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“I was so worried about you,” the groundskeeper frets. “When you didn’t emerge from the castle, I called Falcon immediately.”

I nod, grateful that he did.

“There are six royal cars available currently, and one is being serviced,” he explains as he opens the garage. Flicking on the lights, he gives us a moment to blink away the spots. Even though the path here was lit, the light in the garage is much brighter.

“Ayden, I’m thinking one of the black SUVs would be best. What do you think?” I ask, staring at the cars. There’s a van, two utility vehicles, a convertible, and two sedans.

“Agreed. Give me just a moment, and then we can be on our way,” he murmurs. There’s a million reasons he would check the cars. Trackers, bugs… gulp, a bomb. Fuck, is this my life now?

“Remember your promise, Silla,” Grayson grunts, wrapping his arms around me from where he’s standing behind me. “Breathe.”

I swallow hard and breathe. The black spots I’m so familiar with were starting to make their appearance again.

“This will become procedure anytime you go out from now on,” he rumbles. The groundskeeper left two sets of keys out and then left. There’s so much to do, I don’t blame him. “It may feel overwhelming because it’s a big change, but we already track your beautiful ass. Why wouldn’t we take our security measures to the next level?”

“You did a really great job of making that all seem less crazy.” I sigh.

“Alright, this one is safe,” Ayden calls out. He was contorted underneath the car, making me shake my head. He slithers out, gliding to a standing position. “Let’s get a move on, Kitten. We have a boyfriend to stalk.”

This is my life, welcome to the shit show.

Twenty-Seven

KENZO

My head is a mess. I bundled my brother carefully in the back seat, and drove home. I don’t even remember the drive.

Now, staring at our home, this feels wrong. I don’t want to bury him here. Slamming my hands on the steering wheel, I scream out my frustrations. There’s no one to hear, not even my brother. Sniffing, I wipe my eyes, trying to think about the last place I was happy. I can’t do life without him. I don’t know how to do this…

Sucking in a breath, I make sure the car is in park and get out. I have some things to grab for what will be our final journey together. Stalking to the shed, I pull out a shovel, emergency bottles of water, and a tarp. Closing everything up, I say goodbye to the house.

Repacking the car, I unwrap Kal so I can first wrap him in the tarp and then the blanket. It just feels wrong to let him leak everywhere. I always carry scissors and duct tape in the car, so I use them to secure everything. Maybe in another life I was a serial killer?

Picking up my brother, I carefully put him in the car, secure his body between the seatbelts, and then return to the driver seat.

My phone starts to buzz, but I ignore it, turning on the car slamming into drive. I’m driving back to the pretty seaside town we went to with my mistress. It’s not far, and then it’ll all be over.

ANDRYA

I can’t get through to Kenzo, and I’m starting to worry. Silla went to shower with Ayden, while we started cleaning things up. I have a checklist, and I’m directing the staff to the rooms that will need body retrieval. Everyone works efficiently, appears to have guts of steel, and the rooms are being cleared quickly.

Grimacing, I growl at my phone.

“Andrya, we don’t have time to replace your phone, Baby. Don’t throw it,” Gray chuckles, kissing my forehead. It’s such an odd feeling, but I melt into his arms. “What’s wrong?”

“I have a really bad feeling is all,” I sigh. “I can’t get a hold of Kenzo. Every call is going to voicemail.”

“Alright,” he rumbles, pulling out his phone. “I checked the tracking earlier, and he was on the way to his house.”

“You have tracking devices on him?” I ask curiously.

Shrugging, he opens the app. “Kenzo buried his grief to help ensure Cinder died and Silla would rise to the throne. A highly pressurized metal box can only hold itself together for so long before it explodes,” Grayson says. He’s not wrong. “He’s still at the house, Andrya. I’ll keep an eye on him, alright?”

Nodding, I blow out a breath. My nerves are showing. It’s been an intense day, and now it’s over. It’s barely three in the morning now, but the castle is buzzing with activity. Everyone who survived the purge is working hard, not one person is grieving the queen.

Sidney is currently interrogating Cinder’s maids to ensure we don’t have any issues later. Soon we’ll be moving into the castle. I want to be able to sleep peacefully. Any of the maids who passed the inspection are now stripping the sheets from Cinder’s bed. I won’t sleep in there until all evidence of her existence has been wiped away.

Diving into the fray, I lose track of time. “Andrya!” Grayson roars, making me whirl around to find the next person trying to kill us. My heart is in my throat, my skin crawling. “We gotta move, girl. Hand over your checklist.”