ARIA POV
The blast knocked me backward into the stone wall.
"Aria!" Lucien's words cut through the smoke and dust. I could hear him running toward me, but my ears were ringing too loud to tell where he was.
I pushed myself up from the ground, tasting blood in my mouth. The emergency meeting room was a mess. Chairs were scattered everywhere, and there was a big hole in the wall where the window used to be.
"Everyone stay calm!" I yelled, even though my voice was shaking. "Is anyone hurt?"
Through the smoke, I could see the other alliance leaders getting to their feet. Queen Seraphina, the vampire queen, was helping Elder Malin up from the floor. Alpha Marcus from the Silvercrest Pack was checking on his Beta. Everyone looked scared and confused.
"What was that?" Mira asked, appearing beside me with dust in her hair. "Was that an attack?"
Before I could answer, another voice spoke from the hole in the wall.
"Not an attack," the voice said. "A message."
