Page 29 of Princes of Sin
I have to put my hand on my mouth to keep from heaving as my eyes wander over her decimated body.
There’s no blood—just… bits. Of her. Everywhere.
Astern runs over to her and starts crying as she kneels down next to her.
“Oh god, we need to call 999?—”
“She’s gone, Astern,” Max says solemnly.
We all look at Quinn’s lifeless eyes, and as Astern looks up at Max, her cheeks are streaked with mascara.
“No. That’s not—she’s not?—”
“She’s gone,” Alaric says slowly, kneeling down next to her.
“No. Tonight was just training. No one isactuallysupposed to die?—”
“Tonight was your first mission,” Sterling responds. He’s a serious bloke but he seems to really dislike Astern for some reason. And that makes me dislike him. “You failed. The threat was always real, and it’s no one’s fault but your own if someone died on your watch.”
She starts to cry harder, and I see Harlow run a hand over Sterling’s face before murmuring something into his ear. Then, she turns toward Astern before crouching down to her level.
“Astern,” Harlow says gently. “Let’s go. Come on.” Reaching down, she pulls Astern to a standing position.
“I should probably go,” Alex says, looking white as a sheet.
“I don’t think so,” Gideon says, flicking his knife open and holding it out in front of him. “You’ve seen too much now.”
Alex goes pale as he looks over at me and laughs uncomfortably. “I promise I’ll just go back to my boring life of an outcast, bastard Prince of England who drinks too much.”
“We need to kill him,” Theo says, eyes lighting up with glee.
“Hold on,” Harlow says slowly, looking between Quinn’s body and Alexander. “Let’s think this through. He grew up as aPrince.Despite being ostracized as a bastard, the King still cares for him and he still has access to a lot of things we’ve never been able to get access to. And with Citadel still out there wreaking havoc…”
“You’re not seriously considering making Prince Alexander a Lord of Darkness, are you?” Theo asks incredulously.
“I’m sorry, but are you speaking about theactualLords of Darkness?” Alex asks, looking between everyone. “And you’re working with them?” he asks me, dark eyes unbelieving.
I shrug. “It sounded fun at the time.”
“We need to vote,” Harlow says quickly. “And we need to vote now before the police get here.”
“I vote yes,” Alaric says quickly, grabbing Harlow’s hand and giving it a quick kiss.
“Me too,” Sterling says, shrugging.
“Me three,” Gideon says, snapping his knife shut.
“Fine,” Theo says, rolling his eyes. “And you lot?”
Astern looks confused and stricken, but she nods once—as do Max, Lachlan, and me.
“Great,” Harlow says, clapping her hands together. “Prince Alexander is now a Lord of Darkness.”
“Don’t I get a say?” Alex asks incredulously.
The sounds of sirens break through the silent and mostly empty ballroom.
“We need to go,” Alaric says quickly.
