"Untie me, Angelo!" I shouted. "Angelo! Fuck!"
The second blast hit harder than the first. The floor pitched beneath us, wood groaning like it might split apart. Screams carried from the outside. Shots began firing, as boots thundered down around the area.
Somewhere in the distance, Lucien's cry pierced through it all. Thin, sharp and terrified.
"Lucien!" I shouted, yanking against the cuffs until the skin on my wrist burned. Panic roared in my chest, drowning out everything else. "Fucking hell, untie me right now! Lucien needs me!"
Angelo spun toward me, torn between running to the far hall and looking back at me. His jaw clenched, his hands twitching at his sides. For once, I saw him not as the commander of an army, not as Rayna's husband, but as the man who once loved me.
Rayna's voice cut sharp through the chaos from the doorway. "They've found us! She's the first thing he'll reach for. Leave her, or we're all dead."
