Burning Your Lies (King and Queen Duet #2)

34

Savannah

The chilly air barely touches my skin. I stand on the cliff’s edge with silent tears running down my face. Ahead of me, the streets of London stretch into the unknown, and I yearn to disappear within their depths. The mournful howls of the trees behind me resonate with my heavy heart, showing the sadness I long to release.

I haven’t seen Huxley since our fight. When I returned home, covered in Mia’s blood, I imagined him asking me a million questions, but I was met with emptiness. I guess he meant it when he said he wanted no part in this game anymore.

The past two days have been filled with Mia’s and Jordan’s screams. And when my pleas for them to stop are met, I suffocate on the silence. There’s no winning.

But I have to win, especially after I lost so much. Their deaths can’t be in vain. Xavier has to pay the consequences.

Xavier wasn’t the one that killed Jordan.

I open my eyes and take a deep breath. There’s no time to grieve. There’s no time to stop playing. Three players are out, so I need a new game plan. But I need something first.

The leaves behind me crunch as they stop behind me.

“What took you so long?”

“I’m good at many things, but hiking isn’t one of them. Is there a reason we’re meeting here instead of in our usual place?”

“He’s going to be watching a lot closer now. This only works if he doesn’t know about you.”

I take a deep breath and give a voice to my new reality.

“It’s just you and me.”

“What happened to the others?”

“Huxley quit. Xavier forced Mia and Jordan out of the game.”

“Savannah.”

A step closer.

“What does that mean?”

I hear the worry in their voice “It means they are dead and we move to Plan B. Are you still in?”

A grin is audible in the single affirming word. “Always.”

I nod.

“Did you get what I wanted?”

There’s a flash of red in the corner of my eye.

Brynn smiles at me.

“When have I ever let you down?”

For the first time in two days, relief floods me. But when I reach for the envelope, she holds it hostage.

“Give it to me.”

“Are you sure this is the path you want to go down?”

I stare at her with my brow arched.

“Don’t tell me you’ve fallen in love with him.”

She rolls her eyes.

“I’m a high-functioning sociopath, remember? I’m not wired to fall in love with anybody.”

I snatch the envelope from her.

“Then why do you care?”

Her warning brings a chill down my spine in a way the weather can’t.

“There is no coming back from this. It’s why it was our backup plan. Doing it this way will mean you will burn with him. Are you sure you’re ready for those consequences?”

“I have nothing left to lose. He has taken enough. You can’t run from men like him. The only option is to knock them down. I was too na?ve to do it then. I’m not anymore.”

“One of the first things Huxley told me about you was how determined and strong you are. He said you were a force to be reckoned with.”

Brynn moves so she is blocking the view ahead.

“But the woman standing before me is a broken mess.”

My lip quivers and I let her see my tears.

“I killed Jordan,”

I whisper.

“I’m the reason so many people have died. I could have stopped him by giving him what he wants.”

Her blue eyes are a blend of ice and fiery disgust. She grabs my jaw with too much force.

“This is war. Soldiers die at war. I will not fight alongside such an unworthy ally. Get your head back in the game.”

She exudes the determination that is slipping away from me.

The remnants of Mia and Jordan’s screams fill me again.

“I can’t see or hear anything but them.”

She lets go of me.

“It’s a good thing I’m your eyes and ears inside that house, then. But you cannot lose sight of the prize. What is the prize, Savannah?”

I clench the envelope tight.

“For him to burn.”