Page 126 of Lethal Attraction

Thalia.

My everything.

Something irreparable inside of me snaps, and I let out a howl of pain in the center of the train—forever undone by Thalia Kingsley.

Chapter thirty-seven

Thalia

War

The neutral point is mapped somewhere a few hundred miles from our family’s compound. We’re still in Ohio, or at least on the state line. The barren opening we stand in is utterly calm with tall grass that sways and tickles my knees. The fresh air and wind circle my lungs, but it isn’t as calming as it should be. Not when the surrounding dense forest is about to become a battleground. Blood will spill, and this will all be over before the sun has fully set.

Yet all I can think about is the man I left behind.

What did he look like? Was he upset? Angry? Will he ever forgive me for what I’ve done?

Rowan straightens at the head of the group, and Bailey does the same as the others take their stances across from us. Faces we know and should know blend together into a mass. Our grandfather and Brooks are at the head of the group, their faces set like stone.

Brooks.

The whole fucking reason behind this. The reason I had to let go of the one person who I felt understood me outside of my own family. The reason I’m going to fucking end him and enjoy every second of it.

For Reed.

A woman with auburn hair and square glasses makes her way to the center of the clearing. Alana Meets her halfway, shaking hands with the Western branch’s intel expert.

“We’ll monitor the grounds and track everyone’s progress from the base camp.” The woman says.

“If anyone makes it outside of the battlegrounds, you’re eliminated immediately. Each person has a wire that’s directly tapped to their team.” Alana continues.

“May the best branch win.”

My best friend tilts her head. “Funny,” she says, loud enough for both sides to hear. “I thought we stopped pretending this was a competition.”

A ripple moves through the crowd. Across the clearing, Brooks’s jaw tightens.

Good.

Let him be uncomfortable.

Because for once, there’s nothing for him to hide behind. No one he can swindle and sweet-talk. Just us and the fate that he’s brought on himself.

The auburn-haired woman clears her throat and adjusts the tablet in her hands. “The battle begins in sixty seconds. Once the signal sounds, the grounds are active.”

A digital timer appears on the screen of her device. It begins the countdown, and the whole clearing goes silent. Even the wind seems to die down as my pulse slams in my ears.

56.

55.

54.

I glance at Rowan out of the corner of my eye. He doesn’t look over, but his fist tightens into a clear sign. Be ready.

Beside me, Bailey rolls her shoulders.

The rest of our team spreads out instinctively, each person already calculating routes through the forest. Logan, Addison’s brother, is scanning beyond the opposite team, noting where the fight will end up. Ford, the Northwestern leader, narrows his eyes on the horizon, sizing up each member.