As I trudged across the room, toward where the table and the group of men surrounding Kali had been, I imagined how I was going to borrow Zion’s favorite knife and carve every body part of Ardaton’s higher-ups.
My shins collided with something hard but soft, and I caught myself on the armrest of one of the cream couches the disgusting rodents had occupied. Navigating around it, I continued myjourney toward the table, but the closer I got to it, the more unease stormed in my gut.
Something felt off.
Porcelain shattered under my boots as I stomped into the wreckage of what once had been dishes, yet all I found was cold marble and crumbles of pastries.
Dread pooled in my stomach.
They were gone.
Ardaton’s government had fled, taking Kali with them.
Sharp fragments dug into my flesh as I struck the table. The side of my fist lit up, but I savored the throbbing. It was soothing compared to the fact I had failed to protect Kali.
The possibility of never seeing her smile again lanced through me, rupturing my lungs. I couldn’t go on without hearing her laughter whenever Zion tickled her. Without making her blush. Without tucking that fluffy duvet around her until she hummed from contentment.
Closing my eyes, I surrendered to the blackness, hunting for the faintest of sounds.
If the Head of Ardaton wished to play a final match, he better be ready. I had already played a game with the Head of Ilasall, each of us pushing pieces off the chessboard, but when a king stood against a king, Ilasall was the one that fell.
So if Ardaton thought I would sit and wait until their soldiers came to get me, it was sorely mistaken.
Clearly, Adder had not been dealt the wrath of a man obsessed before.
83
GEDEON
Crouching down, I hunted for a porcelain shard large enough to serve as a makeshift weapon. Bitterness bloomed in my smile when I remembered how Kali had done the same on her first night at our compound, right after we had drugged and snatched her from Ilasall’s claws.
As I blindly scoured the floor, the razor-like fragments rushed to slice my wrapped-in-the-shreds-of-my-shirt hands. Twinges slithered across my palms, but the fabric protected my skin from being pierced by the thousand sharp edges.
With the number of dishes Ardaton’s servants had loaded onto their government’s table, it didn’t take long for me to locate a reasonably sized shard.
Testing my grip, I rose back up?—
A screeching noise burst my eardrums. An alarm blared through the speakers, so loud?—
It hushed.
In their place, red lights flickered to life—silent flashes warning of an emergency. Crimson bathed the plush space, now soiled with bits of canned fruits, roasted meats, and oven-baked vegetables strewn all over. The screaming-wealth couchesboasted a splatter of colors, matching the glass bar smeared with grease and oil.
But they were not what caught my attention.
The sliding door stood open.
Whoever had cut the power, they had my eternal gratitude.
Without delay, I stomped over the garbage adorning the floor, heading for the doorway—the sole exit point. The six Heads must have fled through here?—
A harsh white light caused sparks to fly behind my eyes. Stumbling, I clutched the door frame, my vision incinerated.
“Oh, shit.” Someone’s curse carried eerie notes of familiarity. “Sorry about that.” The source of illumination lowered, concentrating its shining on two pairs of filthy boots—mine and…
“Damia,” I rasped in disbelief.
She was supposed to oversee a lockdown in her compound, protect her people and take in ours. Not venture into a den of vipers, otherwise known as Ardaton.
