Page 57 of Maddie

Rav peered down at his dead wife, then fell to his knees beside her with a sob. “I know he’s your son, and I know you wouldn’t want me to kill him. But for this, he has to die.” He ran his hand over her hair and pressed his lips to Imogen’s.

He then stood and grabbed a heart vase from a shelf on the wall and threw it against the floor, shattering it to pieces. Maddie clenched her jaw, remembering everything he’d done, not just to her but so many innocents, turning them without their consent.

She remembered what he and Imogen had both done.

Rav’s cheeks reddened as he ripped paintings from the wall, snapping them in half and throwing them across the room. He drew closer and closer to Maddie. She quietly fished out her gun, knowing she wouldn’t miss his heart, even though the entire castle would hear the fateful shot.

As he stepped in front of the chess piece statue, one of the guards from earlier crashed into the room. “My king, the prince has escaped.”

Rav whirled around. Maddie couldn’t see his face, but she could hear every vicious word in his voice. “What kind of guards are you if everyone keeps escaping? First, the girl and Knave, then Mouse. Now you allowed Chess to murder Imogen before fleeing himself!” Rav shot forward and buried his teeth in the guard’s throat, shredding it until the spinal cord split in half.

Dropping the guard, Rav straightened and wiped the blood from his lips and chin as he looked at his queen. “I suppose everyone will have to die since we can trust no one.”

Maddie swallowed deeply while Rav stormed down the hall, seeming to prepare himself for a killing spree. Screams echoed, loud and shrill, and faded. This was it. Her opportunity. She dashed for the door and peered down the hallway where Rav had left. Bloodied bodies littered the area—crimson stained the walls. Slowly opening the door, she slipped out into the cool breeze and ran out into the night.

Maddie hoped Noah had made it home with Mouse because if Chess escaped the palace already, she didn’t know what he would do next. But as she ran through the rose gardens, passing the marble gazebos, and entered the outskirts of the city, she didn’t see a sign of Chess anywhere.

Still, she had a sinking feeling that the prince was somewhere out there lurking, watching her.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Noah

In all his life, Noah never thought he would slide out of a palace tunnel and land in a damn rose bush. All that lingered of his wounds now were dried blood and a dull ache in his hip. His heart hadn’t stopped racing since he and Mouse had run from the queen’s gardens. He was sure guards would catch up to them at any moment, yet no one chased them through the streets of Scarlet. Someone had to have seen them running from the garden…

Noah rapped on the door using the rhythm Maddie had taught him. It immediately swung open as if Ferris had been standing there with his hand on the knob.Thank fuck.

Shoving Mouse over the threshold, straight into Ferris’s chest, he slipped inside behind her and slammed the door shut. They were either safe or they had led the enemy to their doorstep. He slunk along the wall, tuning into his vampire hearing to see if he could pick up on anything suspicious outside. The only thing audible was muffled chatter and laughter.

“Ferris!” Mouse shouted. Noah turned around just in time to watch her leap into his arms.

For the first time since he met the vampire, Ferris’s face softened into a smile as he caught her. “Good to see you again, luv.”

“You did it,” Alice said, rushing from her room, straight for Noah. He stepped forward and pulled her to him. “I was so worried.”

“I told you I’d be fine.” And he’d never been more relieved to be right. When he’d told her that lie, he wasn’t sure of anything at all. Neither he nor Maddie had voiced it, but he knew she felt the same. He stepped away from Alice and looked around the safe house. The most important person was missing. “Maddie…?”

“She’s not back yet,” Ferris answered in a low voice.

Her part had been easier than his. Keep an eye on the queen—that was all she’d had to do after they tied her up. Unless the alarm he’d set off while rescuing Mouse had blared through the entire palace, sending guards to warn Imogen. He swallowed hard. Maddie wasn’t back yet. She wasn’t fuckingback. He couldn’t wait another minute. Mouse and Alice were safe. He had to go back, had to—

Someone pounded on the door, making him jerk Alice behind him for protection. It took a moment to recognize the secret knock. Ferris must’ve realized it sooner than Noah did, because he cracked the door enough to let a body slip through.Maddie. A weight lifted from his chest to see her alive and in one piece, despite her rumpled clothes and mussed hair. Then he noticed something that made his breath catch when she dropped the hat box on the floor.Blood.Slick crimson covered the tips of her fingers all the way up to her elbows, saturating the arm warmers. More splotches were on her face. “What—”

“Maddie!” Mouse cried and brushed past Noah to get to her sister. Maddie flung her arms out wide to welcome Mouse into her embrace.

Noah dragged in a harsh breath. He didn’t want to ruin their long-awaited reunion, but he needed to ask. “What happened? Are you hurt?”

Maddie looked up at him from over Mouse’s shoulder. Her expression was tight as she shook her head. “It’s not mine.”

“It smells like the queen,” Mouse whispered.

“What did you do?” Ferris asked in a serious voice that made Noah’s heart beat even faster. Why would the thought of Imogen bleeding put Ferris so on edge?

“She’s dead.” Maddie eased away from Mouse and took her hand, leading her sister to sit on the settee. “I don’t know what happened precisely. I planned on leaving her knocked out but then something came over me.”

Ferris ran a hand down his face. “What did you do with the body?”

“Oh, they know she’s dead,” Maddie clarified. “They just don’t know I did it.”

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