"Your Majesty!" Lila screamed, coming to a screeching halt at the entrance of the Queen’s quarters. All her guards were slaughtered, and the door stood ajar.

Lila rushed inside, hissing at the strong metallic scent that assaulted her nose.

The Queen’s blood.

A pool of it spread across the middle of the room, which could only mean one thing—the Queen was injured.

She was not dead. Not yet.

Lila knew Baron. He was dramatic and would definitely make a spectacle out of the Queen’s death. Which meant there was still time. She just had to find her. That was all that mattered.

Lila barely stepped out when she caught sight of two armed Fae. She didn’t recognize them, which could only mean they were aligned with Baron. Their eyes widened briefly at the sight of her, then narrowed with intent. It was obvious from the way they had moved that they were rounding up Fae across the palace.

Lila’s fist clenched instantly, magic gathering around it.

They lunged at the same time. Lila reacted first, releasing a sharp blast of air that slammed the first to the side. She ducked immediately after, narrowly avoiding the sword aimed at her head.

Iron.

That blade would take her head clean off if it connected.

The second Fae was quite fast and highly trained. Lila was forced to weave around his attacks, her movements precise as she searched for an opening. Every strike she threw was deflected, his sword cutting through her magic with proficient ease.

These were trained assassins. Where had they even come from? They were clearly not from this kingdom. Just how long had Baron been planning this?

The thought struck her hard. And worse, this had all happened right under her watch. Shame burned in her chest.

"You’re dead, bitch!" the other Fae snarled as he rose, joining his partner.

This time, they moved together, back to back, perfectly in sync, attacking as one.

Lila’s breaths came faster now as she struggled to keep them at bay. Their movements were coordinated, deliberately pushing her step by step toward the corner where they intended to trap and end her.

She needed to break their formation.

Lila released a blast of energy that knocked both of them aside, but one of them drew a dagger at the last second and caught her in the stomach.

"Fuck," she winced. She hadn’t seen that coming.

She could feel the iron spreading quickly through her veins, poisoning her blood. Lila yanked the dagger free, groaning at the sharp assault of pain.

But the distraction cost her. One of the Fae kicked her hard, then blasted her with his magic and she stumbled to the floor.

Lila cursed under her breath. Whatever he hit her with, her whole body hurt.

"That was a good fight, but it is time to say your goodbyes," the Fae said, lifting his sword with a menacing grin.

Lila froze for a split second. So this was the end.

But before the sword could come down, a loud crackling of energy ripped through the air.

Lila stared, open-mouthed, as the two Fae began twitching violently, electricity tearing through their bodies. Then they dropped, burnt.

Lila lifted her head slowly and found Alaric Storm standing there.

His white hair was disheveled, his expression dark, a murderous gleam in his eyes as he stared down at the Fae he had just taken out.

Relief crashed into her all at once.

"Come on, let’s go!" he snapped when she kept staring.

Lila didn’t hesitate this time. She pushed herself to her feet, clutching her side tightly.

Instead of heading down the hall like she expected, the North Pack Alpha walked straight to the wall and said,

"Open sesame."

What the—

Lila’s eyes twitched. Did he just say that to their highly respected—

She didn’t get to finish that thought.

The wall split open, revealing a hidden set of stairs.

"Go!" he urged, and she moved immediately, slipping inside just as the wall sealed shut behind them.

There were sconces set into the walls, and with each step they took, they lit up one after the other, lighting their path.

"How did you find this place?"

She knew the palace had many hidden passages, but only royalty could command them—or the house would open itself to those it favored.

Alaric answered, "Violet locked me in to protect me. But I threatened to electrocute it, so here we are."

Lila didn’t say anything. After all, if he hadn’t stepped out, she would probably be dead by now.

They walked for a while before arriving at a room. Her eyes widened at who she saw.

"Lord Taryn?"

The lion shifter was being attended to by Hannah, who was carefully tending his wounds. He was covered in so much blood it was hard to tell what belonged to him and what didn’t.

"You’re here," he grumbled, fighting back a pained grimace.

"Found her about to be killed and rescued her," Alaric said deliberately.

The lion shifter lifted a brow, surprised by that revelation.

Lila blushed with embarrassment. After all, everyone knew she had looked down on Violet’s mates because they were wolves.

"Can we forget about that and focus on what matters right now?" Lila said quickly. "Do any of you know where the Queen is? We need to rescue her."

"You can rescue your Queen. I need to find Violet," Alaric said, his jaw tight.

"Violet was last seen flying out of the palace with Asher in her grasp. Unless you can suddenly fly and know the Fae lands, I don’t see you tracking them successfully. Not to mention making it out of this palace without Baron’s people hunting you down. The best chance we have at staying alive is staying together, rescuing allies, and finding the Queen. I’m sure Violet can handle herself." Lord Taryn said to him.

Alaric hissed in disapproval, "Asher is not himself, and he might be hurting Violet as we speak."

"Violet has deadly powers. She’ll be fine. The Queen, on the other hand, is vulnerable and could be killed at any moment." Lila explained. "We cannot let Baron win, not after everything we’ve done. And speaking of which, how did Baron get all these Fae on his side?"

"Those are not Fae of our realm. With the barrier down, he must have bought the services of Fae from other kingdoms."

"Not to mention, he had help," Hannah added.

Lila frowned. "Whose help?"

Alaric’s voice turned dark.

"Annequin."