Chapter 75

• The smoke spread through the council hall like a choking fog, thick and noxious, stealing the air from everyone who breathed it in. Within seconds, people were collapsing. The only ones seemingly unaffected were the masked men and Alighiero’s wolves. My vision swam, the edges darkening, but somehow, the poison didn’t seem to affect me as harshly. Through the haze, I saw Ermes, Diamante, and Leandro fall to their knees, gasping for breath, their bodies failing them. Gosto’s warriors faltered, and the moment they weakened, the slaughter began. The masked men struck with merciless precision, transforming the battlefield into a gruesome massacre.
• My breath caught as I watched friend after friend crumple to the ground, clawing at the air for oxygen. My heart nearly stopped. I tore a strip from the hem of my skirt, pressing it over my mouth in a desperate attempt to filter the poison. Then I grabbed Diamante by the collar and tried to drag her somewhere safer, anywhere those monsters wouldn’t think to look. Next, I found Leandro he was crawling, dazed and breathless, between the seats. Ermes was nowhere in sight, and I prayed he’d found a place to hide, somewhere they wouldn’t reach quickly. The upper rows had turned into a fog-shrouded abyss. I hoped the smoke obscured enough to hide us.
• The shrieks of the helpless mixed with the cruel, unrestrained laughter of the attackers. “No,” I breathed, tears stinging my eyes. This had to be stopped. Someone had to do something.