#Chapter 116: Without An Heir

Cara’s POV I’m in my pajamas, nearly ready to climb under the covers, when I hear the knocking. I freeze, relaxing only marginally when I hear my two protectors go to the door. One last loud thud against the door makes me jump. Moving out of my bedroom, I step into the hallway as the front door is opened. “What the hell is that?” Noel asks. “It’s a note,” Alaric says. “Macabre, isn’t it? Is that blood?” Noel asks. A moment passes, where my heart thunders so loudly that I hear it in my ears. I inch closer to the stairs. From here, I can see down into the foyer, where Alaric stands near the open door. There’s a red-stained note in his hands. A dagger is buried in the face of the door. Alaric touches one of the red splotches on the note and then brings it to his nose. “It’s paint,” he says. “They are just trying to scare us.” “They’re doing an okay job of it,” Noel says. “What’s the note actually say?” Alaric looks at it. He must be reading it, but he doesn’t say al