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“What’s Palace Prime?” asked Kieren.
“There are several palaces, as they call them, which are more like hidden lairs. I’ve only been to the one, where Moira was taken, but I know there are others. Anyway, Coalglass called an assembly and announced that our king had finally come. The king who would bring order back to our world and put humans in their rightful place. In chains.”
An audible gasp escaped Valla. My fingers went to my throat where I’d replaced my medal around my neck. My stomach clenched into a ball. I’d almost lost it forever. It cost little to buy another, but I’d worn this particular medal for so long. It had comforted me for so many years, giving me the will to become a woman of strength—free-spirited, determined, independent. Then the beast had taken my medal, as if he had the right to strip me of my dearest possession, as if he could strip me of the woman I’d become.
But I’d gotten it back.
Kieren, Valla, and Bowen gazed at me. “What is it?” asked Valla.
I shook my head, shaking off the fear and torment of that place where the monster ruled with a brutal will. “Nothing.”
Kieren turned to Gaius again. “But who is he? Where does he come from?”
“I wish I knew.” Gaius stepped forward. “I did hear Coalglass once mention something about a Syren sister, a defector, who has allied with them for their cause, their revolution. I heard her name mentioned long before the king made his arrival.”
“So it’s true.” I clasped my hands together to keep from wringing them in nervous agitation. “The Devlin Butchers aren’t butchers at all. They weren’t murdering those women and putting them on display for some cult or for some kind of sick enjoyment. Their plan this whole time has been to start a race war.”
“Their plan is to dominate all of humankind,” added Gaius. “And Morgonkind as well. It won’t just be a monarchy led by this king. It will be a totalitarian state with a sadistic dictator on the throne.”
The beast’s words filtered through my mind. There is only power, and who has the most.
Silence. I stood up. Realization dawned on all of us at once. It wasn’t just the freedom of humanity that was at stake. It was the freedom of everyone. Every race.
Valla rose to her feet next to me, shaking her head. “I just can’t believe it.”
“What is he like?” Bowen asked, meeting my gaze.
“He’s a monster. He’s bigger than any of you.” I eyed Kieren’s large proportions, identical to his brother’s. “Even you,” I added. “He’s malformed. Claws instead of hands. Sharpened fangs, like that of a?—”
My fingertips unconsciously brushed along the seam of my jeans near the punctures in my thighs.
“Like that of a dragon,” Valla finished for me in a small whisper, watching my hands.
I folded my arms to keep them still and nodded. “But we don’t need to worry about him anymore. I injected him with poison to escape. He should be dead by now.”
“That doesn’t mean his army will give up their quest,” added Gaius. “Coalglass is his second-in-command, and he’s maniacal.”
“They had other girls there.” I stepped toward Gaius.
Bowen tensed as tight as a bowstring, his expression darkening. “How many have they taken, Gaius?”
“There have been dozens of girls from every province, every human village imaginable. Not just the four from Gladium. They’ve kept it quiet, but soon, human police precincts will make the connection. And now the Guard will know.” He paused, his brow pushed into a deep frown. “I believe…their blood made him stronger, made him more dominant.”
I scoffed. “More dominant.”
The others glanced at me.
“He wielded it like a weapon.”
“So,” interrupted Bowen, “they have been the ones responsible for the missing girls in Primus.”
Gaius nodded. Bowen pivoted back to the window, fists clenched at his sides.
“I’m afraid the blood was for other reasons as well,” continued Gaius. “Coalglass and the king kept the army divided in a way that each faction was responsible for particular missions, no one knowing what others knew. It was the king’s way of keeping control. Only Barron has full knowledge of the greater plan. But I can tell you, he bled a lot more girls than he was drinking. There’s more to discuss, but we must move from here. Immediately. There’s no guarantee the locations of any safehouse known to the Morgon Guard is still confidential.”
Kieren stalked toward the hole in the corner. “Give me thirty seconds to change.” He dropped through the floor. I heard a soft whoosh as he landed below.
Gaius pulled a leather pouch from his pocket. He opened the pouch and handed a small object to Valla. A comm micro-drive.
