Page 75 of The Kings
“Eliza!” Raph’s voice cuts through the noise, a lifeline thrown across the chaos. His eyes lock onto mine, and there’s no need for words.
We just know.
My legs pump harder; my breaths come quick and sharp. We’re a united front despite the distance between us, a family not bound by blood but by loyalty forged in fire. This is our turf, our responsibility, and we’ll defend it with every drop of our cunning and courage.
Right now, it’s not just about survival. It’s about standing our ground, showing that even when the world tries to break us, we don’t bend—we fight back harder and more ferociously than ever before.
As I reach the quad, the full scope of the attack hits me—a wave of dread so potent it nearly stops me in my tracks. But I push through it because weakness isn’t an option, not when so much is at stake.
Gunshots splinter through the air, their sharp reports slicing through screams and shattering glass. I weave through the crowd, my mind a whirlwind of strategy and adrenaline. Students scatter like leaves in a storm, some taking cover, others bolting for the nearest exit. My chestnut hair whips across my face as I dodge an overturned chair, blasted onto the quad by the explosion, which every instinct I have screams is a diversion. Felix is out here. He is calling me out, and I won’t fucking disappoint him. Truce, be fucked. He is going down.
“Fuck!” The curse slips out as I spot a group of attackers, their faces obscured by masks, just like at my dad’s house, their hands gripping weapons with chilling familiarity.
“Eliza, down!” I hear Raph’s voice again, but I’m already dropping to the ground, feeling the heat of a bullet as it sings past where my head was seconds before.
“Shit, that was close,” I mutter, pushing up from the ground. There’s no time to freeze; I’ve been trained for moments like these. My father made damn sure his heir could handle herself. I am prepared. Always prepared. Now more than ever.
Sweat beads on my forehead, but my hands are steady as I pull the compact firearm from its concealed holster. Self-defence isn’t just a course when you’re born into the Hughes family—it’s a way of life.
Let him think he’s got the upper hand. Let him believe he can waltz into my life and upend everything.
“Eliza!”
I nod towards Oliver and take aim, firing off a couple of shots to cover him. He moves in next to me, reloading.
“This your brother?”
“Half and yeah, has to be.”
“Mind if I kill him?”
“Nope, but leave it to me, okay?”
“Better get to him quickly then, tigress. Raph is on the warpath.”
Not surprising. The Kings don’t take kindly to uninvited guests in their Castle.
I barely have time to brace myself before the world explodes again, throwing up clumps of dirt and bushes. Instincts kick in; I duck and cover my head as a wave of heat washes over me.
When the dust settles, I’m on my knees, ears ringing, heart pounding. Through the haze, the devastation is clear. Buildings crumbled, smoke billowing into the sky, bodies sprawled across the broken pavement. It’s a scene straight out of hell.
“Fuck,” I breathe, pushing to my feet with grim determination. My training has prepared me for violence, butnothing can truly prepare you for the sight of your world torn apart. Once alive with the vibrant buzz of student life, the campus now resembles a war zone.
I scan the chaos, my mind struggling to catch up. This isn’t just an attack—it’s a statement. Someone’s out to obliterate everything we stand for, and they’re not playing by any rules I know.
“This isn’t Felix,” I murmur, but Oliver can’t hear me over the chaos around us as I stagger to my feet and turn in a disorientated circle.
As the smoke and dust clear, my heart leaps into my chest. “NO!”
Leaping forward, I skid across the rough concrete of the quad, landing hard on my knees next to an unconscious body. “Don’t you fucking dare!” I scream.
“Surprise, Eliza!” The voice is smooth, laced with venomous triumph.
Looking up from the bloodied face of one of my guys, my jaw clenched; I raise my shaky hand, gripping the gun with white knuckles.
The puppet master finally steps into the light, and it isn’t my asshole half-brother.
“Well, shit.”
