Leroy looked at Lorraine, and despite the fire raging around them, he smiled.
He had been fighting his way through the emperor's men on the road when the unease struck him. It wasn't a thought. It wasn't logic. It was her. Something deep inside him twisted, a pull that whispered she was in danger. He didn't question it. He never did when it came to her.
Breaking the formation of trained imperial soldiers had been near impossible, but he found a way, carving his path through blood and smoke. He knew this mansion better than any of the emperor's men. He had memorized every passage, every hidden route, every drawing of the tunnels beneath their home. And all that knowledge, every instinct in him, led him to one place… her bedchamber.
The moment he entered, the heat nearly blinded him. Flames devoured the silks, the walls, the ceiling and yet all he saw was her dress, the one she had worn that morning, lying in flames on the floor. His heart stopped, until he saw it.
