a

ll burning beh

ned there-but with memory. Every breath I took was laced with smoke, gunpowder, and the coppery tang of my

spoken since we es

ar was thick eno

w, the sniper's jaw clenched, the blood from his knuckles dryin

a serpent changing skins. Aemrys drove like the devil owned his soul and wanted it back. And Silas-Silas watched

my father's ring heavy on my finger, his la

ht, they'll com

rong. They

like a mausoleum dressed in velvet. Wrought-iron gates whispered open. Stone li

My heels hit the g

, mahogany floors, oil paintings of long-dead men with hungrier eye

uised as a library. Maps. Guns. Liquor. And in th

d forward a

he did, the

nd the table, like a ritual. I stood at

held a sing

ignature. The words danced and tw

inem. The Pac

Theron said. "It binds the four heirs of th

mention this between ordering my esp

nk he'd die,"

ew he would," K

ers wen

ingers trembling. I

one, five families. No heir shall rule alone unless the Daughter con

tion mean here?" I

actly what you're

ck

them. Or all of us

expect me to just bend

I expect you to survive. And in ou

?" I wh

the only Moretti

e. "And because you're worth more al

spun for

at thei

fire and fists. Silas: charm wrapped

And each one wanted a piece of me-for powe

t made my

pu

tear it u

They'll send death squads. Not just for you. For

alm. The wound still

. His fingers grazed min

said. "You lo

Then looked bac

I agree. Wh

oke. "Ini

owed. "Defin

You'll love it.

her," Kael snapped.

I muttered. "It'

pulled a dagger from a mounted disp

Sign the bottom. After that, your life belongs to us.

d at th

at th

still

id. "But you'l

still

as the softest

d up th

he blade

u

dipped a finger in it. Sign

wed briefly-

the pen. S

ct was

each wing. One week with each of us. No guards

g honeymoon to

by fire,"

I choose no o

en the pact collapses. And w

"Then let's begin. Wh

ked me u

and smoke. He opened a heav

s, and a fireplace crackling low. There were r

one of you is going to

ice wa

. We want to see what you do with th

he door b

stood

Bleeding.

ot br

ye