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Chaos.Pure chaos filled the temple.
Somewhere above her, Rian shouted, “Guards!”
When Kallie unfolded her arms and pried her eyes open, she saw Rian sprinting down the narrow path toward the iron doors. He covered his mouth with his arm as he ran past the small fires spurred to life from the fallen torches. Guards charged forward, joining their king. Others tried to put out the flames bursting to life across the aisle.
Speckles of blood freckled Kallie’s skin, pieces of glass embedded into her arms. She pulled out a chunk of glass, hissing out in pain as blood oozed from her arm. She ripped a strip of fabric from the bottom of the dress and tied it around the wound.
Standing, Kallie looked around as mayhem swallowed the room. Fathers and mothers unfolded themselves around their small children, their skin marked with dozens of tiny red slashes from the sharp glass. Cries echoed in the hall, both infant and adult. Guests hurried toward the door, frantically trying to escape through the door, which the guards still struggled to pry open.
Kallie jerked her attention to the front row. She searched and searched, but her father was nowhere to be seen. She spun around, her dress swishing across the floor. Pain surged through her chest, an ache she couldn’t dull.
Was her father okay? Was he hurt?
The other royals previously sitting in the front seats were also missing, including Tessa, Rian’s grandparents, Jacquin, and the other advisors.
And the realization of what must have transgressed when the glass poured from the ceiling was as sudden as an arrow piercing her chest.
They had all abandoned her.
Even her own father.
No.Kallie thought, mentally slapping away the traitorous thought.No, that can’t be right. Father wouldn’t abandon me. Heneededme.
Kallie’s mind spiraled as she thought of the alternative options.
Perhaps the others had dragged her father with them, and he had no choice but to go. Maybe he had tried to reach Kallie, but there was no time.
Yes, that had to be the reason. There was no other explanation—not one she was willing to entertain anyway.
Kallie bit down on her lip. She needed to find him. She needed to get out of here. She would not be stuck in here, she told herself. This would not be her fate. She had survived too many fires to burn down in this one.
There had to be another way out. There was never only one entrance to a building, especially one this large. There had to be another room, somewhere the priest—
Kallie spun around, but the priest had already disappeared. She tried to recall what she had seen before chaos ensued. Priest Havering was right next to her when the ceiling shattered. At least, she thought he had been.
She sprinted past the podium, past the grand piano. She searched the walls. There had to be something. Some door, some tunnel.
Something.
Her hands scraped across the bricks.
“Fuck!” Kallie smashed her fist against the wall.
The priest had run. He had abandoned them. His king, his people. He had left them to burn.
Kallie squinted at the shattered ceiling, the sun blaring straight down at high noon. It was too high to climb. But Kallie could have sworn she saw someone up there.
Then, a head popped out and tossed something down. Then another and another. Smoke spiraled around the objects as they fell. One landed in front of her, and an explosion of air kicked her back.
Heat soaked the air, and her body shook from the impact. Or was that the ground? Kallie wasn’t quite sure. She wasn’t sure of anything anymore.
Her head ached, and she peeled herself off the floor. As her vision cleared, she saw a Frenzian guard racing toward her.
The guard grabbed her hand and pulled her up.
Kallie winced as her head spun, but she ignored the pain. She needed to find her father. She grabbed onto a piece of his armor, shaking it. “Where? Where is the other exit? We have to get out of here!”
