My eyes went wide as I sat upright.

The chains bolted into the wall snapped taut with the movement, metal rattling violently through the room.

Pain immediately exploded through my skull.

Not a headache.

Not even close.

It felt like somebody had cracked my head open and poured molten metal directly into my brain.

My vision blurred.

Then doubled.

Then steadied.

I sucked in a sharp breath through clenched teeth.

Jesus Christ.

For a moment, I genuinely had no idea where I was.

The room swam around me.

Concrete walls.

Rust stains.

Damp air.

The smell of mold.

The smell of blood.

The smell of infected.

Then my eyes landed on them.

Faces.

Dozens of faces.

Red eyes stared back at me from every corner of the room.

Every single one fixed directly on me.

Watching.

Waiting.

One stood closest.

A man.

Or what used to be one.

He stood directly in front of me with his hands folded behind his back.

His expression wasn’t hostile.

Wasn’t angry.

Wasn’t hungry.

It was something worse.

Interest.

Like I was an animal he’d never seen before.

My pulse kicked up immediately.

I twisted against the chains.

Looked left.

Looked right.

Looked everywhere.

Searching.

Hale.

Lila.

Anybody.

Nothing.

Of course.

Of fucking course it would be us.

The second we found something useful.

The second things started looking up.

Bullshit.

Always bullshit.

The infected nearest to me suddenly crouched.

Its face lowered until it was directly in front of mine.

Close enough that I could see every vein beneath its pale skin.

Close enough that I could smell whatever chemical odor was hiding beneath the rot.

Its eyes widened.

Studying me.

Analyzing me.

I stared back.

Then decided to try something.

Something I hadn’t attempted in a very long time.

I swallowed.

"Who are you people?"

The infected froze.

Its eyes widened.

Then it slowly leaned back.

For a second I thought maybe it hadn’t understood me.

Then it answered.

"We are the Awakened."

My stomach dropped.

"The vessels of the new dawn."

Something inside my brain cracked.

Not physically.

Mentally.

The realization hit me like a truck.

They really could talk.

Not one.

Not two.

Enough of them to form a group.

Enough of them to develop beliefs.

Enough of them to create a goddamn cult.

Fear crawled up my spine.

Real fear.

The kind I hadn’t felt in a while.

The infected leaned forward again.

Its voice lowered.

"You trespassed upon the Sacred Rite."

Its expression darkened.

"You contaminated the ascension of the chosen."

The room had become completely silent.

Every infected listening.

Every infected watching.

"For that..."

Its lips twitched.

"The impurity must be purged."

My throat tightened.

"The ritual demands a replacement."

It pointed directly at me.

"You will be cleansed."

My breath caught.

The word stuck.

Cleansed.

What the hell did that even mean?

"Like hell I will."

I immediately slammed against the chains.

Metal groaned.

My wrists burned.

I pushed harder.

Testing every weak point.

Every angle.

Every possibility.

The infected around me stepped back slightly.

Watching.

I kept looking.

Doors.

Windows.

Weapons.

People.

Anything.

Anybody.

The old me would’ve hated this.

Hated the feeling lurking beneath my skin.

That thing Jennifer had forced into me.

That thing that kept surfacing whenever I was cornered.

Now?

Now I understood its value.

Humanity wasn’t useful when somebody was trying to turn you into a sacrifice.

Looking at my face, several infected exchanged glances.

Then—

BANG.

The gunshot exploded through the room.

Wood shattered overhead.

Dust rained from the ceiling.

Several infected screamed.

Others ducked.

One dropped to the floor.

My head snapped upward.

A woman stood atop the balcony overlooking the room.

Smoke drifted lazily from the barrel of an assault rifle.

She blew across the tip of it like she was extinguishing a birthday candle.

Then she started walking.

Calmly.

Casually.

Like she owned the building.

Like she owned every person inside it.

Military-pattern tank top.

Dog tags dangling from her neck.

Combat boots.

Tight shorts.

And a smile.

That smile.

The second I saw it—

My stomach twisted.

The bite mark on her shoulder was visible beneath the tank top.

The one I’d left.

The one that should’ve killed her.

Instead it had become something else.

When her eyes landed on me—

The grin widened.

"Lookie here."

My skin crawled.

"Lookie here..."

She laughed softly.

"Look what life just decided to serve me on a platter."

One infected immediately rushed over.

She handed him the rifle without even looking.

The infected accepted it with both hands.

Nervously.

Respectfully.

Like a soldier accepting orders from a general.

"Ms. Reta..."

His voice trembled.

"You weren’t supposed to arrive for another few days."

Reta turned.

Her expression instantly sharpened.

"Are the conversions done?"

The infected froze.

"...there have not been many uncleansed in the area."

Bad answer.

I knew it immediately.

Reta’s smile vanished.

The room got colder.

"Not many?"

Nobody moved.

"That’s what you’re giving me?"

She stepped closer.

The infected lowered his eyes.

"Miriam needs bodies."

Her voice remained calm.

Terrifyingly calm.

"Miriam needs soldiers."

Another step.

"We are building an empire."

Another.

"And you’re standing here telling me you don’t have enough uncleansed?"

The infected began apologizing immediately.

Words spilling over each other.

Excuses.

Reasons.

Failures.

Then his eyes landed on me.

Hope appeared on his face.

"Perhaps..."

Reta looked at him.

The infected pointed.

"Him."

My heart sank.

"You should have the honor of taking him yourself."

The room fell silent.

Reta slowly turned.

Then smiled.

At me.

My blood went cold.

She began walking.

Slow.

Patient.

Deliberate.

Like she knew exactly what effect she was having.

I lowered my head.

Refused to look.

Refused to engage.

She stopped directly in front of me.

Then crouched.

"Hey, darling."

I didn’t answer.

"Aw."

Her smile widened.

"You’re breaking my heart."

Silence.

"Ignoring me when we’ve got so much history?"

"We don’t have any history."

The words left immediately.

Sharp.

Venomous.

"Oh yes we do."

She reached toward her shoulder.

Pulled the tank top aside.

The bite mark stared back at me.

My bite mark.

I immediately looked away.

"Oh, don’t look away."

Her voice dropped.

"This is us."

I clenched my jaw.

"Proof."

Her hair brushed my cheek.

"Of our contact."

I swallowed.

Hard.

She studied me.

"I’ve spent days thinking about you."

Her voice softened.

Dangerously.

"Thinking about what you did."

She paused.

A shiver ran down my spine.

"Thinking about how exhilarating it felt."

My head snapped up.

Exhilarating?

Her smile deepened.

Then she leaned against my ear.

"Thinking about how I was gonna return the favor."

My breath hitched.

Immediately.

Because I understood exactly what she meant.

A bite.

That was what the sacrifice was.

That was what the cleansing was.

That was—

Elsewhere.

Lila sat perfectly still.

Zip ties dug into her wrists.

Her eyes glowed red.

Not fear.

Not panic.

Rage.

Pure rage.

Every distant noise made her ears twitch.

Every muffled sound made her jaw tighten.

Something was happening.

She knew it.

Something involving Adrian.

Her Adrian.

The old Lila would’ve been losing her mind by now.

Drooling.

Shaking.

Sick.

Desperate.

The separation would’ve destroyed her.

Now?

Now she felt clear.

Focused.

Aware.

But angry.

Very.

Very angry.

The door opened.

An infected entered carrying a tray of meat.

His eyes remained lowered.

Avoiding hers.

Lila noticed that.

She’d noticed it since the beginning.

The infected around her treated her differently.

Carefully.

Respectfully.

Almost fearfully.

Like something deep inside them recognized something inside her.

The infected set the tray down.

Lila suddenly lunged forward.

The infected yelped.

The tray crashed.

Meat scattered across the floor.

Interesting.

The infected immediately dropped to his knees.

Trying to gather it.

Lila watched.

Then spoke.

"You better eat that."

The infected froze.

Then obeyed.

Immediately.

He shoved the bloody meat into his mouth.

Chewing.

Swallowing.

Blood leaked from his nose.

His eyes watered.

Yet he continued.

Obeying.

Lila smiled.

Interesting.

Very interesting.

Back in the ritual chamber—

Reta’s teeth lightly grazed my neck.

I froze.

She inhaled.

Slowly.

Deeply.

"Mmm."

My skin crawled.

"You smell good."

Then her expression shifted.

Confusion.

Curiosity.

Something else.

She pulled back slightly.

"That’s strange."

My stomach twisted.

"What?"

She ignored the question.

Instead she leaned closer again.

Smelling me.

Studying me.

"Not human."

My pulse spiked.

"But not infected."

What?

She frowned.

"You’re somewhere in-between."

Cold spread through my chest.

Impossible.

She looked directly into my eyes.

"I don’t sense strong emotions from you."

My throat tightened.

"Almost like they’re compressed."

No.

No way.

There was absolutely no way she could know that.

None.

Then—

CRASH.

The door exploded inward.

Everybody turned.

Every infected.

Every head.

Every eye.

And standing in the doorway—

Was Lila.

Blood covered her hands.

Blood covered her shirt.

Three infected bodies lay behind her.

One missing its throat.

One missing an arm.

One missing half its face.

Lila’s eyes locked directly onto me.

Ferocious.

Terrifying.

Possessive.

The room froze.

Even Reta slowly stood.

Neither woman looked away.

Not from each other.

Not even for a second.

Then another infected rushed Lila.

She caught its wrist.

Twisted.

SNAP.

Bone punched through skin.

The infected screamed.

Lila drove her hand through its throat.

The scream died instantly.

Another charged.

She grabbed its head.

Slammed it into the wall.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

The skull finally burst.

Blood painted concrete.

Nobody moved.

Nobody breathed.

Lila stepped over the body.

Never taking her eyes off me.

Then Reta smiled.

A genuine smile.

Like she’d just been given the greatest gift imaginable.

"Oh."

She laughed.

"So that’s what you are."

My stomach dropped.

Because for the first time since she’d entered—

Reta looked excited.

And whatever realization she’d just come to—

I had a feeling it was about to make everything worse.