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Kali didn’t respond as she crossed her arms, her frigid glare unwavering as Amaros strode farther into the room.

“But the question is—are you doing what I asked of you?” He tilted his head. “Or doing it in spite of me?”

I tensed at the dangerous threat in his voice. Viggo and Pax picked up on it too. Both wore identical frowns when Amaros put his fingers to his mouth and whistled loudly. The Shadows letout yells of surprise when vampires began pouring in from the front entrance and the usually locked back door. This building was large, but when more than a hundred vampires stormed inside, the space was packed.

“This is a reminder,” Amaros boomed. “Of what will happen if you think you can cross me.”

His vampires attacked, most of them with weapons. Either guns with wooden bullets or needles with hawthorn. Chaos erupted, the Shadows not hesitating to fight back. Though many of them surrounded Kali, making sure vampires couldn’t get to her.

“Do not move,” my father ordered, his eyes cutting to me. “She’s not in danger.”

I clenched my jaw, swallowing thickly. After he fucking entranced me to forbid me from sleeping with Kali, I was walking on eggshells around him. Because now I didn’t know if he’d do it again to keep me in line.

Shots rang out when the vampires began shooting. Shadows dropped as they were hit in the head, and others were falling victim to the hawthorn. While the Shadows were going for the kill, the vampires were only maiming.

“They’re strong.” Amaros moved to stand next to me and the twins. “But untrained.”

Though, they were trained well enough not to attack us Kanes. The Shadows were going for all vampires but leaving us alone. They knew better than to challenge our strength. Amaros’s vampires weren’t touching Kali either, but she couldn’t even fight if she wanted, because the Shadows were keeping her surrounded.

“Enough,” Amaros roared.

The vampires halted, but the majority of the Shadows continued to attack. More than a few vampires were dead on the floor, and the cement was smeared with red and black blood.Amaros strode forward grabbing the closest Shadow by the neck. Shock ripped through me when he plunged his fist into the Shadow’s chest, ripping out his heart.

Kali yelled, trying to push through the bodies that were blocking her. Amaros let the heart fall to the floor with a thud before silence blanketed the room. The tension crackled dangerously when my father stepped toward Kali.

“You all want freedom?” Amaros asked in a lethally soft voice. “To leave this room and do as you please?”

No one uttered a word, all the Shadows glaring with loathing. Kali didn’t move a muscle, her eyes spitting hatred at my father. He let out a laugh that oozed with danger. Viggo appeared beside me, shooting me a sharp look when I took a step toward her. I clenched my teeth, anger tearing through me. Every day we were here, I was getting closer to fucking losing it. My loyalty to my father was fading. There was no denying it anymore.

All I cared about was Kali and making sure she didn’t get wrapped up in this war and end up getting killed.

“To earn that freedom, every single one of you will do as you’re told,” Amaros threatened loudly. “There is no fighting against me.” He glanced at me. “Let’s go.”

Kali strode forward, causing the surrounding Shadows to shift uneasily. Two of them moved to follow her until she shot them a look.

“Damn,” Viggo mumbled under his breath. “Theyobeyher.”

“Yeah, they do,” I replied quietly, knowing our father didn’t miss our words by the smirk on his face as he watched Kali step beside me.

“All of you, get out,” Amaros ordered his vampires. “No more bloodshed tonight.”

“Come on.” I grabbed her hand, not missing the lethal glare she was giving my father.

“And if I want to stay?” she tossed back.

Amaros chuckled. “Not an option. You’ll do as you’re told, just like the Shadows.”

Her grip on my hand tightened, her anger palpable as I pulled her toward the door. My brothers followed behind us, none of us speaking a word while we left the Pen. The four vampires standing outside straightened their spine when I stepped out. Their lingering stares on Kali had me scowling at them until they averted their eyes. The vampires here knew she was a Shadow and important to me, but that was it, which made their curiosity run rampant.

Kali didn’t say a word as we walked down the trail. She attempted to yank out of my hold, but I held fast, wondering how long it would take until her strength rivaled mine. With how fast she was gaining her skills, I knew it wouldn’t be long.

“You two came back empty-handed,” Amaros said, disappointment in his voice. “Where’s her twin?”

“Still in Project Hope,” Viggo drawled before taking a drag of his cigarette. “They have that city locked the fuck down. We haven’t found a way in. To make it happen, we need someone who knows the city.”

“Kali won’t be leaving my property,” Amaros snapped. “Come up with a new plan.”

“Unless you want to storm the city, we’re out of ideas,” Pax spoke up. “And even that has a possibility of failing. They’ve upped their security since they have the girl there.”