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He closes his eyes, needing a moment to find his composure before looking back down at me. “I will make it fast,” he promises as I feel the tip of the blade so subtly resting against the center of my chest.
I tremble, and with his other hand, he reaches up and grasps mine, threading our fingers and squeezing tight just as he promised he would. I feel the slightest pressure against my chest, the tip of the dagger drawing the smallest bead of blood, and I whimper, my heart racing faster than ever.
Then just as Easton said, I feel the adrenaline start to pour through my veins, and when Zade kisses me one last time, a silent goodbye on his lips, I know my time is up.
He meets my fearful stare and as I gaze into his eyes, I see the exact moment that scared little boy disappears, and I’m met with the ruthless new leader of Empire. The sharp pinch of the dagger lifts off my chest and as Zade’s muscles flex, ready to plunge the dagger deep into my chest, I let out a blood-curdling scream.
He moves like lightning, the dagger hurtling toward me, only he flicks his wrist, releasing the hilt and sending the dagger flying across the tomb, the sharp blade sinking deep into Hartley’s chest, committing one of the greatest betrayals Empire will ever know.
Cara screams, and as if on cue, the sacred tomb turns into a fucking war zone as Zade officially forfeits his claim to leadership, leaving it wide open to the likes of Matthias Quinn.
Zade presses his hand beside my waist on the altar and launches right over it, taking a protective stance in front of me as the sound of Hartley choking on his own blood fills the tomb, and before he’s even fully situated in front of me, The Circle members are already on him, coming at him with the type of skill you only see in movies.
Zade does a good job of putting distance between them and me, and I don’t miss the way that Cara drops to her knee and scrambles through the tomb, terrified of being slaughtered right along with Hartley.
My eyes widen, barely able to comprehend what the hell is happening, watching as Zade snaps the neck of Ira Abrahms, and with a lethal blow, sends his lifeless body spiraling toward the roaring fire.
A hand grips my wrist, and I let out a scream, thrashing against my chains, but when I look up, I find Cara furiously trying to release me. That’s when I see them.
Sawyer, Easton, and Dalton storm the tomb, but they don’t come from the stairs above. They’re racing from one of the dark tunnels that lead deeper underground, but that doesn’t make sense. How? Unless they’ve been here this whole damn time. This was their plan all along.
“Hurry,” I panic, these brief moments possibly being the only ones we have to save ourselves because, let’s face it, if anyone in this tomb survives, Cara will be executed right along with us.
The boys quickly rush into battle, The Circle members definitely more skilled than the pathetic army my father amassed, but the boys quickly start to gain the upper hand, and The Circle members begin to fall before my very eyes.
Cara finally frees my right wrist, and just as she races for my ankles with trembling hands, Sawyer’s booming roar fills the tomb. “CARA. GET DOWN.”
She squeals, quickly dropping just as a cloaked member rushes toward her back, the dagger from Hartley’s chest now clutched in his palm. He doesn’t get another step as Sawyer launches a knife clear across the tomb, the blade sinking straight through his skull, the hilt sticking out between his eyes.
The Circle member drops to the ground behind Cara, and she squeals again, not quite as used to witnessing this level of brutal murder that I’m starting to become accustomed to. “Cara,” I call, pulling on my binds, both my ankles still tied down. “You can book a therapy session the second we get home, as for now, help me the fuck out of these chains.”
The battle rages on around us as Cara finally scrambles back to her feet and starts working the chains around my ankles, and I reach over to my other wrist, desperately trying to release myself.
When I finally have my wrist free, I sit up to reach my other ankle, but a blazing force slams into my chest and knocks me back to the altar. A burning sensation quickly spreads through me, and my gaze snaps down in terror, seeing a gold, diamond-encrusted dagger protruding from my chest.
“OAKLEY!” Cara screams as the pain becomes dizzying.
The terror in her tone has all the boys glancing my way, but the moment of distraction costs each of them dearly as Dalton takes a knife below his ribs and Sawyer is thrust toward the fire. Easton’s pained grunt fills the tomb, but all I can focus on is the warm trail of blood seeping from my chest and pooling beneath me.
