Alyssa’s POV
The air in the room is thick with tension, suffocating and unrelenting. I stand at the head of the long, obsidian conference table, my hands pressed against its cold surface. My fingers tremble, but I can’t let them see. Not now. Not ever.
Across from me, Isabella watches with wary eyes, arms crossed over her chest. “You can’t be serious.”
“I am,” I say, my voice even, controlled. “This is the only way.”
Ethan lies unconscious in the next room, his condition worsening with every passing hour. I can’t lose him. I won’t. If that means becoming everything I swore I’d never be, so be it.
“You want to run the Circle? Take your mother’s place?” Isabella’s voice is edged with disbelief. “Do you hear yourself? The very thing we’ve been fighting against-”
“I don’t have a choice,” I cut her off, my voice sharper than intended. “We’ve spent months trying to destroy them. But look where we are now. Ethan’s dying, our resources are stretched thin, and my parents are still out there, stronger than ever.” I take a breath, forcing myself to steady. “If I can control the Circle from within, I can dismantle it from the inside and get the power I need to save Ethan.”
Isabella shakes her head, stepping forward. “Alyssa, this isn’t you. This is exactly what your mother wants. You think she hasn’t planned for this? You think she hasn’t been waiting for you to break?”
I flinch at her words, but I don’t let it show.
You’ve become exactly what I wanted.
The memory of my mother’s voice slithers through my mind like poison, but I push it aside.
“It’s a temporary move,” I insist. “Once Ethan is safe, once I have control, I can destroy it all. Burn it to the ground from the inside.”
Isabella’s eyes harden. “And what happens if you get a taste for it? What happens when the power stops feeling like a means to an end and starts feeling like who you are?”
I open my mouth to argue, but I don’t have an answer.
A door creaks open, and Leon steps inside, his usual smirk replaced with something darker. “They’ve agreed to meet,” he says. “The Council wants to see what you have to offer.”
A chill runs down my spine. The Circle’s Council-powerful, ruthless, and utterly devoid of mercy. The people who had once been faceless enemies were now the very people I was walking into a room with, prepared to bargain with.
“Fine,” I say, straightening my posture. “Set it up.”
Leon watches me carefully. “Once you do this, there’s no turning back. You sit at that table, you’re one of them.”
I exhale slowly. “I know.”
Isabella takes a step closer. “Alyssa, please. Don’t do this.”
I look at her, my best friend, the one person who’s always believed in me, and I see the fear in her eyes. The fear that I’ll lose myself. The fear that I already have.
“I don’t have another choice,” I whisper.
She shakes her head, jaw tight. “There’s always a choice.”
But not this time.
—
The meeting takes place in one of the Circle’s hidden locations-an underground chamber lit by dim, flickering chandeliers. The air smells of old stone and expensive cigars, the weight of generations of power pressing down on me.
The Council sits before me, a collection of men and women dressed in tailored suits and cold stares. I recognize some of them from the files we stole-Finch, the one who controls the financial networks; Moreno, the one who deals in blood and shadows; and Corwin, my mother’s closest ally.
They watch me like I’m a puzzle, a question that needs answering.
“So,” Corwin finally says, his voice smooth as silk. “The prodigal daughter returns.”
I don’t let his words shake me. “I’m here with an offer.”
Finch leans forward, resting his elbows on the table. “An offer?” he echoes, amusement flickering in his gaze. “You’ve spent months trying to destroy us, and now you think you can bargain with us?”
“I don’t think-I know.” I meet his gaze head-on. “You’re vulnerable right now. We’ve taken out your supply chains, disrupted your operations. My mother is in hiding, and my father is licking his wounds. I know you’re scrambling. You need new leadership.”
“You assume we’d put you in charge?” Moreno scoffs. “You’re the enemy.”
I smirk. “No. I’m the only one who can get this organization back under control before my parents return and take it for themselves.” I let my words sink in. “Unless, of course, you’d rather answer to them again.”
Silence.
A flicker of uncertainty passes between them. They know I’m right. My parents don’t share power. They consume it.
“What do you really want, Alyssa?” Corwin asks, tilting his head.
I hesitate for a fraction of a second before saying the words out loud.
“I want control.”
Murmurs ripple through the room. Some intrigued. Some skeptical. Some outright hostile.
“You want to lead the Circle?” Finch asks, studying me carefully.
“I want to use it,” I correct. “To reshape it. To make it something better. And I’ll start by eliminating my parents.”
There’s another silence, longer this time.
Then, finally, Corwin smiles. It’s a slow, calculating thing that sends a chill down my spine. “Interesting,” he murmurs. “Very interesting.”
For a moment, I think I might have them.
Then he leans forward, his smile widening. “But tell me, Alyssa… Do you really believe you can wield this kind of power without becoming exactly what your mother wanted you to be?”
His words slam into me like a hammer, and suddenly, I can hear her voice again.
“You’ve become exactly what I wanted.”
The room feels colder. The walls closer.
I don’t answer him.