I take a deep breath. Trying to keep calm, yet reminding myself that I’m about to do something that will change me forever.
“So,” I say quietly, finally letting my voice sharpen. “The man who tried to hurt me… your husband. He was the original Preacher? The one who started all this?”
This time, I stop and turn to face her. I’m trying to get information out of her without making her suspicious.
Her eyes light up like she’s proud. “Yes, sweetie,” she says, voice soft and gentle. “That was meant to be your initiation. My sacrifice to him.”
Everything in me freezes. My heart slams once, and then my body goes cold.
I taste bile.
Sweat drips down my forehead, dampening my hairline.
“An initiation?” I whisper. “You knew?”
She tilts her head, slipping into her concerned mother's face, a mask she can wear whenever she wants. “I didn’t have a choice,Lily,” she says, lips pursed. “At the time, I wasn’t powerful. I was just… lost.”
Her eyes darken, something feverish behind them. “It wasn’t until I ascended into power that I realized.”
I drag a hand down my face, trying not to shake. Trying not to throw up. Trying not to scream.
“So why are you here now?” My voice cracks. “Why did you try to kill Dad? What have we ever done to you, Mom?”
She tuts. Like I’m being difficult. Like I’m being naive.
“We all have to make sacrifices,” she says simply. “Even of loved ones. For the greater good.” She steps closer, eyes shining. “To cleanse this earth, Lily.”
Her smile widens.
“You’ll understand soon enough. Once you learn the ways. The teachings. You’ll have to make your own sacrifice to take your place, too.”
“Hurting the people I love is a lesson?” I whisper.
She nods, proud of the answer. “Yes,” she says calmly. “A valuable one. It will make you strong. Fierce enough to lead my army.”
My stomach churns. My fingers curl tighter around the weapon hidden under my sweater.
She comes closer. Too close. Her perfume hits me, and I want to gag.
“You need to forget about Drago,” she murmurs, voice like a lullaby. “He is your past.”
I stare at her, my chest rising and falling too fast, too shallow. I have to keep it together for my baby.
“We will find you someone better,” she continues. “Someone who won’t break you like he would.”
Something inside me snaps. I shift my stance slightly, angling my body the way Drago taught me without even realising he’d taught me.
But I’m lining up my shot.
I lift my eyes, letting her see the truth for the first time. “He breaks me open,” I whisper, voice trembling.
Her smile turns smug.
Then I finish it. “You just break me apart.”
Her mouth drops open, and confusion flickers across her face. For one split second… she doesn’t understand. And that’s the only advantage I get.
Because she has two guns. And I have one chance.
