st sacrifice was for love.

hame. I, Annabel Chadwick, last of a bloodline he could never comprehend, repaid a debt. He had saved my life once, a simple act of

ng heart of Scott & Associa

ng a spark of my power, drained me to the core. It left me in a coma

he would protect me, protect our childre

l

. He respected it. He honored my sacrifice. But the old man was retired

alousy was as old as their families' rivalry, had insulted me. She called me a "charity case," a "freak." Ethan, in a rare

I didn't know it then, but her shad

, I w

, handsome and familiar, but with a col

, you' re

, devoid of the wa

ered, my throat raw. "I

laying on his lips. "It' s their first birthda

a nursery filled with laughter, but to a black town car waiting outside. We drove for what felt

of wet earth and secrets. Inside, the opulence was suffocated by dust and neglect. A crowd of New York' s elite, faces I recogniz

gh-backed chair as if on a

rested on the back of her chair,

od ran

s this? Where a

ty fell away completely. His face was a

g to play a g

e shattering glass. "A part

knew the game. Deception,

ne of them are yours. The others are... props. You are the 'Vigilante.' Each round, you must identify and protect one of yo

etting the h

t one of your children, they will be ritually sacrificed. Their pelts will ma

e end of the game," he said with a final, cru

year. My power, the Nahualtse that connected me to them, was a faint, dying ember. I couldn'

eaming down my face. "They are your c

ered something in his ear. His f

th venom. "You tricked me, you witch. You and my

r, a man in a tuxedo. "Let

ed girl in a simple white dress drew a card and her eyes went wide wi

ing smile. "How ironic. We don' t nee

ittle girl. She flinche

scrambling to my f

irl and snapped her neck. The sound was sickeningly loud in

, a collective, h

to me, his face de

isper. "The game begins. It' s your turn