I didn't know what I was doing anymore.
Which was a problem. Because my mind—normally a finely tuned, coldly efficient, terrifyingly reliable instrument—had stopped being any of those things. It was fogged. Blurred. Like someone had swapped it with a second-hand processor running on spite and bad dreams.
I needed to think.
I needed to focus.
I needed to stop the resurgence of the Vampire Monarch.
That was my duty. My reason. The anchor to everything I'd built. And right now, it was the only thing that felt real.
I ignored Luna's voice rattling around inside my skull. Whatever she was saying, it didn't matter. Not now. Her usual chaotic wisdom could wait. Or vanish.
Two guards from the Southern Sea Sun Palace stood before the door I needed to pass through. Both White-rankers. Strong by normal standards, but right now I didn't have the patience to care about normal standards.
One of them stepped forward, doing his best impression of authority. "This place is off—"
