Dragon grabbed a heavy beam and dragged it across the hallway. “So much damage in such a short time,” he muttered, his words accompanying the fall of the lumber on the pile of wood that could be salvaged. He wearily eyed the opposite corner where the mound of waste grew higher and higher by the hour.

For three long days, he, Gabriel, and Valentine had worked hard, cleaning the rubble in those few rooms where the walls still stood and the roof hadn’t collapsed. After making sure the staff and guests could take refuge in a safe place, Dragon and the others slowly cleared a path outward, toward the zones that had suffered the most from the fire.

“Here is another of those clockwork mechanisms,” Dragon said, looking at the metal carcass on the floor. The device had been hidden under the beam, but it now lay in the open. Still smoldering, the brown and black box was encased inside a crack cutting one of the marble tiles in two asymmetrical parts. It was the third bomb they had discovered disseminated through the manor.

“I still can’t believe someone from my household would help the terrorists.” With a disgusted sigh, Gabriel opened his hands and let go of the piece of burnt frame he was carrying toward the corner.

After the first moment, when everyone’s energy had been focused on salvaging what little of the house was left intact, life settled into the new normal, and a chilling truth emerged. The devastation of Gabriel’s haven was an inside job.

Valerian and Gage, the House of Martelli’s head guard, appeared at the mouth of the hallway. A thick layer of soot covered their clothes and their exposed skin. Dark circles under their eyes matched the scruffy stubble on their faces. Valerian drunkenly stepped over obstacles as he took a long gulp from a water bag hanging from a leather strap on his shoulder.

“Did you find anything?” Gabriel asked Gage.

One of the few vampires who worked for Celestia’s High Lord, Gage’s tall stature, broody, dark features, and black hair immediately gave him away as one of the undead. He and Valerian made quite the striking pair and looked like vengeful soldiers. Dragon had immediately okayed the idea when Gabriel suggested the two men investigate the attack together.

“Nobody seems to know anything, but three people are missing,” Gage said, scratching his chin.

Dragon wasn’t surprised by the news. In a household as large as Gabriel’s, it was difficult to keep track of people, especially in a situation like the present.

“One is a man, a servant—” Valerian stepped forward. His large body swayed, and he reached to the side to steady himself against the wall. “The other two are girls from the princesses’ retinue.”

“I thought that everyone in our entourage was accounted for.” Dragon groaned loudly and leaned against a piece of truncated column. Like everyone else, he had barely slept or eaten, and the mental strain weighed heavily on him, crushing his spirit more than any physical discomfort.

“Nobody has seen two of Lauren’s lady’s maids since the fire.” Valerian took another gulp before raising the water bag higher up over his mouth and shaking it to catch the last drop. Gage handed him his canteen, which Valerian accepted with a thankful nod.

“And why am I hearing of this only now?” Dragon asked, smashing his hand against the column.

“Because I’ve just discovered it myself and came straight to tell you.” Valerian wiped the canteen’s mouth with the heel of his hand and passed it to Gage. “I thought you’d want to deal with it personally.”

Dragon pushed himself off the column, patting his leather pants and raising a cloud of dust that made him sneeze for the hundredth time that day. He looked at Gabriel, who had lowered himself to the floor. “I’ll find out what’s going on.”

Gabriel nodded before turning to his lieutenant.

Followed closely by Valerian, Dragon strode across the internal garden where gardeners kneeled on the scorched earth, digging for viable roots that had somehow survived the heat. The old guest quarters had opened directly into the green oasis, but they now occupied a small portion of the adjacent porch and were accessible only from the external walkway that started from the garden.

Crispy saplings crunched under Dragon’s boots as he directed his tired legs outside. The scene that welcomed him when he stepped into the new guest quarters made him swear.

Several girls sobbed, talking all at once when they saw him. One of them threw herself at his feet, crying, “I didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Someone lied,” Dragon said, sidestepping the girl and stopping in the middle of the passageway, now filled with makeshift beds. He saw Gilda among the multitude of people crowding the porch and motioned for her to come closer.

The princess acknowledged him before saying something to the lady’s maid she had been talking to. She stepped away from the girl, who lowered her head in a formal curtsey.

At his side, Valerian stiffened. “Gilda immediately called me when she realized two girls were missing,” he said.

“I only want to ask her a few questions,” Dragon reassured his friend.

As the princess moved around people and pieces of furniture, it became evident that she too was in dire need of rest. Her posture was slouched, her dress ruined beyond redemption, and a deep line furrowed the space between her eyes.

Gilda’s mouth was a thin line in a pale face. “I was talking with Lyra about Mirna and Lorina. They are best friends, but until now, I couldn’t locate Lyra and ask her when she saw her friends the last time. She just came back from helping in the kitchens.” She brought her hand to her temple, moving aside a lock of hair that had escaped her unadorned braid.

Valerian stepped toward her when she slightly wavered on her feet, but she gently shook her head and stopped him before he could reach her.

Dragon observed the silent exchange between them and pretended not to notice. “What did the girl say?”

“She was evasive, but it looks like Mirna and Lorina followed Lauren when she stormed out after our argument. A few minutes before the first blast, Lyra caught them here, on the porch, talking to a man, one of Martelli’s household servants, and Lorina made her promise not to say that she had seen them. Then the walls shook, the fires started, and she lost track of the girls.” Gilda crossed her arms under her chest, rocking on her heels.

“Did Lyra see where Lauren was?” Dragon asked.

Gilda nodded. “She said that Lauren was standing several meters away, with her back to them, looking at the sea.”

Dragon followed Gilda’s eyes as she stared in the distance at the blue waters of the Sea of Tranquility, now littered with flotsam. “Does she remember anything else?”

“She stopped talking as soon as she saw you.” Gilda absentmindedly caressed her arms. “She won’t say anything to you or Valerian.”

Dragon sought the lady’s maid among the crowd. The girl’s auburn head bobbed up and down as she hastily turned and ran away.

Valerian was immediately on the girl’s trail, parting the throng as he sprinted after her.

Dragon swore. Instead of getting answers, the more they delved into this mess, the more lies they discovered. His plans to talk to the Academy were being thwarted at every turn, as if the universe wanted to prevent him from being reunited with Jade.