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“Stay still. I don’t want to hurt you,” Alex’s brother hisses, his breath hot against my ear.
Tears sting my eyes, but I push them back. The knife at my throat is a reminder of how quickly things can turn deadly.
I’m cornered, the cold metal a whisper against my skin, promising pain. Damien’s muscles bunch as he throws punches, each hit a muted thud in the heavy air of the chamber.
“Ever!” Alistair’s bellow echoes through the chaos. He barrels into the room, Ben and Charlie flanking him like avenging angels clad in ripped and bloodied clothes. They’re a storm of fury and violence, their arrival a sudden wind that shifts the tide.
A fist connects with my captor’s jaw, and it’s Ben’s precise strike that sends him reeling. Charlie launches into the fray with a silent intensity as he disarms one attacker with a swift, practised move.
Alistair roars, his frame a battering ram as he shoves through bodies to reach me. His knuckles are bloody, his hair dishevelled, but his eyes burn with unquenchable fire.
I stumble back against the wall as Alex’s brother lets me go, gasping for air. He fixes me with a glare that screams an apology that confuses me and makes me think I read it all wrong.
He ducks and weaves to escape through the tunnels after Crystal. The sounds of bones cracking and grunts of exertion fill the space as blood and guts and bodies hit the cold marble with grim efficiency.
“Shit, Ever, what were you thinking?” Alistair grabs my shoulders, his grip tight enough to hurt me.
“Crystal,” I spit out, the name tasting like venom on my tongue, still furious with her two-faced betrayal, the fucking cunt. “She came through the tunnels. I wasn’t safe anyway!”
He swears a dark curse that vibrates in the tense air. His gaze meets mine, and it’s then that I see the depth of fear that had gripped him. We stand in the wreckage of the fight, surrounded by the fallen enemy and the harsh reality that nowhere is safe.
He doesn’t argue but pulls me close, his arms wrapping around me like steel. I let myself shake, let myself cling to his strength for just a moment, because when your world turns violent, sometimes you need to borrow another’s invincibility to find your own.
When he lets me go, I assess him critically. He is torn and bloodied, and so are the rest of them. Ben leans against the wall, chest heaving, while Charlie wipes a streak of blood from his cheek.
“Crystal,” Alistair grits out. “She claims to be the leader of this faction?”
“Yeah. It was fucking weird. She said their faction was the one who brought my family down. But you said it was new.”
Ben straightens up. “The faction that Stanley was recruiting for is new.”
“So, a faction within a faction,” I mutter. “Fan-fucking-tastic.”
Alistair snorts. “That’s how sects work, angel. But if that bitch thinks she can threaten us, threaten you, then she is seriously fucking deluded.” His tone is deadly calm, but his blue eyes are like ice.
“That’s what I said!” I exclaim.
“This has turned into a shitshow. Why now? Why all of a fucking sudden?” Ben spits out.
“Because of Ever.”
Charlie snorts, shaking his head. “We’ll show her what happens when she messes with the Cardinals.”
“What else did she tell you?” Damien moves closer, his voice low and dangerous. He’s like a shadow given form, his presence both comforting and intimidating.
“That was it.” I shrug, wishing I hadn’t been so blindsided so I could’ve asked more questions.
Their faces darken, the implications clear. If Crystal has infiltrated our inner circle, then the game has changed. This has turned into a much larger, much more dangerous game.
“You need to tell me right now, why the fuck I’m so special,” I snarl. “No more secrets.”
There’s a solemn nod from each of the Cardinals, a silent vow made in blood and shadows. We stand in the aftermath of violence, united by a threat that binds us tighter than anything else ever could. It’s not just about survival anymore; it’s about war, and I need to know what the fuck is going on.
“You’re not just a girl we’ve been sworn to protect, Ever. You’re the entire reason we exist,” Alistair says slowly, blowing out a breath. “In a few weeks’ time, you will be coronated asour queen; you will lead the sect and pass on your legacy to our children.”
Unblinking, I stare at him. “Huh?”
14
