Page 67 of Broken Queen
“That button locks the building,” I said.
He clicked it, then silently, every door and window locked into place, leaving the members trapped inside for the next twelve hours. As the last sacrifice made her way to the supplies building, I grabbed the small black device that would detonate my explosives.
“Do you want to do the honors?” I asked Hazard.
He shook his head. “This is yours, not mine, my queen.” He kissed my neck, letting his teeth graze my skin. “Let’s enjoy the show.”
I clicked the button, then confirmed the action, and the explosions ignited. One by one. The small ones in the ballroom, to the ones traveling through the corridors, each boom louder than the last. Some men ran toward the windows, but the explosives ripped apart their bodies first.
Their best bet was hiding for now, then waiting for the fire to crack through the windows, but by then, it would be too late.
One of the sacrifices ran toward the building. She grabbed the door, trying to pull it open, but the heat burned her hand and she leaped back.
“Think she’s worried about her fortune?” Hazard asked.
There was a chance that her husband, or brother, or father—whomever was sacrificing her—was a good man. That she wanted to save him because he deserved to live. But one good person in a sea of horrible humans wasn’t enough for me. If he had to burn alive to make things right, I didn’t care. As long as it wasn’t Hazard.
Hazard was right. I was selfish to my core. But as long as I had him by my side, and he had me, then I didn’t care about anyone else.
“No,” I said. “It’s probably more personal than that.”
“What’s going on?” one of the sacrifices shouted. “What’s happening?”
The fire tore through my father’s final resting place, blazing until it built like an orchestra, the flames taking the building apart, crawling through the broken windows. One member, completely engulfed in flames, managed to get through the window, rolling on the grass, but before I could aim the sniper rifle, a naked sacrifice grabbed a gun from a staff member and shot him in the head.
The poetic beauty of it made me undeniably giddy. I leaned into Hazard, and he wrapped an arm around me.
The fire danced on the inside of the building, licking over the roof, crashing through the glass. Everyone inside burned alive, and it was mesmerizing.
“How many of them weren’t attending tonight’s Masquerade?” Hazard asked.
“Four members,” I said. “But two of those men—Callen and Carter? You remember them, yes?” Hazard nodded. “They’re on my side.”
“I can take care of the other two.”
Hundreds of depraved sadists could come together to torture each other’s sacrifices, but when it came to their own torture, they were such pathetic wimps. Through the flickers of fire, I imagined them running and screaming, though I knew they were all passed out or dead. There was only the cackling fire and the oohs and ahhs of the women below, guarding each other. Their frightened, unknowing tears mixed with their laughter. It was a lot for those women to process. This wasn’t what they had signed up for tonight. I understood that.
But I didn’t feel sorry for what I had done. I didn’t feel anything, really.
Except when I looked at Hazard, I felt hope.
Hazard winked at me like he could read my mind. His jaw clicked, and my mouth dropped open. I had to say it. I couldn’t stop myself anymore.
“I love you,” I said.
He furrowed his brows, a smirk on his lips. “You have a funny way of showing it.”
“I’m a funny girl. Haven’t you heard?” I said.
He pulled me closer into his arms. “If this is love, then fuck me, am I one lucky bastard.” He kissed my forehead. “I love you too, my queen.”
It was almost like the world was burning before us, but in truth, it wasn’t the world at all. It was a large building with hundreds of corpses, nothing compared to the catacombs below it. All of those charred bodies were members and initiates, men selfish enough to put their own desires for power over other people’s lives. In truth, it was like looking in a mirror; I put my own desires before their lives. But I knew that this was different. Like burning a field to ready the soil for the next harvest—our time of rule would be different. New. Fresh.
“Why are you all just standing there?” one of the women shouted. “This is crazy.”
Staff members stood on the edges of the property, some of them stealing furtive glances at the two of us sitting on the roof—our throne set above everyone else. I expected the staff members to pull out their guns to attack us like my father had taught them, but they stood back, watching. Waiting for my command.
My personal estate manager went over to the group of women, calming them down, a handful of blankets in his arm. Behind him, his golf cart was stuffed full of robes, water bottles, and snacks. I hadn’t told him anything, but it was like he knew exactly what was going to happen.
