Lightning wreathed around Lucy's arms as she tore through the palace corridor, boots skidding hard on polished stone.
"Lock this place down!" she screamed, voice cracking off the walls, echoing through every archway she passed. "Nobody in or out until I say otherwise! I want every exit sealed, now!"
Guards scrambled into motion behind her, boots pounding stone, comm chatter exploding across every channel at once, orders barked and half finished as the palace's security protocol kicked into gear all around her.
She rounded a corner hard enough to nearly take a servant off her feet.
"Where's the Lieutenant!" she shouted, grabbing the nearest guard by the shoulder. "Hendricks. Where did he go!"
"He, ah—" The guard's eyes went wide, scrambling to catch up with the urgency in her voice. "He said he was heading toward the eastern landing platform, my lady, not long ago, said he wanted to check on his transport before departure—"
