Page 146 of Fallen Empire

It was short, one sharp note that cut through the air and lodged in my chest. The kind of sound you make when you know it’s over. Your last chance to be heard. Whoever it was, Aleksei hadn’t planned to drag it out. He had just ended them.

The room felt colder.

Every hair on my body rose, my skin drawn tight with the kind of fear that wasn’t rational. It was primal, bone-deep, the kind that whispered—you’re next. Whoever was out there had been nothing more than a detour, a quick stop before he came back to finish me. And staring at the body crumpled in front of me, I knew exactly how my story would end if I didn’t move.

I could play chess with Aleksei all day, as long as he’d let me. But the second he threw her through those doors, I knew the truth. He was a man who didn’t give second chances. A man who didn’t see people, only pieces to be sacrificed.

Power was the only currency he valued, and he would burn the board, the pieces, and everyone watching just to take the reins. Life meant nothing to him. Not hers. Not mine. Not anyone’s standing in his way.

Regardless of how much I wanted to believe the intercom gave me some kind of power over him, the truth was I was still trapped in a concrete box, and the only way out was if someone allowed me to leave.

Then, as if my thoughts had willed it into existence, metal scraped against metal, a harsh, grating slide that echoed off the concrete, and the door swung open.

I stayed frozen on the floor, every muscle locked. Footsteps followed—slow, deliberate—each one heavier than the last until a shadow stretched across the room.

Aleksei.

He tilted his head.

I raised an eyebrow in response. I refused to let him see my fear. Refused to let him think I was afraid of him.

"I can see why the two of you like each other so much. You’re both too fucking stubborn."

I’d already told him I had no clue who the fuck she was, but I guess the man was delusional as well as a sociopath.

"I already told you. I don’t know her. You’re wasting your time."

I rolled my eyes and looked away, not giving a single shit about anything else he had to say.

Until the next words took the breath straight out of me and locked my lungs.

"Not her. Your little friend that came to visit.Sweet Savannah."

My head snapped up. His hand was already rising, a blade clutched tight.

Blood. Wet and thick, dripping from the edge.

He lifted it higher, the blade trembling with crimson. Then, without breaking eye contact, his tongue slid over the edge in one slow, deliberate stroke.

Savannah’s blood on his tongue. My best friend’s blood.

And just like before, the bile surged, and I couldn’t stop it. It tore free from my throat, burning its way up until it splattered the concrete.

My body shook with the force of it.

Aleksei didn’t move. Didn’t flinch.

He just stood there and laughed, low and cruel, the sound curling around me like smoke I couldn’t escape.

I didn’t realize he was standing over me until pain ripped through my scalp, patches of hair tearing free in his fist as he yanked me to my feet.

The same blade that carried Savannah’s blood pressed to my throat.

I didn’t care.

He had already taken my soulmate. Let him take me next.

Better one long, clean gash than whatever slow, cruel death the woman on the floor had suffered.