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Opal locks her arms around me and drags me to my feet. Her need to save me and to get me away distracts her from the fact that Alexander dodges past her. He growls and punches his fist into her back, making her scream.
Opal’s hold loosens on me, and I catch myself in a crouch. I back up only to hit another pair of legs. I tip my head back and stare at an unfamiliar man, one with neatly brushed hair styled with a side part wearing a tie with a ruby-studded pin on the front of the silky black fabric. He growls at me, warning me to stay in my place. The quiet of the room cools my blood. I lick my lips, my whole body trembling. Shifting, I peer around. My heart slides into my stomach. There are more vampires in the room than there were before. Who are all of these guys?
Alexander clears his throat. “Dear sister. I had a feeling you’d go against not only our coven but the entire La Vega Leadership. You are guilty of treason and attempted relaying information to our enemy territories. The word of your alliance proves it.”
Opal hisses, only to scream as Alexander squeezes her heart in her chest. Her mouth opens and closes. She can’t utter anything more than a cry, and her eyes dart to mine. She mouths that she’s sorry, and I tense.
“Your crimes will be punished by death and all of your assets will be inherited by our coven,” Alexander says, his voice booming through the room. “As for those of you plotting to stand against the leadership, you will bow before us and swear your loyalty. If you do not, you will not only be withdrawn from the lottery, but you will not make it from this room alive. We will not stand by and watch you destroy the city we worked decades to bring together. Do you understand? This lottery is a gift, and you will not try to take it for granted.”
I intake a sharp breath.
“This was a fucking setup!” a man hollers, rushing toward the stage.
One of the unfamiliar vampires materializes in front of him and severs his head before he makes it within a foot of the stage.
“Say goodbye, dear sister. May you burn in the depths of Hell.” Alexander’s voice yanks my attention back to him.
Opal’s eyes widen, her gaze never breaking from mine. Flashing her fangs, she screams until Alexander rips her heart from her body and smooshes it within his fingers. He drops Opal to the stage floor and chucks her heart away, sending it splattering on the floor. I clutch my chest, my heart seizing. I can’t breathe. I can’t think. All I can do is stare with burning eyes at Opal’s dead body. At the ring of powerful vampires surrounding us.
Wiping his hands on his jacket, Alexander grins at me, his wicked smile stabbing me through my very soul. “Shall we take an intermission and get things cleaned up?” Alexander asks the crowd as if they’ll dare respond. He claps his hands and winks at me. “Lovely. Finish entering your names in the lottery. The show must go on.”
