Lucille realized something had happened when I didn’t writhe on the ground in pain. Her eyes flashed and then she lunged and grabbed my arm, her grip so tight it sent a wave of terror down my spine.
But nothing happened.
Her hand seemed to be frozen on me, and then her eyes darted around frantically.
I watched the horror fill her as she realized she couldn’t move. Skye was holding her still, and as the realization set in, Lucille’s lip began to tremble.
Not a second later, a loud metallic clang cut through the room, turning heads and drawing every set of eyes.
Raaz was holding afucking swordpointed right at Lucille’s neck.
“Unhand him,” he said, his tone hard.
My brain was so messed up. My first instinct was to snort, because…’unhand him’?Seriously?
Skye pursed her lips beside me, and as I did a double take, I realized she also wanted to laugh.
Lucille’s hand let go of me a moment later, and she stumbled back, away from the sword and especially away from Skye. She looked completely bewildered in a way I’d never seen, her raccoon eyes wide and wild.
Skye stepped forward, looking down her nose at Lucille somehow even though she was shorter than her. Lucille staggered back, but Skye only advanced on her further. When Skye spoke, her voice was so low, even I had trouble hearing her.
“You touch him again, and you’ll die, and there’s not a soul on this planet who will be able to prove it was me.”
Tears actually welled in Lucille’s eyes, and holy fuck I hope Rafe had a room around here we could hide in after this because I needed to worship my Key immediately.
“Beautiful jewels, by the way, Lulu. I’m not a fan of the lab-created look myself, but it suits you.” Skye said, her voice loud enough to be heard this time.
Lucille sniffed as whispers and snickers started up from the crowd, and Skye’s gown swished as she turned to stride away. I followed behind like a dutiful guard dog, glancing back to see Raaz putting away his sword before speaking.
“We have a dungeon, Lucille. Perhaps you’d like to take a visit to see what horrors the Royals keep hidden.”
Chapter 52
Rafe
My God,I couldn’t have planned a better distraction.
When Lucille Brandt approached Skye, Wyatt and I had hesitated. We hadn’t counted on Lucille trying anything, but we shouldn’t have been worried. As soon as Skye turned on her bitch mode, the two of us disappeared, even though I could tell Wyatt really wanted to watch the face off.
Raaz allowed me to watch the entire thing after I’d sent him in as backup, and he took my distraction suggestionextremelyliterally.
I wasn’t mad. He was growing on me.
Wyatt and I stepped out of the shadows at the dungeon entrance I’d seen my father and the Crusader exit weeks ago, and we stared at the door for several seconds in silence.
“Any bets?” I asked.
“Sure,” Wyatt said, thinking hard for a moment before snapping his fingers. “I think Rogelio is down there.”
I choked on a laugh, actually leaning over and coughing before I could catch my breath. “What the fuck?” I wheezed.
Wyatt shrugged. “You?”
I rubbed my jaw. “My father possesses a clone of some kind.”
Wyatt snorted, and then I snorted, and then we were both chucklingin an attempt to mask our nerves as we made our way through the door and down the dingy steps.
The air was thick as we descended underground, and there weren’t nearly as many cobwebs as I’d expected. This passage was used frequently. There were even literal fire sconces on the wall, eternally lit by someone’s affinity.
