She’ll do what I tell her, Meiling assured, confidence pouring into him.
He believed in Meiling. He didn’t believe in Etienne’s daughter. Kang was an asshole and he had wanted to take his frustrations out on someone. If Cosette was the woman in his room, she was going to be a mess.
They waited for the break in the patrolling of the guards, and both crouching low, they went up and over the fence, clearing the height easily. Neither could be detected by the shifters with their enhanced sense of smell due to the spray and the pills ingested. This product was not offered on the market to just anyone. It was only because Rene had a very special relationship with Charisse Mercier that Charisse allowed Rene to even know of its existence.
The two of them went right up the stairs to the front entrance. They didn’t have to wait long. The soldiers were leaving to go home, and new soldiers were arriving to take over. They walked right in with the new guards. It was a matter of staying to the shadows and willing those around not to see them. It took intense concentration, but it could be done.
Once inside, Gedeon took the left corridor that led to the Russian lairs. Meiling went right. Stay connected to me. Meiling didn’t respond, but he didn’t expect her to. He moved fast, utilizing Slayer’s stealth as he bypassed the first two abrupt turns that would take him to the sections that would lead to the other lairs. He wanted to start with the leader farthest out—Ilari Morozov.
Morozov’s luxury apartments were located all the way at the very back of the palace. His soldiers and their families had homes directly behind the palace. It made sense that they stayed close to him to protect him. Soldiers patrolled the hallway leading to the corner directly before the corridor to Morozov’s double dragon doors. Just like the front doors, those dragons were red and black with scales blazing gold.
Two guards stood on either side of the doors, and they didn’t look as if they intended to go anywhere soon. That could be a problem. The soldiers didn’t come all the way to the apartment, but rather stayed on the other side of the corner. That still made it risky to take out the guards. The chances of discovery before he and Meiling were finished with killing all of the justices and were clear of the palace doubled. Still, he had no choice.
Meiling, we may have to change up our plans. They have guards on the doors.
I’m already on my way back to you.
That was his partner. Already one step ahead. Gedeon moved along the wall, part of it, keeping his energy low so it couldn’t be felt by the shifters. As he approached the guard on the left, he could tell the shifter’s leopard was leery. The guard grew restless to the point that he broke his position and walked down the corridor to the corner to peer down it for a moment. His partner joined him. They held a brief discussion, giving him just enough time to slide into the apartment, not through the large double doors that would tempt anyone to enter but would also trigger alarms throughout the palace. He entered through the slim door hidden in the panel behind the guard’s position, which was used by the Russian for his own private entrance.
Gedeon hurried through the sets of spacious rooms toward the very back of the apartment, where Slayer indicated Ilari Morozov was. The Russian was still in his immaculate suit, although he wore no shoes and paced up and down in front of a long basin. The basin took up most of one wall, which was constructed out of ceramic. Morozov paused every now and then and would throw his hands at the wall. Gedeon could see the wall had charred spots that appeared to be old. There were no new ones and hadn’t been for some time.
“It seems you’ve lost your ability to throw fire,” Gedeon said. “That’s such a shame. Do the others know?”
Morozov spun around, his eyes wild, shock on his face. “How did you get in here? Who are you?”
Gedeon had been across the room when he spoke. Now in one single leap he was in front of Morozov. “I’m the boy you missed when you had my family murdered. Just as you missed Meiling when you had her family murdered. I hunted them down one by one and killed them. Tonight, all of you will die.” He didn’t wait. He used Slayer’s speed and was on the older Russian, snapping his neck and dropping him onto the floor, grateful he didn’t have time to do the things he would have liked to—things that would have reinforced that these people had shaped him into a monster.