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The air around us crackles with anticipation, and I can feel my heart racing in my chest.
It isn’t long before the semifinals start. With so many fights going at one time, it didn’t take long for the rookie competitors to be eliminated. Now the fights really begin. I watch the countdown clock. Match five is the time to strike.
But when match five arrives, the blood in my veins turns to ice.
It’s Irena’s match. She’s standing in the sole ring that dominates the arena now. Her eyes flicker up to mine. She was right. I’m going to betray them, and she knew it. Because I learned one more thing that the Kings had been keeping from me.
Irena is the one who told the Kings how to unlock my abilities. She’s complicit.
She’s a seer. Which is why I’ve been keeping my brother’s cell phone on me as much as possible. Here’s hoping that it helps prevent her from reading my intentions. Irena enters the ring, but something isn’t right. Her opponent is staring at the ref like he doesn’t belong.
Shit.
A sinking feeling settles in my stomach. This is it. Now or never.
“What are you doing?” Drystan tries to stop me as I make a break for the balcony, his hand reaching out toward me. “Sit down. We don’t need you drawing attention to yourself. Not with Jedidiah already being so suspicious. That isn’t part of the plan.”
This isn’t. It never was. But then again, they never planned on telling me about the real plan. The one that ends with me just as dead as Jedidiah. The betrayal stabs me to the core, even now. Especially since the three of them are looking at me as if I mean something. As if I matter.
But I don’t.
“The plan,” I mock with a cruel laugh as the doors to the Elysium burst open. The echo of the crowds screaming surrounds me, burns me. This isn’t how I wanted things to end, but they gave me no choice. Instead, I focus on the man in front of me. “Your plan would have me six feet under.”
Asher and Weylen share a surprised look. Like they can’t believe I figured out their precious plan. Drystan’s jaw clenches, and he looks at me askance.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he hisses, his gaze darting toward the chaos farther down in the arena. My brother’s men are here. The exact distraction I need to get out of here.
I only have one thing left to do.
“Don’t treat me like I’m dumb.” I rip the amulet from my neck, gripping it tightly in my hand. It’s ice cold, the metal burning against my flesh. This is exactly what I want to feel. Pain. “I heard you talking in your office. You planned on using me to kill Jedidiah, knowing full well it would kill me too.”
“Little—”
“Lamb?” I scoff. “Not a soft little lamb. But a sacrificial lamb. Isn’t that right?”
None of them move to deny it.
“We weren’t going to go through with it, Thalia,” Weylen whispers. “We changed our minds. You changed our minds. We never expected to gain feelings for you. To get to know you. Thalia, you are everything to us.”
“Please, your lies don’t work on me anymore. I won’t let myself be a pawn in your twisted game any longer,” I declare. Summoning all my inner strength and determination, I pour every ounce of energy into one final act of rebellion. A resounding crack echoes through the air as I break the icy amulet.
“Thalia, don’t.” Asher’s voice is frantic as he rushes toward me, panic etched across every line of his face. His eyes are wide with fear and urgency. But Drystan holds him back, his grip firm and determined. “You can’t just destroy magic like that without consequences,” he warns me, his tone grave. The air around us feels charged, crackling with energy that threatens to erupt at any moment. I can sense the weight of responsibility on my shoulders, the burden of a powerful decision that could have far-reaching consequences. But in this moment, all I can think about is the raw power in my hands, begging to be unleashed.
“Don’t listen to them.” Darkness slithers inside my mind, taunting me. “You can be free. Simply finish the job. I can give you everything you ever wanted.”
A cold, bitter laugh, one I don’t recognize, rises from the depths of my soul. “It can’t possibly be any worse than the twisted fate you had for me.” The sound reverberates through my body, a haunting reminder of what they had planned for me. But now, as I stand tall and defiant in front of them, I feel a sense of empowerment coursing through me. No longer will I be a victim to anyone’s schemes and plots. I am in control of my own destiny now. From this moment on, I will write my own story and leave behind everything and everyone that has kept me from my destiny.
With a final, resounding snap, the ancient amulet in my grasp crumbles into pieces, unleashing an explosion of raw, untamed magic that I can never hope to contain. The force of it knocks me back and I struggle to stay on my feet as the ground trembles beneath me. But even as I feel the consequences of my reckless actions, I cannot tear my eyes away from the stunned faces of the Kings before me. They underestimated me, thinking me weak and powerless, but now they see the true extent of my strength. And yet, as their expressions shift from smug superiority to startled fear, I can't help but wonder if this display of power was truly worth the cost.
Chapter 38
Irena
Several Moments Earlier:
Anticipation crackles in the surrounding air, pulsing like an electric current that sends jolts of awareness through my body. The moment of betrayal draws near. I can sense it with every fiber of my being. My heart pounds in my chest as I watch the clock count down, each second ticking away until the inevitable happens.
Suddenly, a rough voice breaks through my thoughts, pulling me back to reality. I turn to see Romeo, one of my brother’s most trusted men, standing in the doorway of my changing room. I’ve been alone for hours, waiting for my match to begin. As one of the highest-ranked vampires in this tournament, I was automatically placed in the semi-finals—an unfair advantage, but one I won’t complain about. This match isn’t about winning, it’s about what comes next.
