The screen in front of me blinked again, the words flashing up like a final warning, a challenge to everything I thought I knew about control and power. I’m not done yet. The game’s about to change.
The message from Robert sat there, cold and unforgiving. I should have expected it. After everything, after the battles we had fought together, I should have known that nothing would ever be simple with him. But still, the way the words hit me, like a slap to the face, it was jarring.
I looked at Alexander beside me, and for the first time in a long time, I saw something flicker in his eyes. It wasn’t fear. No, we didn’t fear Robert. But it was the recognition of what we were about to face. The reminder that no matter how much we had built, how far we’d come, there would always be someone like Robert waiting to tear it all down.
“What now?” I whispered, the question hanging in the air between us.
He didn’t say anything at first. Instead, he reached for my hand, his fingers intertwining wit
