Total pages in book: 116
Estimated words: 106292 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 531(@200wpm)___ 425(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106292 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 531(@200wpm)___ 425(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
“Yes,” I say. “I don’t know much about it. Just that your people gave him my name and all of a sudden, I’m as good as dead. I was happy living my life before any of this.”
“How is this possible?” he questions, barely taking note of a damn word I’m saying. “For Zade to be partaking in this ritual, it must mean—”
“That Lawson DeVil is dead,” a cold voice says from deeper in the cells.
My head whips to the right as I peer into the darkness, my heart racing with fear. I thought we were alone in here, thought it was just us left to rot in Empire’s twisted cells.
Movement catches my attention, and I watch with bated breath as a familiar face steps out of the darkness, moving right up against the bars of his cell. My eyes widen, my heart leaping right out of my chest, remembering the vile plans this man had for me.
Nikolai Thorne stares right back at me, not a hint of regret in his eyes. I’d stupidly come to Empire, seeking answers to the questions his very son refused to give me, when he decided to take it into his own hands to slaughter me. Hell, as much as I want to pulverize Zade, if he hadn’t come when he did, I would have been long gone.
I’ve been so wrapped up in my own fears that I didn’t even give it a second to think there could be others down here. I should have known. I was there when Zade had Sawyer’s father locked up with the intention to face The Circle with a private trial, something Sawyer had referred to as a death sentence.
“Fuck,” my father continues, completely unaware of the way my world has begun folding in on itself. I can’t be locked up with this man. I can’t face him every day with the memories of what he was going to do to me. Though, I suppose it could be worse. It’s not as though he was being violent. He was actually quite a gentleman about it.
My father pushes off the bars and paces the length of his small cell, shaking his head as he clenches his jaw, his hands balling into tight fists. “When?”
“When what?” Nikolai questions, sounding bored of the conversation. “When was Lawson slaughtered like cattle, or when will his son rise in his wake?”
My father grips the bars again, rage burning in his eyes. “Both.”
Nikolai sighs. “Lawson was killed a little over a month ago. Zade made the sacred vows over the flames of his father’s remains, and now—”
“Sixty suns and sixty moons.”
“Wait—what?” I cut in, horror rocking through my body. “Sacred vows over his father’s remains? What the fuck are you talking about? What kind of messed-up, culty bullshit is this?”
Nikolai sends me a sharp glare, and I’m promptly ignored again. “What’s this got anything to do with my daughter?” my father roars, his deep rumble echoing down the long line of cold cells.
“What do you think?” Nikolai questions, his voice like a wicked taunt in the night. “She’s his sacrifice. The innocent life that must be lost.”
My father falls away, shaking his head in horror. “No,” he breathes. “You can’t do that. The Circle can’t do that. She’s my heir, the only real blood heir of Empire. To kill her would be to betray the blood.”
I scoff. “Yeah, well, something tells me that Nikolai doesn’t give a shit about betraying the blood.”
“You watch your mouth, girl,” Nikolai spits. “You don’t know anything about my loyalties or just how far I would go to protect them. It did not please me to hurt you. I do not get off on violence like others within my rank. However, if there were a chance that I could have taken the leadership for myself, nothing would have held me back.”
My father locks his sharp stare back on me. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“The asshole tried to kill me himself, sputtering some shit about if I were to die, Zade wouldn’t be able to complete his ritual, and without any other heir to step up in his place, he’d be able to campaign for power. How do you think the asshole ended up in here?”
My father lets out a barking laugh. “You?” he spits at Nikolai. “You thought my people would have followed you? What a fucking joke.”
“Your people?” Nikolai throws right back at him. “They were never your people. You were never fit to lead. You might have the blood in your veins, but that was never enough. You would have burned Empire to the ground. We had no choice but to get rid of you, for the sake of our people.”
“That’s a load of shit, and you know it,” he spits. “Tell me, just how easily was Lawson DeVil able to manipulate you? The blood never even ran through his veins and yet you were at his beck and call, ready to betray everything our fathers fought for. It’s greedy motherfuckers like you who will burn Empire to the ground. Just look around you, Nikolai. The only blood heirs Empire has left are rotting in cells while those frauds are out there trying to work out how to steal the power for themselves.”