She muttered beneath her breath, her eyes locked on Leone, who wore the same ashen expression mirrored on her own face.
“They’re lying,” she whispered, her voice barely audible as she turned to face the others. Only then did she realize she and Leone stood at the front, with just two other guys beside them. The rest had retreated, hiding behind the thin line they formed.
“She’s right,” Leone said calmly, his eyes sweeping over the group with quiet scrutiny.
“They said we’d be set free if we survived… that one of us might live,” Maristella whispered, her voice trembling, eyes wide with a fragile kind of hope.
“No one ever survives this,” Leone growled, his voice rough with suppressed rage. “Even if you make it to the end, they’ll kill you. It’s all part of the game.”
“They want blood,”
