Whisper snarled.
I burrowed deeper into my blankets, only for him to launch off me and yank them away with his teeth.
He snapped at my nightgown, a rigid line of fur bristling along his back.
“W-What are you doing?”
The panther growled, a furious rumble that made my spine snap straight. Putting both paws on the bed again, he loomed over me, pushing his muzzle against my nose, the tips of his fangs flashing.
He roared right in my face.
I cringed away from the reek of carrion breath. “What on earth are youdoing?”
Pushing off from the mattress, he dropped to all fours and raced toward the door. He roared again, tail whipping, eyes wide with...worry.
Understanding punched me hard. “Lucien.”
Leaping out of bed, all dregs of sleep vanished, leaving me with a wickedly sharp headache.
I didn’t bother asking questions that Whisper couldn’t answer. I merely grabbed a long-sleeved cream dressing gown—that was so long it trailed behind me—and slipped into it.
Tying it tight, I bolted.
“Where is he?” My bare feet flew over the carpet then sank into dew-cold grass.
Whisper loped beside me; his gaze locked on the palace in the distance. His hot breath fogged the cold night as he snapped at my elbow, making me run faster.
I’d never been a runner. Never been able to stomach the rise in my pulse and the pounding in my head, but tonight...I shut down all my discomfort and ran as fast as I could.
The journey through the flame-flickering gardens seemed to take forever. Lantern light skittered across the pebbled pathways and manicured hedges, granting morbid, hellish shadows.
I braced myself to find Evelyn and Lydia on the main steps where they usually lurked. I had no doubt if they tried to stop me, Whisper would tear them into pieces.
But the stairs were blessedly empty.
The door to Cinderkeep’s mansion hung open.
I choked on a stitch as the black stone palace swallowed us whole.
I’d thought running inside would be better than outside, but it was worse.
No light in here. No flames. No guidance.
Relying on familiarity from cleaning every inch, I chased after Whisper as he pulled ahead of me, streaking down the corridor.
He took a left and then a right, leading me deeper into the heart of Lucien’s home.
I expected him to race toward Lucien’s quarters—to take the path leading toward the only place his master let down his guard—but he didn’t. He took another left at the octagonal foyer, galloping toward the back of the property where I’d found the glass-surrounded swimming pool.
I skidded to a stop as we bolted into the warm muggy air of the conservatory. The smack of chlorine and density of tropical plants made my nose wrinkle.
Whisper snarled as he doubled back and snapped at my ankles, forcing me to keep moving.
“Okay, okay. I get it. Take me to him. Where is he?”
His tail whipped me as he spun around and led me past the pool to the rockery where the misty spa and cold plunge had been carefully hidden in an oasis of plants and privacy.
I staggered to a stop.
