I’m done with the deception.

I let them see my empty, empty eyes. Killer’s eyes.

In the distance, I hear a muffled sound. The ground shivers then resettles.

I am chaos. I am the undoing of man. And all the world will fall to my feet.

That’s what this feels like. That’s what everything since my awakening feels like. And today it ends.

Chapter 56

Serenity

I see the first stirrings of unease. The representatives didn’t really think it was going to be that easy did they?

How do you take down the West? You gather all thirteen representatives together. How do you gather thirteen representatives together?

You make them believe they’ve won.

More vibrations follow the first.

“I’ve been a thorn in a lot of men’s sides quite a while,” I say. “You know the problem with my existence? I’ve always been just useful enough to keep alive.”

Ronaldo stands. “Guards—”

“Your time is over.” I speak over him. “Those pretty walls of yours are coming down.”

“Seize her!”

I smile viciously as the adrenaline begins to move through me.

High above us, the glass dome explodes. That’s my cue that the clock’s begun. Heinrich is going to blow this place up, and if I don’t escape in the next fifteen minutes, I’ll get blown up along with it.

The representatives and guards shield their heads as shards of glass rain down on us. From beyond the opening, the king’s soldiers begin to rappel down.

I use the distraction to unholster the gun.

And then I fire.

I go for the armed guards nearest me first. The gunshots echo throughout the room as my aim moves from one temple to the next. Troy doesn’t even have time to react before my bullet lodges itself in his temple, his blood splattering against the bench directly in front of Ronaldo.

The traitorous former advisor now stares at the blood in shock. His eyes move from it to me. The barrel of my gun is trained on his forehead.

He was a marked man the moment he turned on the king.

I pull the trigger.

Ronaldo’s head whips back as my bullet catches him between the eyes. His body collapses half-on, half-off his chair.

Outside, distant gunshots echo my own.

The Western soldiers around me are now recovering, but even as they reach for their weapons, the king’s men are dropping to the ground and firing at the enemy soldiers and representatives.

Collins takes a bullet to the gut, as does the medical examiner. Alan’s body seems to dance as he’s pumped full of bullets.

Many of the other WUN commanders duck behind their desks. What big men they are now that they can’t control their enemies.

I round the bench, gun aimed. It’s like fish in a barrel; the representatives are all lined up, some of them reaching for weapons they’ve stashed near their seats.

I shoot Gregory and Jeremy in the head, the two men responsible for human trafficking and concentration camps, and they die where they stand.

At the end of the row, Styx stands, gun in hand, a dark look on his face as he stares out at the room.

I train my gun on his forehead. This is a kill I’m going to enjoy.

As if sensing my attention, he turns.

And smiles.

A split second later a large body rams into my backside, tackling me to the ground. I grunt as the soldier pins me down.

“Drop your weapon,” the man on top of me says.

When I don’t immediately comply, he grabs my hand and slams it repeatedly into the ground until I release the gun.

Styx heads down the bench, shooting soldiers as he moves. I see the king’s men go down.

“Get up!” Styx shouts to some of the representatives he passes, kicking one as he goes.

A couple of the men do shakily stand. A few others remain crouched.

Amongst the madness, Styx levels his gaze on me.

He lifts his gun, the barrel focused somewhere between my chest and that of the guard pinning me down.

Styx and I stare at each other, and I can tell he’s having an internal debate about what to do with me.

Before he comes to a decision, I hear the familiar clank of heavy metal right outside the doors.

I close my eyes and breathe out. Saved by a freaking grena—

BOOM!

The blast unbalances my captor and he releases my wrists to stabilize himself.

This might be the only opening I’ll get.

I reach for my discarded gun. My fingers lock on the cold metal, and I point it at the guard’s face. He only has time to widen his eyes before I pull the trigger.

His blood splatters down on me, his body collapsing on mine.

I grunt as I force his dead weight off of me. Styx slips between fighting men, heading for a side exit.

He’s getting away!

I can’t let that happen. All thirteen men must be either captured or killed, otherwise, today will have been for nothing.

I’ve barely gotten my feet under me when I stare down another gun.

Tito, Montes’s traitorous former advisor, trains his weapon on my chest. Sweat dips down his ruddy face. His hand trembles just the slightest.

“You better aim for the head,” I say, rising slowly. “You don’t want me coming back.”

But it’s not my head that gets blown away.

One moment Tito’s bulgy eyes are glaring at me. The next, they’re gone, along with a good portion of his face.

I follow the bullet’s trajectory back to its owner.

My knees almost give out.