"Then what do we do? We can't just not show up. They'll come after you. After us."
"I know. Which is why we go to the showcase."
"What?"
"We go. We show up. But we don't perform for them. We tell them—I tell them—that I'm choosing you over the inner circle, and then we leave. Together. On our terms."
"They'll destroy you."
"Maybe. Probably. But at least I'll have you. And that's worth more than anything they could take from me."
"Vaughn—"
"I spent years being powerless and afraid. Then I spent more years building power and protection so I'd never be powerless again. But you know what I just realized?"
"What?"
"Real power isn't about being untouchable. It's about having something worth protecting. Someone worth fighting for. And I'd rather fight for you than join men who would see you as property."
Tears stream down her face. "I can't believe you're choosing me."
"I can't believe it took me this long to realize you were the only choice that mattered."
I pull her into my lap and hold her while she cries.
And make my decision.
Six days from now, we'll go to the showcase.
But not to perform.
To burn it all down.
To choose each other over everything else.
To prove that some things—some people—are worth more than power.
And if the Consortium comes after us?
Then we'll deal with it. Together.
Because that's what you do when you love someone.
You choose them.
Even when it costs everything.
Especially when it costs everything.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Eden
The days are dwindling down until the showcase.
Now it’s five days until Vaughn is supposed to walk into that room and prove to the Consortium that he's worthy of their inner circle.
Five days until everything changes, except it's already changed.
