Page 134 of The Order: Rise of the New Empire

Swallowing dryly, Fallan drops the blade.

"Xavier, I didn't-"

"Kill him!" Kai yells with no remorse. "Fucking kill him!"

Flinching at the sound of Kai's voice, Aaron holds himself back.

This isn't the Kai he had grown to love.

Kaiden Blackburn died with his sister.

"I will fucking rip his head off for you," Kai screams. "I will tear him apart limb by limb-"

"It's alright, Kai," Xavier whispers. "I will keep you safe," he hisses. "I will keep all of our people safe."

Taking yet another step back, my power festers within me, waiting to unleash on everyone around me.

Looking around, Xavier's eyes barely pass by mine. Focused on the Officials waiting for dictation, Xavier snaps his fingers.

"Take my wife and daughter back to the Precipice," Xavier hisses. "I want them in the medical unit immediately to be treated."

Moving without so much as a word, Fallan tries to speak up.

"Xavier-"

"Silence!" Xavier shouts, swiping his hand past the front of Fallan's face, he lets out a vicious scream.

Grabbing his eyes, blood pours from their sockets. Tightly gripping a blade with a white knuckle, a deep gash runs across Fallan's eyes, blinding the man almost instantly.

Unsure when I stopped breathing, everything seems hazy.

Still coated in Forest's blood, my stomach rolls as we all watch in horror. Grabbing Forest and the baby with gentle motions, the Officials work together to keep them both secure. Sobbing as he watches his sister and niece be carried away, Kai staggers toward Xavier, gripping his cloak for support.

Stepping on Fallan's back to move past him, Xavier creeps toward the silver mask lingering on the ground at our feet. Grabbing it, he turns it in his hands.

"Xavier, you don't have to do this," Mason hisses. "It's over. It's all over. Elyon's reign-"

"The Marked still roam among us," Xavier whispers. "Infiltrating society, creating chaos in every part of the world they infest. Forest knew this. Forest knew that the Marked could not continue on-"

"That was not her will," I yell, finally taking a stand. Snapping his focus to me, Xavier's tear-clouded eyes narrow.

"Rowan, don't,"Mason snaps.

Ignoring him, I glare at Fallan's mutilated face.

This is not the way.

"Forest wanted to protect you. To protect all of us from Elyon. She knew the cost. Killing off the Marked won't bring her back-"

"Her blood," Xavier hisses. "You are covered in her blood."

Looking down, I swallow dryly.

"I tried to save your daughter," I plea. "I tried to save Forest-"

"All the Marked have ever done is ruin my life and the lives of those around me," Xavier hisses. "Their kind is the reason Forest is gone. Their kind is the reason my daughter is gone," he warns. Looking around he shakes his head. "There will be no peace so long as the Marked exist. There is no way other than mine-"

"Xavier. Listen to yourself. What the fuck has gotten in your head?" Aaron snaps. "You are talking just like Elyon-"

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