Phuran stormed out of the cellar against the instinct that urged him to kill Alluvendran and deal with the demonologist, but the adept’s words had struck the right chord. If he was still down in the workshop, he couldn’t have taken out the outside guards. At the same time, with his collar gone, he and the demon-worshiping woman had something to do with the attack, no doubts about that. Yet the queen’s safety was the most important task, even if Alluvendran had played that card to ensure his own survival, and Phuran ran through the empty corridors of the mansion’s ground floor. Shadows danced on the floor and walls, with the few lamps bringing them to life and revealing the struggle that took place. Without stopping to search for the assassins, he rushed up the steps.
He’d left the queen w
