Jacob sagged as his grandfather went limp in his seat. And yet still the others took turns stabbing him until finally they came to their senses and backed away, the daggers falling to the ground with a clatter that echoed in the chamber.
Slowly, they descended from the dais and pulled back their hoods, revealing faces now splattered in gore. Jacob’s stomach heaved. He managed to stay on his feet, but only with the aid of the hands that grasped his arms, keeping him aloft.
One by one the council members took a knee before him and bowed their heads. And then his own guards followed suit.
The sentinels followed, pulling back their hoods to reveal their faces to him. To his horror, they were familiar. Demetrius and Stefan Shepherd. This was what Demetrius had meant when he’d pledged his support. And now Jacob was as beholden to them as they were to him.
Last to kneel was Allison, her face beaming with pride as she lifted her gaze to his.
“The Illuminati council and your Faithful servants bow to you, Jacob Stone,” she said. When he could no longer stand the shock that shook him to his bones, Jacob dropped to his knees among them. But Allison grasped his hands in hers and brought him back to his feet. “Arise and take our place on the dais, One True Master of the Illuminati.”
Taking slow, shaky steps, Jacob allowed her and the others to lead him to the dais. His grandfather’s body lay in a heap where someone had shoved it from the now vacant chair. And Jacob was too shell-shocked to resist when they seated him there. The arms of the chair were warm and wet beneath his palms.
Bemused, Jacob lifted a trembling hand to find it covered in blood.
“What have you done?” he murmured, still staring at the carnage, unsure whether the question was for Allison or for him. “What haveIdone? It wasn’t supposed to be like this.”
“I have secured your position as One True Master,” Allison said, strolling along the length of the dais, her finger skimming across the surface of the table, leaving a long, crimson line as she smeared his grandfather’s blood across the marble. “Now you will receive the respect and admiration you deserve. And soon the entire world will be at your feet.”
He closed his eyes briefly, his chest going tight as the weight of the path he’d set them on fully pressed down upon him. His mouth was dry, his throat tight when he finally spoke. “What was in the note, Allison?”
She smiled, a disturbingly sinister gleam in her eyes. “I explained that the sentinels awaited my command to slit their throats if they sided against you.”
“And what was the question?” he asked, no longer certain of his wife’s sanity.
Allison bent forward from behind the chair and whispered in his ear. “‘Do you want to live?’”
“What now?” he asked, all feeling and emotion draining away as his entire body went numb.
“Now, my love,” she whispered in his ear, “you lead the world to enlightenment.”
