The lobby of the Hyped was busy as usual. A few more people had arrived and were waiting to be checked in. As I made my way through the crowd, I noticed a refreshment table had been set up in the corner of the room. Might as well make a pit stop. I was only a few steps away when I heard a familiar voice.

“Yeah, I know. We have to inform the queen immediately, before it’s too late. No, we can’t risk that.” I could see a large man in a blue shirt and black pants; he didn’t have a single hair on his head. “Okay. All right. You’re right.”

As I got closer to him and was able to hear his voice more clearly, a realization hit me. It was him! It was the man who had called my dad’s phone. I needed to get a better look at him. I walked past him—not too slow, but not too fast either—and waited until I was a few feet in front of him before I “accidentally” dropped my wallet and pretended not to notice. It worked. He picked up my wallet and I soon felt a tap on my shoulder.

He moved his phone away from his ear and said, “I think you dropped this, miss.”

I turned to him, quickly scribbling a mental note of his overall appearance in my head: long oval face, square jaw, tan skin, thick eyebrows, very muscular. Most importantly, I noticed an odd-looking tattoo on his wrist. It looked like someone wearing a helmet that had a mohawk. I quickly thanked him and walked off. I tried my best to keep my pace steady to avoid looking suspicious.

As soon as there was some distance between us, and it was clear he had no interest in following me, I let out a relieved sigh, only to follow up with a gasp as I recalled what Adrian had said a few hours ago.

I thought I saw a bald man standing there, watching us.

No. No. It couldn’t be. No matter how hard I tried to deny it, it did not erase the fact that this could be the same guy. Had he been following me? I realized the hand that was holding my wallet was shaking. I had to go. I couldn’t stay here.

I tightened my grip to cease the shaking as I turned around and headed through the front doors. I needed to get out of the Hyped. To get away from this strange bald man. There was only one person I needed to see right now: my best friend. She was the only person I could count on for advice. With each step I took toward the Royal Quarters, I felt determination rush through my whole body. Kris would know what to do.

“Kristen, I need you.”