Collectively we turned; Gabriel, Reese, and Theo stepped in front of their mates on instinct.
“That was a great distraction you made,” Saskia drawled, lips curving sinisterly. “Too bad it’s not going to save you.”
“Saskia,” Theo said sternly, no fear in his voice. “It’s over.”
“Oh, you think it’s over?” Her voice rose as she talked. “That’s so…cute.”
The lights flickered on slowly, illuminating the half-destroyed room in front of us. I sent a silent thanks to Sloane and braced myself for Saskia. She stood in front of us, holding a small sphere in her hands.
“What is that?” Gabriel asked.
“This?” She lifted the ball and her eyebrows raised, almost innocently. “I had it developed by a couple of people who owed me a favor. It’s a silver gas bomb.”
She stepped forward, crossing her ankles as she strolled inches ahead.
“When my finger pulls this pin, this entire house will fill up with silver and wolfsbane in seconds. It’s funny that you think this is over.”
To The Next
“Saskia, I need you to think about this,” Theo warned, holding his hand out, cautioning her. We knew the moment she pulled the pin, we would be dead in a matter of seconds.
“Theodore, you aren’t in control here.”
“Saskia, if you let this off right now, you and Albia are going to die, too,” Reese pointed out, uncharacteristically serious.
“You honestly think I care about that? That little bitch is too weak to even think for herself. She wouldn’t’ve lasted a day with Reed.” She shook her head.
“You knew Reed?” Theo asked. I knew he was stalling for something; I didn’t know what, but I figured we needed to keep her talking.
“Knew him? He loved me,” she said smiling. She looked happy for once, but it was short-lived. “I told him I despised humans, how else was I going to get him to kill the Enforcer’s mate?”
“You were behind the attack?” I asked, already knowing the answer.
“Did you think Reed was smart enough to plan all of that on his own? I mean, he is diabolical-that idea of hanging the girl in your tree was all his idea. He messed everything up, though, wanted to make it something personal with Theodore for getting the Enforcer position over him.”
She played with the pin in her bomb, clanking the metals against each other.
“The original plan was to start with Margo and work my way down although, I must admit, Reed’s mistakes sure made for a more…dramatic ending, wouldn’t you say?” Her words were mischievous, but her voice held a tone of absolute control.
None of us moved.
“You know, Eli and Verona escaped, you can’t kill all of us,” Pilar said, voice wavering.
“And them living in a world where they know they left their family to be murdered is enough revenge for me.” She moved closer towards us.
“Saskia, this has nothing to do with us,” Theo told her, stepping forward. She took a step back and put her finger in the pin for good measure. “What our father did is on him. If you want to get revenge, then get revenge on us, but leave our mates out of this.”
“You’re sweet,” she told him, nothing teasing in her voice. “You all want to protect your mates, and I think that’s really noble of you. But I know what it’s like to live in a world without your mate; I’m really just putting them out of their misery early.”
“We can all walk out of this room right now.” Theo stepped further. We all heard the click as she pulled the pin to its taut end; the next move she made would detonate the device.
“Yeah? And do what? We can all live happily ever after? You know the second I put this bomb down, you either kill me or throw me in a jail cell to rot.”
“That’s not true,” Gabriel stepped forward.
“No? Then what’s going to happen?”
“We can figure it out together if you just hand Theo the bomb,” Gabriel smiled nervously.
Reese put his arm out and pushed us backward, Saskia didn’t notice, she was too busy paying attention to Theo and Gabriel.
“Margo, get out of here,” Theo told me through our mind-link.
“No, I’m not leaving.”
“This isn’t time to play around, you need to get yourself out of here. Take Olympia and Pilar with you. Grab my mother if you can, but get yourself out of here safely.”
“Theo, I told you, wherever you go, I go. I’m not leaving.”
“Margo,” he nearly shouted.
“Theo, I love you.”
There was silence.
“I love you so much.”
“This is all very touching." Saskia smirked. “But, my patience is running thin, and I’m getting bored with this.”
“Saskia, this is the last thing you do before you die. Is this really what you want your last moments to be?”
“You don’t get to choose how you die,” she growled. “Alexei and Malachi didn’t get to choose how they died.”
“Alexei and Malachi? That’s your brother and mate?” Theo asked gently.
“Don’t say their names. You don’t get to say their names.”
“Is this what they would want you to do?”
“I think it is.” Her eyes with sadness
“I hope you’re happy with the way things end then.”
She paused at Theo’s words and slipped her finger out of the pin. She closed her eyes for two seconds, whispering a soft but notable, “I’ll see you soon.”
I closed my eyes at the same time and sent Theo one last, “I love you.”
He didn’t get to answer. I opened my eyes again. I wanted him to be the last thing I saw.
I didn’t get to join my parents, though.
Before Saskia’s finger could even enter the pin, a heap of blonde hair flashed behind her, lifted something over her head, and brought it down violently on Saskia’s arm.
An ax cut through Saskia like a marshmallow, just below her elbow. Her vocal cords must have burst with the scream she let out.
As her severed arm hit the ground, Saskia
