Lahat ng Kabanata ng QUEEN OF THE RUINS: Born to Power. Crowned in blood : Kabanata 41 - Kabanata 50

I stared at Jace, my heart splintering. "Bait?" I repeated. "You... you left that cufflink. I thought it was a message. I thought you were telling me where to find you because you were in trouble."Jace finally looked at me, but there was no warmth nor regret in his brown eyes. "It was a message, Kamara. You were just too stupid to see it. You were blinded by things you shouldn't have been."I felt a chill that had nothing to do with the air conditioning. I looked around the cafe. Suddenly, the atmosphere shifted. Within seconds, the "normal" patrons were gone, leaving only us and a few men standing by the doors who were clearly not there for the food. It was a sweep. A signal had been given, and the room was being cleared."You really think your father cares about you?" Jace continued, his voice cutting through the silence like a blade. "The entire bit we played, it was just a means for you to enter my reach. And frankly speaking, I didn't even have to try that hard.""What?" The w

Kamara’s povI had barely slept the whole night, memories of the conversation replaying in my head over and over again.“Three days.” Silas’ voice pulled my back to reality. Parked in front of the university, I stepped down, looking at him through the mirror.It was the first complete sentence he said all day. word since we left the apartment.“One step out of line, one attempt to run, and I’m putting you in the trunk and driving straight to the estate. Understood?""I understood the first ten times, Silas," I whispered, not looking at him."Good. Be at the north gate at 3:00 PM sharp. Don't make me come looking for you.I hissed, loud. I felt like a dog on a leash and unfortunately there was nothing I could do but comply.I walked through the hallways, the noise of slamming lockers and teenage gossip hitting me like a physical blow. Everything was so... normal. It felt insulting. Didn't they know the world was ending? Didn't they know that the man who had been my shadow for months ha

Jace’s povTonight was going to the mark beginning of something dangerous. I could feel it in my guts and even more by the heavy rain and thunder that poured down on the earth. The Mann’s estate stood ahead of us, it looked untouchable. At least that was what it always was every day except today.Oscar’s men already circled round it ready for the next go ahead command. "Phase one. Now," Oscar’s voice crackled, distorted by the storm.Down at the main gates, the night exploded. Oscar’s goons, disposable men sworn loyalty to him with heavy rifles, launched the feint. Flashbangs turned the driveway into a blinding white wasteland. The rhythmic thud of suppressed fire began to chew through the security kiosks. It was a massacre by design. The estate guards, already thinned out because Silas was in the city anchored to Kamara, scrambled toward the noise like moths to a flame. That was one flaw the Mann’s empire had, bad coordination without a good leader."They’re taking the bait," Eli

JaceI stood by the reinforced window of the warehouse, watching the grey dawn bleed over the industrial skyline. My phone was back on, and the dark-web forums were already screaming. In the shadow world where the mafia breathed, the news had spread like a virus. The Mann Estate has fallen."The network is shaking, Jace," Elijah said, walking up behind me, wiping the grease from a fresh magazine. "They’re all looking at the Manns' ruins. Every hit squad in the city is focused on the estate, wondering who’s going to swoop in and pick up the pieces of Mann’s empire."I didn't turn around. "The chip is in his hands. The Manns are dismantled. My part is done."I walked toward the center of the room, where Oscar sat at a metal table, the Prometheus Chip glowing like a demon’s eye in the port of his laptop. He looked refreshed, a man revitalized by the scent of ozone and blood."I’m leaving, Oscar," I said, my voice flat. "The deal was the chip for my freedom. You have the leverage. You hav

JACEI ignored the frantic, distorted barking of Oscar’s voice in my earpiece. I swallowed hard, my throat feeling like it was lined with glass. Silas gave a sharp, half-smile that didn't reach his eyes and gestured with a slight tilt of his head for me to follow them into the darkened alcove of the West Gallery.I followed, the gravity of Kamara’s presence pulling me into her orbit.The moment we were shielded by the heavy curtains, the muffled sound of Matthias’s speech becoming a low hum, the air changed."What the heck are you doing here?" I hissed, my voice a jagged rasp. I looked at Kamara searching for that vulnerable princess I knew. She was gone.Standing before me was a stranger in a black dress that looked like funeral attire. Her silver mask caught the dim light, but her eyes were the coldest things in the room. There was no warmth, no recognition, only a hard, burning heat that seemed to singe the air between us."You have a lot of nerve asking me that," she said, her vo