"You’re the liar!" I shot back. "You’ve poisoned him against me, against the truth. But you can’t erase me from his heart. No matter how hard you try."
Avery’s smile faltered.
Gavin took a slow step forward. His gaze locked onto mine, hard and unyielding. "Leave," he said, his voice eerily calm.
My breath hitched. He wasn’t yelling. He wasn’t lashing out. But something in his tone—something final—made my chest tighten with pain.
"Gavin," I whispered.
A flicker of something crossed his face, but then it was gone.
"You have five seconds before I make good on that decree," he said flatly.
And that was it.
Zach grabbed my arm before I could say anything else. "We need to go. Now."
"No!" Mavin screamed, his tiny hands reaching for me as a guard held him back. "Mommy, don’t go!"
My heart shattered. I fought against Zach’s grip, but it was too late. More guards rushed forward.
"Get her out of here!" Avery’s voice rang through the hall.
A burst of energy surged through me as Zach yanked me backward, his strength overpowering my own. The air whooshed past me as we were thrown into the night, the ballroom doors slamming shut behind us.
I collapsed to my knees, gasping. The cold night air burned my lungs.
Behind those doors, Mavin was still screaming at me.
And there was nothing I could do.
The night was bitter, the cold slicing through my skin as Zach and I ran. The sounds of the party had long faded behind us, but Mavin’s screams still echoed in my ears.
"Mommy, don’t go!"
My legs ached, my breath coming in sharp, ragged gasps. Zach finally slowed as we reached the outskirts of town, his grip firm on my arm as if he expected me to collapse. Maybe he was right.
“This place is safe for now,” Zach muttered, leading me into an old safe house tucked between the trees. It was a small, abandoned cottage, its walls lined with dust and forgotten furniture. He pulled the curtains shut, locking the door behind us. “We can’t stay long. Gavin’s guards will be out looking for you.”
I barely heard him. My body moved on instinct, pacing the creaky wooden floor as I tried to make sense of what had just happened.
Gavin’s voice was still ringing in my head. The cold finality of his words.
"You have five seconds before I make good on that decree."