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Unshed tears linger in my eyes as my gaze settles on a stone block with chains in all four corners, and without a word of confirmation, I know this is where it will happen. My wrists and ankles will be bound to these chains, and it’s there that my life will end.
“Hey,” Zade says, stepping into me, wrapping his arms around me, and forcing my stare away. “Just be here with me.”
I look up into his eyes, needing the world to fade around us like it usually does when he peers into my eyes. Usually, it’s as though he can see right through to my soul, but right now, it’s impossible. I can’t block it out, and all that’s left is fear.
“How much longer?” I ask him.
“The Circle members should start arriving soon. They will each take their place, and at exactly the hour before dawn, the ritual will start.”
“How long until that?”
“Less than forty minutes.”
I whimper, my knees buckling beneath me as I fall into Zade’s strong arms. “Shit,” I tremble, my forehead falling against his chest as his hands slowly roam up and down my back, trying to keep me calm. “Remember to bury me somewhere nice. Maybe by the water or in a tulip field. Somewhere the boys can come visit me in private. I don’t want some shallow unmarked grave,” I say, my tone shaky as the tears really start to fall, a huge lump forming in my throat as the desperation claims me. “And don’t let any of those assholes touch me afterward. Just you, okay? Don’t leave me here alone. I don’t care what the bylaws state. I can’t be left here to rot.”
“I got you, Lamb,” he murmurs, his hand curling around the back of my neck and holding me still. “You’re safe with me.”
“And cover me up, okay?” I whisper, needing to lower my voice to physically get the words out. “I know the boys are going to want to see me, to say goodbye, but I don’t want them seeing me like that . . . without a heart.”
“I’ll brush your hair,” Cara says from her position across the tomb, standing in front of her pillar, a black cloak draped over her shoulders. Tears fall from her eyes as her tone wavers, desperately trying to hold it together. “Before the boys see you, I’ll make sure you look breathtaking, and maybe,” she pauses, swallowing hard, “maybe Zade could help me put you into a nice dress. Nothing white like this. Something that truly represents who you are.”
“Okay,” I say shakily. “Yeah, I’d like that.”
Cara nods, furiously wiping the tears on her cheeks when we hear the tomb door open, the heavy stone scraping against the ground. “This is it,” Zade tells me. “Now they’re starting to arrive, I have to bind you to the altar of sacrifice, and once I do, you will not be permitted to speak. I won’t leave your side, Lamb, I swear. I’ll be right here the whole time.”
I swallow hard, and with that, he drops his hand to my lower back and leads me across the tomb before helping me up onto the sacrificial altar. He helps to lay me down, his touch on my body more gentle than he’s ever been since coming into my life.
He takes my wrist and pulls it up above my head, gently binding it to the stone before walking around my other side and repeating the process. I don’t take my eyes off him, and I know he feels me shaking, the fear truly crippling me. My ankles are bound next, and as I hear someone on the stairs, the eerie echo of footsteps fills the tomb, and my blood runs cold.
Zade strategically positions himself in front of me, keeping as much of my body hidden behind his large frame as possible, knowing damn well that we can’t trust a soul within The Circle. He stands with his hands behind his back, his fingers touching my waist, and to anyone walking down those stairs and looking on, they’d never know how he was honoring his promise to stay with me this whole time.
The first Circle member appears at the bottom of the stairs, and he takes a quick look around, his gaze sailing over me with curiosity. Taking a black cloak, he silently moves across the tomb before positioning himself in front of a pillar.
Hartley Scott is the next to appear, and judging by the scowl on his face, it’s clear that he had no intention for us to make it this far, and now, there’s not a damn thing he can do.
Silent tears stream down my face as every last member makes themselves known, and once the circle is finally complete, they stand in silence, patiently waiting for the precise moment to get the ritual underway.
