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I blink, trying to force my vision to focus. Hands are on my face, my arms.
“Valerie.”
The world dips and spins, and it takes me a moment to realize it’s because I’m no longer on my feet. Reid takes the stairs at a run, me tucked against his chest. When we reach the main level, the corridors are packed with people. The emergency alarm shrills overhead, drenching the halls in red light.
I tap Reid’s arm to let him know I’m okay enough to stand, and he sets me on my feet but keeps an arm around my waist for support.
“What’s happening?” I ask.
Reid shakes his head, eyes locked on the chaos around us.
“Oh, Connor!” He’s a few people away, but he turns at my voice and shoulders his way toward us. “What’s going on?”
But then I see what everyone’s flocking to.
I cover my mouth with my hand. “Oh my God.”
Reid follows my gaze and stiffens.
I can barely make out his features, but it’s unmistakably King Locklear’s head mounted on the wall. His eyes are still open, his hair matted with blood.
I’m no stranger to gore, but the gruesome display makes even my stomach flip. Then there’s the message painted on the wall around him in what looks to be blood.
Your days are numbered.
“Clear the halls!” bellows a faceless voice.
A few people scatter like mice, but most don’t budge. Even through the ruckus, I can make out the booming footsteps approaching. I get a glimpse of King Auclair, followed by a line of Marionettes, but then someone tugs me back. I search for Connor, but he’s lost in the crowd again.
Two Marionettes I’ve never seen before urge me and Reid down a different corridor until we come to the back door of the throne room. Several other officials are already waiting inside, along with their Marionettes. A few Auclair staff members nod along as Sawyer barks orders at them, demanding answers about the security breach. The voices in the room layer over one another, blending until I can’t make out who is saying what.
“One of the security cameras must have caught something—”
“How could they pull this off in the middle of the night without someone seeing—”
“Has anyone been able to contact anyone at Locklear—”
The front door to the throne room bursts open as King Auclair strides inside, his expression remarkably calm given the circumstances.
“The Locklear estate has fallen, and the surrounding region is deserted, just like we saw with the Carrington estate,” he says. “We’re gathering all nonessential Marionettes, including some volunteers from the other estates. One of our own believes they can take out a good number of their wendigos if they can combine enough power. Since Westcott seems to be using the wendigos to weaken an area before he seizes it, it should at least slow him down. We believe these compounds of his are strategically placed near each of the estates. We’ve found the exact locations of two and have scouts out to search for the others.”
I bite my tongue.Take out the wendigos. All I can think about is the people strapped to the metal tables in Westcott’s compound for his experiments. Most of them are human. Foolish for trusting Westcott, but innocent.
But that won’t matter to anyone in this room.
“How did no one receive word of Locklear’s death in the time it took to get the body here—”
“Has the footage been checked yet? How did they get inside—”
“Should we be evacuating to the bunker—”
“Enough,” roars King Auclair. The Marionettes behind him fan out, herding groups from the crowd and toward the different doors.
“You two.” Queen Carrington approaches and gestures for us to follow her.
I exchange a glance with Reid, and he gives a solemn nod. The halls are buzzing with energy, though they’re a little less crowded now as we follow the queen to her guest suite. I expect a few Marionettes to follow—Coderre at the very least—but it’s just us three, and she locks the door behind us.
A weird feeling settles in the pit of my stomach as Queen Carrington levels her gaze on me, her stare not cold, exactly. Just…blank.
