Married at First Sight novel (Serenity and Zachary York)

Rhea chuckled and stood on her toes but only saw an empty hallway. "Did...someone come in just now?"
"What's it to you? Leave!" a guard exclaimed sternly.
Rhea tried to be patient, asking, "Who else came here besides me? Have you guys...seen Lily?"
"Are you deaf? Get the fuck out of here." The man began to chase her away.
Rhea felt somewhat angry and helpless as the guard shoved her backward. More importantly, she was baffled.
'Lily headed toward the stairwell just now, didn't she? Didn't she have to come through here? They couldn't have let her in. The
queen kept her in the dark like I was. She would have told me about it if she wanted Lily to go. Where else could Lily go if she
came to the stairwell?'
Suddenly, the commotion she created attracted the attention of those inside. A deep voice came from the other end of the
hallway, "What's the matter?"
Rick looked stern and upset as he seemingly appeared out of nowhere.
"Sir." One of the guards walked over and whispered something to him.
Rhea saw Rick look over and wanted to approach him, but the guards would not let her. She shouted, "Rick, I have something
important to tell Her Majesty!"
Just as the guards were about to scold her, Rick said, "Let her through."
Immediately after, Rhea ran over and cut to the chase, asking, "Is Her Majesty going through with the experiment now?"
Rick frowned. "What is it that you want to tell the queen?"
"Well." Stumped momentarily, she met Rick's glare and said, "It's about Lily...Has she come through here?"
"Why do you care if she does?" Rick sized her up impatiently. "If you have nothing important to tell the queen, I suggest you
leave immediately. Or else."
Although he did not finish his sentence, Rhea knew what he meant.

"When I was experimenting in the lab, I discovered that Lily wasn't taking her task seriously." Not wanting to be chased away,
Rhea quickly added, "I even saw her come over here, but the guards claimed they didn't see her. She might've snuck in."
"Snuck in?" Finally, Rick's stiff look changed, and he narrowed his eyes slightly. "What do you mean?"
"Well, Lily won't give up so quickly and is as sly as a fox. Since the guards didn't notice her and considering that she knows
kickboxing, could she have found another way to get in?” Rhea studied Rick's expression and then glanced toward the room.
She could only see the closed door from where she stood. She could also hear some noises coming from inside.