Sean relays, "Every council member. Every Omni."
"So they're all involved?" Fiona asks in shock.
Brax affirms, "Yes. Everyone is on board with their plans."
Kirill growls, "I'll kill every one of them."
Sean warns, "There's more layers of security we haven't cracked. We don't know their plans for the rest of us. We just know we're all on the execution list when they get from us what they want."
Deafening silence fills the room.
Fiona asserts, "We're not letting them near Valentina."
Brax keeps one arm locked around me, as if he can shield me from shadows, pixels, and ghosts.
My entire life flashes before me. It's all been a lie, built on the belief that gaining my seat in the Underworld would give me power. I thought it would allow me to step into a position to work with the Omni to ensure the evil my uncle Salvatore inflicted upon my parents and other members never happened again.
How wrong could I have been?
River shifts again. His tiny fingers fist the fabric of my shirt.
They will never have my children.
I draw a steadying breath and lift my chin. "Tell me what the plan is."
Brax's eyes darken with a vow. "We burn the Underworld to ash."
"How?" I question.
We all stare at each other.
Sean rubs his face, pacing in front of the windows. Zara holds Willow, rocking gently, her expression a storm barely held together.
Fiona presses closer to Kirill. "This isn't like busting into a ritual."
Zara nods. "We need a plan that dismantles every pillar at once. Otherwise, they regroup and retaliate."
A knot tightens deep in my chest.
Sean slows his pacing and levels a grim stare. "The Underworld has too many secrets. They all need to go."
Fiona squeezes Kirill's fingers, but her voice is steady. "There are thousands of people in the membership. They're parents. They don't know what the Omni planned. They hide their fear behind masks."
"That doesn't make them innocent," Sean counters.
"It doesn't make them targets either," I snap, unable to stop the sharp edge in my tone. "If the Omni and the Royal Council engineered all of this, then go after them. But the membership doesn't have the power. They don't all deserve to die and leave their children orphans."
"We can't trust any of them," Sean insists.
Kirill interjects, low and cold. "Fiona and Valentina are right. You scorch from the top down."
My stomach twists, but I stay quiet.
Fiona asks, "What about all their backups? Their shadows? Their enforcers? If we kill leadership, the middle tier will scramble for power."
Kirill's expression darkens. "There will be mass chaos. Every branch will start eating its own. Then we will see who we take out next."
Brax's jaw ticks. "That will take years."
