Page 136 of The Endless Want

The head Russian defector—a man named Arkady—steps forward. Thin. Pale. Nervous twitch in his jaw. He bows slightly to us and spreads out a crude map on the table.

“This is not small war,” he says in a heavy accent. “You think we are fractured. But we were never ones in charge. We followed. They commanded.”

Liam drums his fingers once on the edge of the table. “And who exactly is ‘they’?”

Arkady’s eyes flick to me, then back to Liam. “The top tier. The ones who built the ring before we ever joined it. They call themselves Vore. This is… evolution. Cruel evolution.”

I lean forward. “Tell us about their hierarchy.”

Arkady hesitates. The other defectors—three men, one woman—shift uneasily. “They do not rank by age. Or money. Or bloodline. They rank by sacrifice,” he says.

A murmur ripples through the room. Liam says, “Explain.”

Arkady wets his lips. “To rise, you must give something you cannot replace.”

Conor mutters under his breath. “Jesus.”

I keep my voice steady. “What kind of sacrifice are we talking about?”

Arkady looks directly at me then, as if he knows exactly why I’m asking. “Family,” he says simply. “They prove loyalty by destroying the one thing that would pull them back.”

A slow horror rolls through my gut. Mackenzie whispers, “That’s why they wanted Ailish.”

Arkady nods. “Yes. To mark your grief. To weaken Liam. To prove strength. To continue rise.”

My jaw locks so tightly it aches, but I don’t speak. If I do, I’ll tear the table in half.

Liam exhales once through his nose, the kind of breath he takes before killing someone. “All right,” he says. “Then we burn them from the top down. If they’re built on sacrifice, we’ll make sure their losses come first.”

Arkady’s gaze drops. “That is not so simple.”

“It never is,” Liam says.

Arkady gestures to the map. “We thought we were only the first wave. But Vore grows fast. Cells in four cities. Recruitment doubling. Money coming from… somewhere we do not know.”

I say, “You’re telling us this was an introductory attack.”

Arkady meets my eyes again. “Yes. They test borders. They test loyalty. They test fear.”

I swallow the rising fire in my chest. “Then they failed.”

But Arkady shakes his head slowly. “No. They succeeded. You killed many. But they saw what they needed.”

“And what was that?” Liam asks.

Arkady’s voice drops to a whisper, like speaking it too loudly might summon something worse. “That you have something worth taking.”

Silence slams into the room. Liam’s eyes find mine.

I sit back, elbows on my knees, head lowered for one breath before I force myself upright again. Losing control isn’t an option. Not here. Not now. Not when leadership is the only thing that stands between my family and extinction.

Liam takes the lead again. “What do they want now?”

Arkady hesitates. “Everything. Influence. Corridors. Port access. Drugs. Weapons. Women. All of it.”

“And what will they move on first?” Liam presses.

Arkady glances at his fellow defectors, as if hoping one of them will speak instead. None do. He faces me. “They come for your softest point first,” he says.