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But tonight is another matter. It’s about survival, and I need to bluff my way out of this.

Staring him down under my glare, I can see him shift on his feet because he’s getting uncomfortable. Good. Twisting my hand at my side, no one notices the blue magic coming from my hand as Jax’s hands fly to his head, trembling and scratching at his widening eyes.

“Do you feel that, Jax?” I croon. “You’re now blind. Continue like this, and I’ll sew your mouth shut and take away your ability to hear. Imagine life without senses? I think that’s a fate worse than death. But you can’t confirm that, can you? Because you can’t talk or hear me. Total. Sensory. Deprivation.” Turning to face the rest of the families, I see them watching our every move. Good. Relaxing the spell on Jax, I don’t let him go just yet as I tell him, “We’re being picked off like animals, and while I’m trying to protect us, you dare to come into my home looking for safety and have a go at my sister. You accuse me of treachery and question my leadership. Apologize, now. Consider that your one and only warning.”

Fear is written all over Jax’s face as he apologizes and tries to make himself as small as possible and remain out of my path of wrath. Adding as much venom as I can into my voice, I turn to address the families in the room. “It would benefit you to work with me, not against me. I’ve fortified this home with a protection spell, so you’re safe here. Each empire will do the same, and when their people are safe, they’re coming here to figure out a plan to end this. Are there questions?”

I’m met with silence as the Sorcerers look at me with their stony faces, and I’m getting fed up. “Amelia, Reece, and Remi. Please show Jax to a private quarter and lock him in there, since I can’t trust him around you while I’m away. When that’s done, show the rest of the families to their rooms for the night.”

As I leave the room, I remind Remi under my breath as I pass her she can’t miss anything again, and based on the tense set of her shoulders, I can see she gets it.

When a lockdown happens, the family's house that we meet at is picked at random to keep it neutral, according to Dad's notes. Except, no one knows I altered the selection process to showcase it should be our house. I need everyone to be here.

The doorbell rings for the last time this evening, and I try to ignore the anxiety crawling up my chest again. I’ve been so good at managing it recently, but tonight, it's getting harder. There is so much at risk.

Opening the front door, I see Eric and Edie Rhodes at the front of the pack as I usher them into my home with the other Supernaturals close behind them. They don’t even question that I’m answering the door. I show them to the fanciest dining room we have, a different one to where I just had dinner. This one, I specifically prepared for the sit down.

“Please, feel free to help yourself to refreshments, and if there is something you want that you can’t see, let me know. I’m happy to have it brought in. I want you to be comfortable in my home.”

Jude puts her umbrella in the stand by the door as she joins the Druid Empire, led by her father and mother, Eric and Edie Rhodes. The Undead only have Luca De Greer as she hangs her rain jacket on the coat stand. She and I have that in common. But, despite Sebastian’s warning that she was falling apart with her mom’s disappearance, tonight, she looks poised, elegant. Ready to run her family's empire. She and I have so many things in common, especially tonight. It seems Luca doesn’t trust anyone else either, or she just doesn’t know she should. And the group is completed by Alyssa and David Vance for the Rogue Empire, but their sons, Sebastian and Clark, are nowhere to be seen.

Eric starts complaining about something, I’m not really listening because I can let him have this small moment where he thinks he’s in power. Predictable really because I counted on it. It’s what helps me get to my seat at the table, an important part of what needs to happen next. Checking the time, I know I have to start soon, but Sebastian is late, which is unlike him. Just as I’m finishing that thought, he strides into the room with water droplets running down his face and draws a gun in a fast move that’s almost impossible to track.

Aiming it at his mother's head, she has no time to react. He pulls the trigger.

The explosion echoes throughout the room as Alyssa Vance’s body collapses to the dining room table, life having left her body and blank eyes staring unseeing at the frozen, gaping faces around the room.

“That was for Kyla.”

Chapter 24 | Good Luck Babe

Dominic

No one screams; it’s not our style. We’re surrounded by death too frequently to be shocked by it. Death is just another life event for us. But with Alyssa’s still warm body as a reminder, they go on the defense from the threat that just walked in the front door. Seeing the gold of Eric’s eyes flash, it signals his shift is about to start, and when I see Luca’s fangs come out, it’s my turn to step in, knowing I only have a few seconds before things get ugly. Raising my hands high in the air, the blue-colored magic leaves my hands as it weaves around everyone, forcing them back into their chairs and holding their bodies in place with only their heads and jaws free. It's a complex spell, but I’ve prepared for it.

We just need them to listen. If only they knew how much worse it’s going to get.

Checking on Sebastian from the corner of my eye while I finish my spell, I see my usually compassionate friend has adopted his ruthless killer persona for the evening. If evil incarnate had a human form, it would have been Alyssa Vance. That bitch deserved what was coming to her. Sebastianand I are united in our goal tonight of doing what needs to be done so we can survive.

When I asked Sebastian to come to my office to talk about my plans for the Children of Christ religious group, I don’t know what prompted him to let me in on the plan. There was no way he could have known what I was up to with the twins and their spell work. It was a risk on his part because it could have gone the other way. I could have told the other families.

When he told me about the plan, and highlighted that no one could know, he had to repeat it a few times so I understood the severity of what we were about to do. If someone found out before we were ready, it would be over before it even started. We needed to play each of our parts perfectly, and we did. We inserted ourselves into investigations, sometimes even manipulating outcomes, and no one doubted our loyalty.

We planned every detail meticulously from how we would get them into lockdown to which Supernaturals we would murder. Altering the plans, hiding the guns no one was allowed to bring in, and what elements I would lay in the room it all took place so I could strengthen my power took an incredible amount of foresight on our parts. Most of all, we did it without being caught and we left no room for error.

“Let go of the spell, Dominic!” Luca demands, murder written all over her face. Lying to her and Jude was the hardest part, but it was necessary. I ignore her demands. Keeping this many Supernaturals locked into position is no easy feat, but it’s not enough to ask for change; you have to take the opportunities to create it. I wasn’t sold on the idea of excluding them from this, but when I was given proof that Joshua was dealing under the table, that’s when I knew I wanted in on this plan. I don’t know when westopped caring about each other’s well being and prioritizing our empires, but if nothing, tonight is proving this.

The door opens, and Amelia walks into the room with the confidence of someone who belongs there. None of the Supernaturals take her seriously because she’s a human and lower than them in their eyes. The outraged demands grow louder. To get their attention, Amelia puts her fingers in her mouth and whistles shrilly. Addressing her with familiarity, Sebastian says, “Took you long enough.”

All heads whip to Amelia, and at first, we’re met with silence. Probably confusion. Eric is the one who breaks first, and he sneers as he says to Amelia, “You don’t belong here. Get out.” Sebastian whips around and places his gun against Eric’s forehead, who can’t move to defend himself, and Edie lets out a little scream. Especially since Alyssa’s body is still slumped on the table next to them, blood pooling under her head.

Sebastian's dark eyes flash, “You’re next on my shitlist, old man. I have just as many reasons to put a bullet in your skull, so shut up for once in your miserable life and listen. Because your life depends on it.”

Amelia tries to say something, and again she’s cut off. This is why they needed me to put the spell in place. The parents have become arrogant, a shadow of what we once were, and they can’t see what’s right in front of them. This time, it’s David who has something to say, which is unlike him. He doesn’t seem to be bothered by his wife’s untimely death, especially as she used to do all the talking before.

“This is not a matter for humans. Can you please show yourself out, young lady? I don’t care if you’re Dominic’s assistant. I’m not comfortable with you here.” Turning to Sebastian, David gives him a piece of his mind. “Explain yourself for this mess! How dare you murder your mother!” Hejerks his head towards his wife’s dead body as if the brutal murder of his wife was just an inconvenience to him. “We raised you better than this!”

The rage takes Sebastian over as he whips around and steps so close to David that their foreheads are touching. Taking his gun, he points it at his father's head, too. While spit flecks fly from his mouth, the veins on his neck bulge as he shakes with rage, but his hand never wavers.