All Chapters of QUEEN OF THE RUINS: Born to Power. Crowned in blood : Chapter 51 - Chapter 60

KAMARA"Turn around, Jace," I hissed, the weight of the compact pistol suddenly feeling like a mountain in my hands. "Turn around and look at what you’ve made me, Jace. Look at the girl you left in the ruins."He turned. Slowly. His movements were devoid of the panic that was currently consuming every other soul in this building. When he finally faced me, his mask was gone, discarded somewhere in the chaos. "Stay the fuck where you are," I spat, my voice cracking as the rage surged back, hot and acidic. "One step, Jace. Give me one reason.""You shouldn't be here, Kamara," he said. His voice was flat, stripped of the warmth. "This hall is a kill zone. Oscar’s men have the blueprints. In sixty seconds, they’ll be flushing this level with gas and lead. Go back to Silas. Now.""Is that your tactical advice?" I laughed, a sharp, hysterical sound that echoed off the metal walls. "You think I’m still taking orders from you? I’m here for answers, Jace. And I’m not leaving until I get them."

KAMARAI hadn’t seen this man in what felt like a year, though the calendar said it had only been months. He still had that cool, detached look in his eyes, the kind of look that could freeze the blood in your veins.My heart ached, a sharp throb reminding me of the last time those eyes had truly looked at me. It still felt like yesterday: the day he sent me packing, shipping me off to that lonely apartment right after my mother’s funeral. He hadn’t been able to look at me then, but he was looking now."Hello, Father," I said, my voice sounding smaller than I wanted it to be.He just leaned back into the shadows of his leather chair. "You look a mess, Kamara. Is this what the Mann legacy has devolved into?"I swallowed the lump in my throat. I had thought, hoped stupidly that nearly dying would have changed him. That the attack on our home might have cracked the ice. But as I looked at him, I realized the fire had only made him harder."I thought you were dead," I said, my voice gaini

KAMARAI stood there, momentarily speechless.Ouch. I didn't know whether to be flooded with relief or deeply insulted. Julian didn't wait for me to recover; he paced over to a sideboard and poured himself a glass of our finest scotch, acting as if the decanter—and the room—already belonged to him."Look, Kamara," he said, turning back with a cold, sharp-edged smile. "I’ve been in London. I had a life there. I only came back because your father and mine have been barking about this 'alliance' for months. It didn't involve me before, but since your family is incapable of bringing any other valuables to the table... here I am."He paused, drowning the liquor in a single, practiced gulp."I have zero interest in the mafia games or playing husband to a woman like yourself. So," he drawled, his eyes raking over my frame with a sneer, "you need something from me. And I need something from this arrangement—the inheritance my father is holding over my head. We don’t have to get married just t

KAMARAThe hood pulled back, and for a split second, I had hoped for a miracle. I had hoped to see the eyes that used to watch me from the corners of my room, the ones that made me feel safe. But the face that emerged from the shadows wasn’t Jace’s.It was Oscar’s.He looked like hell. His usual sharp, tailored suit was gone, replaced by a grime-streaked hoodie and jeans that had seen better days. There was a jagged, fresh cut across his forehead, and he was holding his side as if he were trying to keep his insides from leaking out.“You!” I hissed, my voice trembling with a mix of fury and pure, unadulterated shock. “What the hell are you doing here? You should be dead or at least miles away from this city.”Oscar let out a wet, raspy cough, his eyes darting to the service door I’d just stepped through. “Lower your voice, Kamara. Do you want to hear what I have to say or not?”“Frankly speaking, no!” I snapped, though my heart was hammering against my ribs. “After what happened at th

JACEFor the third time now, I opened my eyes to a world defined entirely by pain. My head throbbed in time with my heartbeat.I realized I wasn't hanging anymore. I was shoved into a cold metal chair, my hands zip-tied behind my back so tightly the plastic bit into my wrists. My legs were anchored to the chair’s frame. I didn't even know I could feel pain in so many places at once.My breath came out in a ragged, wet wheeze, and I ended up coughing, the taste of blood coating my tongue.I forced my head to turn, the movement sending a fresh wave of nausea rolling through me. Next to me sat Elijah. He was tied to an identical chair, his face a landscape of purple bruises and dried blood. He looked like hell, but somehow, he wasn't in as bad a shape as me. "Oh, so you're both awake. Finally."Matthias stepped out of the shadows.He checked a slim gold watch on his wrist, a look of mild irritation on his face."I was really getting quite bored, you know," Matthias mused, pacing a slow