Page 79 of Savage Throne
I gripped the edge of the table. "And if I refuse?"
His eyes flickered with something unreadable. "You know the answer to that, don't you?Ourrules have always been simple."
The cold reality of that response twisted my stomach into more knots.
My voice was barely a whisper. "Can't they be changed? The rules?"
“Never.” Leo leaned back in his chair and tapped his fingers against the wooden table.
The firelight danced across his face. His gaze stayed lock onto me as if he could see every thought scrambling through my head.
I hated that he looked so calm, like everything about tonight was perfectly normal. Like he hadn’t just told me I was about to walk into a room filled with killers.
“We’re going to discuss strategy now.” Leo said smoothly, his voice like silk over steel. “In the tent you’ll enter, there will be ten people who are yourtrueenemies. You’ll know who they are by their actions—the ones who come for you first, the ones who speak first and rise. Those are the ones that must die immediately.”
“And the rest?”
“They’ll wait.” Leo’s smile curved at the edges, dangerous and knowing. “They’ll wait to see.”
My pulse thudded heavy in my ears. “See what?”
Leo’s grin deepened. “They’ll wait to see if you become the monster they fear or the prey they can devour. That’s the way it works in the Four Aces. Kill the leaders, the active ones. The rest will step back, fall to their knees, and bow.”
“And what if they don’t fall back and bow?”
“They will, if you do it right.” Leo placed his hands on the table. “There are leaders. There are followers. And there are monsters. You’ll show them which one you are tonight.”
“How many men are in there?”
“Eighty at least.”
“Jesus.” I tried to swallow but my throat felt like sandpaper. "Can I bring more magazines in there with me?”
“No. You won’t have time to reload.”
“You don’t know that.”
“A legendary monster doesn’t need to reload. They kill who they need to kill with the bullets they have.”
My bottom lip quivered. “And if I die?”
Leo’s expression shifted, something tender slipping beneath the cold calculation. His voice softened to a dangerous whisper. “My little monster, you don’t havemypermission to die.”
I fought the urge to scream, to throw the teacup across the room, but I forced myself to stay seated. “Leo, what the fuck?”
“Kill the main ones that come for you.” he said simply. “And then kill a few more men just to make your point. A few far off to show them your skills—”
“These are somebody’s brothers, fathers, sons—”
“And they are killers that wantyoudead due to Yan’s death. They want your sisters dead too.” He raised one finger. “If they have the chance to end you, they will. And the moment you walk into that tent without me or Lei, they will take that opportunity. That is how much they think you are a soft outsider unable to truly lead them.”
“N-no. I’m not doing this.”
“You will.”
I rose from my chair and started pacing. “Eighty people who hate me. Kill a few. What the hell are you talking about? I can’t do this.”
Leo stayed seated and looked up at me. “My little monster, you’ve already killed—”
