Page 112 of The Queen’s Shadow

Fuck.

The freed slaves ran for the doors, and Vespara’s clones tried to follow them. I blocked their path, blasting into the writhing crowd with a dark burning quasar.

A wave of manic laughter erupted from the ever-growing crowd of Vesparas.

“So, it is true. You do have the power to sever bonds.” They said in unison. “Give us your blades, and we will allow you to live.” The haunting chorus of voices echoed off the marble walls.

I snorted. Like that was going to happen.

“Tell me where Kasha is, or I will burn your fucking city to the ground.” I warned, only to be met with more laughter.

“You are out of time, False Queen. Ash Nevra is on her way, and you will be the one who burns when she arrives.”

My grip on my blades tightened. Cerenah had been right. This whole plan had turned into a huge mess. I glanced behind me at the door, hopefully I had given the free slaves enough of a head start. I needed to go back to the suite and collect my team, then we were going to have to switch to plan B. I would tear The Gauntlet apart brick by brick if I had to, then we were getting the fuck out of this Origin-forsaken city.

Powering up a quasar, I launched the burning blast of energy into the swarming crowd of Vespara’s before darting out of the dining hall through the line of colonnades that framed the view of the city.

Glancing over my shoulder, I saw the crowd split. Half swarmed after me, attempting to climb the exterior of the palace walls as I shot like a dark streak to where I thought our suite was. The other half of the crowd went through the hallways.

Windows and colonnades whipped past me as I flew. I glanced into each one until I came to find our suite, just as Jeremy and Rycon entered the room.

Where had they been? Where was Cerenah?

I launched myself through the window, landing in the center of the living room with both blades drawn. Rycon and Jeremy immediately tensed, drawing their guns.

“What’s happening?” Jeremy asked, his tone urgent.

“I’m guessing dinner didn’t go well.” Rycon growled. I shook my head.

“Clearly not. We’re switching to plan B.” I announced, and Rycon nodded.

“Finally.” He growled, immediately understanding what I was implying.

“We find Kasha and get out of here tonight. Ash Nevra is on her way. Where is Cerenah?” I asked, and my blood turned to ice at the confused looks on their faces.

“She was here when I left.” Jeremy said, frowning.

“I could smell her in the hallways on the way here, I figured that was just from earlier.” Rycon took a deep inhale and snarled. “She’s not here, she left.”

“We need to find her, now!” I snapped. “We don’t have much time, Vespara-” I was cut off immediately as the door to the suite flew open and clones began to pour in through the door. At the same time, several clones crawled in through the large window behind me.

“What the fuck!” Rycon shouted, turning, and immediately firing a spray of bullets into the relentless onslaught of clones coming in through the door, while I picked off the few that had managed to come in through the window.

“Killing them doesn’t work!” I shouted over my shoulder. “They just fucking multiply! We have to find The Original!”

Both Jeremy and Rycon backed into me, firing another spray into the oncoming crowd, despite my warning.

“Why do I feel like we’ll find The Original wherever Cerenah is?” Rycon snarled, and I nodded in agreement.

“Can you sniff her out?” Jeremy asked, his voice tight as he shot another Vespara in the head, only for the clone to split in two before my eyes. Rycon nodded.

“Yeah, follow me. Try to keep up.” He said, before holstering his gun and exploding into his panther form. He tore through the crowd that blocked the door, claws and teeth tearing through the clones as if they were made of nothing more than paper.

“Go, Dad! I’ll cover you from behind!” I exclaimed, and we followed Rycon through the bloody path he had carved for us.

Raven

The swarm of grabbing hands was relentless. It was almost impossible to keep the pathway clear without injuring one of the copies, which seemed to immediately trigger a duplication. The entire hallway was packed with squirming bodies and screaming faces. Fingernails tore at my face and hair as I continued to push forward, trying not to lose sight of Rycon.