EVERYONE SCATTERED.
My knees threatened to buckle as anxiety washed over me. I bolted back the way we’d come. I didn’t know why we were running or why women were screaming but I didn’t plan on finding out.
I managed to make it to the edge of the marble courtyard before someone yelled, “Stop running, you idiots! Didn’t you read the dossier on him? It’s his pet!”
“Carly’s right,” someone else said. “It was given to him when he was a teenager—mainly to stop him from going batshit crazy. It’s not going to hurt us. Look, it’s just sitting there.”
A few brave girls stopped and turned but not me.
I kept running, streaking into the rose garden and ducking behind a cheery pink-flowered bush. Peering through the glossy dark leaves, I tried to make sense of the commotion.
Women continued to flee but the ones who obviously had an agenda of coming here slowly stopped and forced themselves back.
“Take us to your master,” Evelyn commanded, her eyes pinned on the entrance of the palace.
“Do you honestly think it speaks English?” One of the others scowled. “It’s in the way. We should just move it.”
“Sure, okay. Move it.” Evelyn chuckled. “After you then.”
The other girl didn’t reply, and I couldn’t make out what they spoke about. The cluster of women suddenly broke down the middle, everyone cringing away as something huge and black and sleek stalked down the centre.
My eyes widened as the velveteen predator prowled straight through the women like it owned the place, its tail flicking, its glowing yellow eyes bright as twin moons even in the afternoon sunlight.
My heart chose that moment to cease.
Stress crushed me from all angles and my vision blanked.
I was having another nervous breakdown.
That was the only explanation.
My mind had snapped and conjured a fantasy that couldn’t be real.
Itcan’tbe real.
Hiding behind my rose bush, I did my best to get a grip.
I begged reality to return—
But then the softest puff of breath hit the back of my neck.
The quietest growl sent my skin prickling with panic.
Hurling myself around, I fell onto my ass as I faced a creature that belonged in a jungle, not a country manor. It didn’t make any sense. I couldn’t compute how apantherwas sniffing my hair, my throat, and not tearing out my spine with its sharp teeth.
“Stop playing around and take us to Lucien,” Evelyn snapped, appearing by the rose bush and eyeballing the panther.
Itwasa panther, wasn’t it?
Or was it some genetically modified giant house cat?
Because animal sequencing and gene manipulation weren’t impossible. I’d seen such scientific feats first-hand in Snowflake’s labs...
Evelyn stuck her nose in the air. “Where is he? Tell him to come out and welcome us.” Her bravery was utterly awe-inspiring if not completely suicidal.
Whowasthis woman?
What the hell did she know about this place that made it seem as if she’d crossed enemy lines for battle while the rest of us were cannon fodder?
