Chapter 44
LEX
The Colosseum - Rome, Italy
Luca’s version of The Blackout.
The cool breeze bites at my cheeks as we step into the looming shadow of The Colosseum. It reeks of old dust, but I try not to focus on that shit. Right at the mouth of the beast, a giant display of my ruin sits on an old stone ledge.
A red skull Hollow Kings mask.
A pistol.
And one of those goddamn collars.
“I hate this,” Cade whispers. His grip on my hand is so tight I can feel his pulse jumping against my skin.
“Me too,” I mutter.
DING.
The screen bleeds light into the dark as I yank it out.
“Here we go.”
@LucaWasHere
Welcome back, my Hollow King, please step into the light.
No shadows left to hide behind, no drugs to blur your sight.
You’ll feel it all so vividly. Each breath and fragile thread.
And I’m afraid this time the fear won’t only live inside your head.
My collar is waiting patiently. Polished, prim, and neat.
A perfect little halo meant for someone soft and sweet.
Not yours to wear nor yours to bear. No this one’s not for you.
So place it on our golden boy and pray you make it through.
Mask up tight and arm yourself, for fuck’s sake don’t be late.
The crowd is oh so hungry and they’ve gathered for your fate.
My champion waits just inside, a King you cannot flee.
And every second that you fail, sends Whitmore straight to me.
So fight for love, or die for it. The choice is yours to make.
But every shot you hesitate, is one less breath he’ll take.
You called them yours and called it love, that little lie you spun.
Now bleed for it my Lexie dear… let’s see what you’ve become.
“Fuck!” I roar, the sound echoing off the stone walls.
“I-I, h-he wants me to… to wear it?” Cade mumbles. His fingers are digging into his scalp, pulling at his hair as he stares at the metal ring.
Dad steps forward. He picks up the pistol, drops the mag, and checks the chamber before slapping back in with a heavy clack.
“Damn!” he says, shoving the cold steel into my hand.
“What?” I ask.
“He only gave you one round.”
My heart sinks.
“Make it count, son,” he says, eyes glassy in a way I don’t want to fucking see right now.
“Full moon,” Roman says, looking up. “Decent lighting.”
“Exterior lights are still on too,” Rez adds. “That’ll help your—”
“And what about Cade putting the collar on?!” I snap, my chest heaving.
“Look, I know you don’t want to hear it,” Rez says, running a hand through his almost white hair. “But if Luca wants Cade to wear—”
“That’s not happening, Rez!”
Buzz. Buzz.
Buzz. Buzz.
The phone vibrates against my palm. Blood rushes to my head in a hot, buzzing pressure.
“What?!” I roar.
“Ah, Lexie,” Luca’s voice is pure glee. “I see you found my little gift.”
“I’m not putting that thing on Cade.”
“Ahhhh!” The sound of Bella’s scream stops the world as it rips through my ear. “Stooooop! P-please stop!”
“Bella?!” I yell, knuckles turning white around the phone. “Leave her the fuck alone, you bastard!”
“What’s happening?” Cade mumbles, his body shaking.
“Give the phone to Cade, please,” Luca says, his voice dripping into a calm and terrifying tone. “I need to speak to my artist.”
“Not gonna happen you—”
“GIVE HIM THE PHONE!”
I flinch at the volume. I pull the phone away from my ear, staring at it like it’s one of O’Malley’s grenades.
“He wants to talk to you.”
Cade takes it with shaky fingers. His hazel eyes dart to mine before he presses it to his ear and swallows. “Hello?”
I stand there. Forced to watch as the color drains from his face. His eyes widen, turning into pools of terror at whatever that fuck is saying to him.
“N-n-no, please!” Cade shrieks, his voice breaking. “I’ll do it… just…” He trails off, his eyes shimmering with tears as they lock onto mine. “Just don’t hurt her.”
He sniffles, listening to the monster on the other end. “I understand.”
He hangs up and hands the phone back to me.
“What’d he say?”
Cade doesn’t answer. He won’t even look at me. He just reaches for that damn collar. I lunge, grab his hand, and yank him hard into my chest.
“NO!”
“Lex!” he roars, tears finally spilling over. “I have to.” He looks down at the metal, his expression going flat. “I have to.”
He pulls away from me. I watch, fucking paralyzed, as he grabs the collar and snaps it around his own throat. It locks with a sharp, mechanical click. Instantly, the indicator light begins to glow a steady, blinding white.
“Cade,” I murmur as I reach out and run a hand down his cheek. My thumb brushes the edge of the metal. “You shouldn’t have done that, babe.”
“I had to.” Cade’s fingers feel cold as he raises my hand to his lips. “Just win The Blackout, Barinov.” He presses a hard, lingering kiss to my knuckles. “Just win.”
I nod, swiping a tear from my eye with the back of my hand. I grab the red skull mask and slide it over my face. The world framing into narrow slits as I grip the pistol tighter and turn toward the dark tunnel of the arena.
“Stay behind me,” I growl, my free hand wrapping around Cade’s wrist.
“No, Lex,” Cade whispers. He yanks out of my grip and stumbles backward into Roman.
“What?”
“Luca,” he says, sniffling. “Luca said that if me or your dad, or Rez, or Roman… If any of us take one step inside before a champion’s crowned then…”
He pauses, eyes glazed and staring off at the entrance behind me.
“Then what?”
Cade’s attention snaps back to me. He brushes his fingertips against his collar. “You know what.”
I nod.
“Get to the ground floor as fast as you can,” Roman says, stepping away from Cade. “It has more cover.”
“And don’t shoot blindly,” Dad orders, his voice rough and worried all at the same damn time. “You’ve only got one shot.”
Heavy hands clasp down on my shoulders. “You’ve got this, brother,” Rez says, rubbing the tension out. “That fucker in there doesn’t stand a chance.”
???
By the time I weave my way down to the ground level and hop over the tourist barricades, I haven’t seen shit. Just a maze of cracked pillars, tight corridors, and a fuck ton of dirt.
Moonlight barely reaches down here. The shadows swallow everything whole. And worst of all, I can’t shake this feeling that someone is behind me. But every time I turn, I damn near face plant into more fucking rock.
I round another corner and—CRACK! The stone inches from my temple disintegrates into white powder. The roar of the shot bounces off the arch above me, multiplying until it sounds like a goddamn firing squad.
“Lex! Get down!” a voice vibrates my jaw, piped directly from the lining of my mask.
“The hell?” I lunge behind a crumbling pillar, slamming my chest into the stone.
“Move!” the voice snarls again.
I roll. A second shot screams through the space my head occupied a heartbeat ago.
“Who the hell are you?” I grit.
“It’s me,” he says. “Zeke.”
My brain fucking stalls.
“Zeke?!” I mutter. “What the—”
“Shut up!” he cuts me off.
I clamp my mouth shut.
“He’s going to hear you if you don’t keep your damn voice down, dumbass.”
Who the fuck does this guy think he is?
“What is going on?” I breathe. “How are you in my head?”
Slowly, I peer around the pillar.
“Don’t!” Zeke warns as another shot sparks against the stone above my head.
BANG!
BANG!
“Shit.” I slam my shoulders back, knees hitting the dirt. “How the hell am I—”
“Just shut up and listen to me,” Zeke barks. “It’s the only way we’re going to win this thing.”
“We?” I whisper, brushing dust and tiny pebbles out of my hair. “The fuck you mean we?”
“I mean that it’s a game to him,” Zeke explains. “This Blackout thing.”
“Well,” I gripe. “The Blackout didn’t have guns and it was never about—”
“He never made it to the Blackout, Lex!” Zeke cuts in, agitated. “He failed The Red Hour, remember?”
“Yeah, so?”
“So, he used his imagination for this shit,” Zeke confirms, letting out a bitter scoff. “I think he just needed an excuse to get rid of me.”
“Get rid of you?” I echo, knees getting sore from kneeling.
“I’ll explain later,” he answers. “You see that pillar up to your left?”
I look over my shoulder. “There are tons of fucking pillars to my left.”
“Jesus Christ,” he mutters. “The closest one. The one with the tiny ledge in front of it?”
“Yeah.”
“Get there in three… two… now!”
I shove off the ground and sprint to the pillar, dust kicking up as I slide down behind it. “Made it.”
“I know. I can see you.”
“What?” I ask, breathing heavy. “You’re here?”
“No. And before you ask, neither is he. We’re watching via satellites and shit like that but it doesn’t matter. Look, he’s about twenty yards to your right, lurking between two columns.”
“Who is he?”
“I can’t say.”
“Why not?” I swallow. “Is Luca listening to you?”
“No, he’s in his ear.”
“Then why can’t you tell me?!”
“Because I just can’t!” Zeke roars, his voice shaking. He releases a heavy sigh. “So pretty please just trust me.”
That damn code word.
“Fine,” I mutter. “What do I do now?”
“You’re going to go on offense before Luca gets bored and blows the collar around your boyfriend’s neck.”
“Where is he now?”
“Moving…” He pauses. “Get ready.”
I tighten my grip on the gun, metal biting into my palm.
“He’s nearly there.”
Dust and rocks shift in the distance, the sound echoing off the pillars.
“What way is he coming from?” I whisper, forcing my breathing to slow.
A pause.
“The hell you mean—” Zeke cuts himself off with a harsh exhale. “I don’t know what my sister sees in you.”
My jaw ticks. “Zeke,” I warn.
“I fucking said he’s twenty yards to your right,” he snaps. “So maybe—just maybe—he’s coming from your FUCKING RIGHT!”
A bullet slams near me, exploding the stone. I duck lower, rock biting into my knees.
“Jesus,” I mutter. “Someone’s cranky.”
“Yeah?” he fires back. “Well, it’s not just Cade’s neck that’ll blow if you lose.”
Heat floods my veins. “Bella?” I push, quieter now.
“Mine,” Zeke says flatly. “So how ‘bout you don’t die out there. Okay?”
I nod, fingers brushing the trigger.
“You only have one bullet and—”
“And the fucker apparently has a full mag,” I cut in. “Luca stacked the deck.”
“Did you expect anything else?” Zeke asks.
I scoff.
“Get ready, he’s stepping into the light,” Zeke says, his voice suddenly calm. “Three o’clock. Shoot. Now!”
I pivot. My left boot kicks up a spray of ancient dirt and rock as my weight shifts. The heavy pistol comes up, locked in a two-handed grip. The iron-sight instantly aligning with a dark shape emerging from the arches.
Zeke’s lead was perfect. He’s right there, caught in the sliver of ruthless moonlight.
My finger squeezes.
BOOM.
The report is deafening. A thunderclap ricochets off the stone. The recoil is familiar, an angry jolt in my wrists as the bullet hits the fucker center-mass. A dark, visceral burst of arterial red erupts from his chest, spraying the pillar behind him.
He hits the ground hard. His body spasms. Just once. Then goes flat.
I drop the pistol. It clatters against the stone, useless weight now. I close the yardage in a daze, my boots crunching on the grit. I reach him and kick the gun from his dying grip, but he isn’t fighting back.
I reach down, hook my fingers under the edge of the mask and tear it off in one violent motion.
The moonlight hits his face. And the world stops turning.
“No!” I roar, falling to my knees. “N-n-no this can’t—” I grab his shoulders, shaking him as if I can rattle the bullet out of his chest. “N-no, please.”
“I’m sorry, Lex,” Zeke whispers through the mask.
I rip the mask off my head and hurl it. It hits the pillar and skitters away, Zeke’s voice still murmuring from the discarded plastic on the ground. I yank my shirt over my head, wadding the fabric into a ball and slam it against the hole in his chest.
“L-Lex,” he wheezes. “I’m… I’m so—”
“Shh,” I hush, my hands already slick. “Shh, you’re gonna be fine. Just stay with me. You hear me? Look at me!”
“F-find him,” he mumbles, blood pooling in his mouth. He coughs. “G-get him back for this, brother.”
His eyes flutter before closing.
“No!” I scream, the sound echoing up toward the empty spectator tiers. “No, please!”
I wrap my arms around him, pulling his cooling weight into my bare chest. I sob into the crook of his neck as the rise and fall of his ribs simply… stops.