House of Kings(40)

“And there’s no human blood here,” Anna says as she surveys the deadly scene. “We’d smell it. Alivia, I think they took Allaway’s feeders and, considering everything this army is, we have to assume they turned them.”

“Shit,” I breathe. My hands go to my hips and I turn in a circle, surveying our surroundings, searching for spying eyes.

“I think you need to get back to the House and make some phone calls, Alivia.”

Anna and I whip around, the both of us instantly producing weapons.

But it’s Danny we turn to find. He surveys the mass murder scene. And the look on his face says that he knows this is horrific, but he also doesn’t look scared or shocked. “You two get back. I’ll clean up the evidence. Can’t have people seein’ this.”

“You sure you can handle it?” Anna asks.

“Yeah,” he says as he steps forward. He grabs an arm, and then a leg, and throws them in the middle of the road to begin a pile. He takes a lighter from his pocket and lights some unidentifiable item of clothing.

“Thank you,” I say, swallowing the bile in my throat. “I really appreciate this.”

He grunts in acknowledgement and throws one of the heads into the flames.

Anna and I walk back through the front doors just moments later. “Rath?” I say loudly into the dark house.

A few moments later, he walks out from the direction of the kitchen. “Yes, Alivia.”

“There’s been a horrible attack,” I say, pacing in the foyer. “The House of Allaway…”

“Someone slaughtered them on their way out of town last night,” Anna fills in when I can’t make the words form.

Markov walks down the hall toward us, his hands in his pockets, a look of great concern on his face. “Who?”

“Whoever was making the attacks on Jasmine,” I say. My mind is reeling. There are so many implications over this. So much to be figured out. “They’re making a new move.”

“They killed over half the Allaway House,” Anna says.

And just as she finishes speaking, the phone on the table in the foyer rings. Everyone falls deadly silent. It’s me who takes the first step toward it.

“Hello?” I ask as I raise it to my ear. Were I still human, my hands might have shaken.

“Is this Alivia?” A terrified, angry, shaking voice asks from the other line.

“Yes,” I say, my heart racing. “Charles?”

“Yes, it’s Charles!” he bellows, his voice barely understandable as it shakes with rage. “Can you explain to me what happened last night? We leave your House and are almost immediately attacked by a hoard of Bitten!”

“You’re sure they were Bitten?” I ask as Anna, Rath, and Markov tighten around me, listening in.

“Of course I’m sure!” he hisses. “The yellow eyes are quite unmistakable. They came at us with an army and those glowing red irons. They…” his voice wavers. “They slaughtered our people and all we could do was run.”

“How many of them were there?” Anna asks. She doesn’t have to speak any louder for Charles to hear her.

“At least fifty of them. Maybe more,” he says. He’s begun to calm, his tone confused and hoarse. “They ambushed us. Took us completely unsuspecting.”

“Where are you now?” I ask. “Are you safe?”

“The rest of us ran as fast as we could,” Charles says, the fear he must have experienced creeping back into his tone. “We got to our vehicles outside of town and drove the rest of the day. We’re at a hotel in Virginia right now.”

I nod, looking around to those around me. “Good. Keep going. Don’t look back. I don’t think they’ll come after you again. It’s us here they want.”

“You’d better get your shit straight, Lady Conrath,” he spits my name. “Your region is a bloody disaster and a shame to our kind. And now, my sister is dead because of you!”

The line goes dead.

I hold the phone away from my ear, just staring at it for a long time.

“It’s an official declaration,” Anna says. Slowly, I turn to face her. “Remember how we talked about a Civil War coming? This is the first battle.”

“You have to stop this,” Markov says, his expression growing dark. “As leader and regent, it is your job.”

I nod, fighting off the overwhelmed feeling trying to claw its way up my throat. I take one deep breath. Two.

“Okay,” I say, gathering myself. An eerily calm manner takes me over. I remember that I am a leader. I remind myself that I am a Royal. “Anna, I want you to go to the Institute and gather the others. Bring them here and I’ll give orders.”