Total pages in book: 123
Estimated words: 114925 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 575(@200wpm)___ 460(@250wpm)___ 383(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 114925 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 575(@200wpm)___ 460(@250wpm)___ 383(@300wpm)
Well, well, it worked in real life too. As he blinked open his eyes, I did it again and again. Kiss, kiss, kiss. “Wake up faster,” I commanded. “We’re on the clock.”
“Arden?” he rasped, and relief washed over me. He eased upright and looked around. “We’re in our room.” Confusion drenched his words. “The last thing I remember, I was speaking with Lolli.”
“And I’d like to hear all about the chat while we’re walking. I’m not sure how we got here either, but we’ve got to be at the Rock in roughly eight minutes. Domino said it’s a matter of life and death.”
Cyrus’s eyelids narrowed, but he nodded. “All right.” He kicked his legs over the side of the bed and stood.
I did the same, my skirt falling around my ankles. My knees quaked, the reality of our situation growing heavier as a chime sounded from somewhere in the palace. Anyone could have done anything to us, and we wouldn’t have known. At least we hadn’t lost much time, night’s darkness evident through the windows.
We exited the suite. Still no guards in the hall, not ours or anyone else’s, but the meta dogs were back, patrolling in pairs.
My heart nearly stopped when one looked directly at us. It gave no reaction, however, and moved on. Oookay. Had Domino hidden us from cameras?
As Cyrus and I made our way through the winding walkways, avoiding the dogs, I kept time, counting the seconds.
“Circling back to your visit with Lolli,” I muttered, tracing the curve of the voice scrambler I might not ever remove.
He breathed deep as we turned a corner. “Lolli claims she isn’t the one who shot you. That it was a royal behind you. A high prince.”
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 I was her 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 suspects you’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.”