “So you don’t believe Lolli is Soalian, but you do believe she’s innocent of my attempted murder?”
“My grandfather showed me a clip from her body cam. The trajectory of your fall says the shot did in fact come from behind you.”
That shut me up. So murderous, duplicitous Lolli wasn’t the culprit. Then who?
We grew quiet as we turned another corner. Soon, we would reach the proper wing. A development that deserved my full attention. How in the world were we supposed to bypass—
A thick, white cloud rounded the corner before we did, and we stumbled together. Cyrus drew me backward a step. Detecting a note of rain and earth—Domino’s scent—I exhaled, peace washing over me. Help had arrived.
Cyrus placed himself between me and the perceived threat, then backed us up another step. “I don’t know what this is.”
“It’s okay, I do.” As the warmth of the fog collected around us, I clasped Cyrus’s hand, weaving our fingers. “We’re safe. No one can see or hear us. They don’t notice the fog either. Come on.”
I drew him forward, and we turned a couple more corners, finally coming to the hallway where I’d first sensed the Rock. Guards stood at the entrance, unaware of anything untoward. Except. I gently rotated the doorknob, but dang it! Secured. I guess I’d expected Domino to handle this aspect of the mission too.
Onward and upward. An ID pad was adhered to the wall, but if we dared use it, our identities would be flagged immediately. And what if we didn’t qualify to open it?
“Do you have the tools needed to remove the hinges?” I asked, and it was weird, talking to him while standing between two armed guards, knowing without being told Domino would hide the opening of the door as well.
“No need.” Cyrus slid the large gemstone on one of his rings aside to reveal a small cubby. He pressed the tip of his index finger inside and when he withdrew it, a thin, round ... paper? Whatever it was, he adhered it over his ID chip.
The fog began to break apart, and my heart sped up, urgency becoming a whip at my back. “Hurry.”
Footsteps sounded in the distance. A changing of the guard? Or had we been spotted?
Cyrus twisted to avoid brushing against a guard and pressed the heel of his palm into the right spot. The door opened without a problem.
“A skeleton key that logs nothing,” he muttered as we entered the empty, well-lit room.
The door shut behind us without issue. I would’ve marveled at the rift now before me, but we’d run out of time.
We sailed through the slit of darkness that cut through the air, leaving Theirland behind. Again, there was no pain or disorientation. One moment we were in the small chamber, the next we stood in another room, this one large enough to contain an eight-by-eight section of the Rock. Though the room was enclosed, with no windows or sunshine, lush flowers bloomed from the top, scenting the atmosphere with a soft, floral fragrance. I breathed deep.
Welcome home.Relief shimmered through me, weightless and infinite, as if stardust were dissolving in the first light of dawn. Hand in hand with Cyrus again, I glanced at an engraved symbol, just glanced, yet the wall thinned into mist. The transformation had never occurred so quickly.
