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The closer we got to the square where the supply shop was, the more warnings started to tingle through me, telling me it was more than some holiday event.

Hundreds of military men milled around the marketplace, congregating in units and holding sentry with a stillness that poked more tingles at the base of my spine.

We had seen a lot off duty here the first night, but these men were completely the opposite. Marching around in perfect sync, loaded with weapons, their movements crisp and intimidating, herding the masses into the middle of the plaza.

A sickness rolled into my stomach.

“Seriously, what the hell is happening?” Raven hissed next to me as we peered around a corner, frowning as an endless stream of people knocked into us, trying to get around.

“Not sure.” Though I noticed some kind of stage was set up near the Christmas tree. “A holiday event?” I hoped.

“Do they need armed forces for a holiday event?” Raven’s mouth pulled down. “This doesn’t feel very jolly. Here, kid, sit on Santa’s knee while a soldier holds a rifle to your head.”

“They are very serious about who’s been good and who’s beennaughty.” My eyes swung down to her, my chest clenching, realizing that was the last thing I should’ve said. Her cheeks flushed pink before she turned away from me, probably thinking the same thing I was. How deep my tongue had been inside her last night.

We’d be very much on the naughty list.

Clearing my throat, I surveyed the crowd, the guards a complete change from the ones partying here the other night. They were almost…

My throat tightened, and I shoved back the thought.No.I wagged my head against the notion.There’s no way.

Yet so many alarms were going off inside, taking me back to a place I never wanted to think about again. A hell that still haunted me. Guards who were turned into perfect mindless soldiers.

“I need to get closer,” I said to her. “Keep your hood up and head down,” I instructed Raven, adjusting my head deeper into my hood. Slipping out from around the wall, I grabbed her hand in mine, weaving us through the throng of villagers standing compactly in the square.

Inching closer to the stage, I kept a tight hold on Raven, the prickle on the back of my neck growing more intense. Eyeing a soldier near me, his expression blank, his body stiff, I tried to find a hint of what I feared, what I had experienced and seen before.

No. It’s not possible. But was it? I had helped destroy the labs, ending all new clusters of fae/human interfusions. Even though many had escaped after the battle with Istvan, I knew their quick decline from robotic to feral. They wouldn’t be this way so long after the battle a year ago.

You are just seeing things, Ash.

A guard barked out orders, the rest stomping their feet, grabbing for their rifles, and tightening in around the mass they funneled into the middle.

“Ash?” Raven said my name nervously right as car engines thrummed over the chilly morning air, rolling in on the outskirts of the plaza, where more guards held watch.

The motorcade comprised two huge army trucks, two army jeeps, and two sleek black cars, the windows tinted black.

The pit of my stomach fused into a knot.

“This is so exciting. I can’t believe they are visiting us on Christmas Day.” A woman next to me bounced on her toes, trying to get a better view.

Her husband huffed. “They’re taking over this area anyway.”

“Oh, hush.” She batted at him. “They’ve done so much for us here. You should be excited. You have a job at the castle because of what they’re doing.”

“Yeah.” He bobbed his head with very little enthusiasm.

“Who?” I twisted to her, my voice like a whip. “Who is visiting?”

She blinked up at me as if I were the most clueless person in the world, her hand motioning toward the convoy.

“Prime Minister Lazar, of course.” She motioned to the short, dark-haired man getting out of one of the black cars, his son Sergiu being ushered from the other side.

My heart drummed against my ribs. Seeing them again, especially Sergiu, brought me back to that night. He had helped them escape. He had been part of it. Had been the man Brexley was supposed to marry.

“But even more exciting… is our new queen is here.” The woman squealed, pointing to the other black car, where two more were being escorted from their vehicle.

My heart stopped.