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She must still be dreaming. She had only ever seen the creature depicted in her mother’s journal. The stench of its breath washed over her, the scent of death and decay. She almost threw up at the intensity. The hairs along her arm prickled.

Fireworks exploded in the sky.

It lifted onto its hind legs and let out a horrific guttural roar that chilled her to the bone.

The sound vibrated through her and sent every instinct she had on high alert.

Rieka yelled as she pulled the door open—then she slammed it with enough force that the glass rattled. Not waiting to see what the creature would do, she beelined to the journal and grabbed it before she sprinted toward the front door. Toward safety.

She hoped.

Chapter 30

Thewayfarerwatchedthehybrid with disgust. It was his responsibility to rid the world of the hybrid aberrations and to restore the old order.

But not this one. The bloodline of their king flowed through her veins. She was the key the council had been looking for. But she was weak, more human than Atlantean.

Sins of the whore Vandana made flesh.

The hybrid would bear the punishment for what her family had done. The O’hurani would take his pound of flesh from her and ensure the rest of the disbelievers were eternally punished.

He took a deep breath, hoping for the feeling of the talons along his skin or the soft caress of teeth along his flesh. His time would come soon enough.

Blood trickled down his arms as he sacrificed another piece of himself. External scars to match the ones on his soul. The Atlanteans had turned him into their monster, but it was the Anki who had given him faith.

For them, he would continue to tear his soul apart and be remade in their image.

Chapter 31

Dantestilledashereached the foyer that led to Rieka’s room. A second later, a high-pitched roar cut through the fireworks. The hairs on the back of his neck rose as his heart skipped a beat.

The smell of rotting flesh was unmistakable. And one he had hoped to never cross paths with. Serpopard.

It was coming from Rieka’s room.

He reached it just as Rieka ran through the door as if she was being chased.

“Guards!” Rieka yelled as she barreled straight into him. “Wait—Dante. What are you doing here? There was something on the balcony.” The words rushed out nonstop.

“What happened?” Dante asked as he steadied her, taking in her disheveled appearance as he moved her away from the doorway.

Rieka appeared startled but uninjured. The scent of adrenaline and fear rolled off her in waves. He looked her over. No sign of any obvious wounds—nothing that a serpopard would have left her with. Their teeth and talons were designed to tear the flesh from bones. Rieka would not have stood a chance if it had attacked. Instead, Rieka looked like she had been rolling in dirt; fine dust covered her dark top and pants, coating them in pale brown.

Blessed silence followed the last of the fireworks. The scent of death was almost gone. The guards rushed past them in pairs, weapons at the ready as they stormed the room. Talik followed them in.

Rieka’s eyes blazed red as she stared at him with horror. “You heard that too?”

Dante moved them out of the way as another handful of guards swarmed through the door. Maneuvering Rieka, he pulled her into the nearby empty room. But he kept them close to the wall, shielding her.

The stuffiness of the suite was not a surprise; they rarely used the connecting rooms outside of his visits. The walls were thick, but the echo of the guards shouting was still discernible. Loud enough for him to know they were tearing the place apart and that the serpopard was gone.

“You can let go of me now. I think it’s gone.” She didn’t move away from him. “The fireworks scared it.”

Did he detect a hint of sympathy in her tone? Less than a minute ago, she’d sounded horrified. Now she was worried about it. Perhaps it hadn’t been a serpopard she’d seen.

She shivered under his touch, as she glanced back at the door, the adrenaline undoubtedly wearing off.

“It?” He tilted her chin, forcing her to peer up at him. Rieka’s gaze was far too expressive. She hadn’t quite learned to hide her emotions, not the way Atlanteans did. But she was keeping something from him. “What did you see?”