Isla Calloway had spent her life playing the game—strategy, deception, control.
But this?
This wasn’t a game.
It was war.
And she wasn’t just fighting for her freedom anymore.
She was fighting for Lucas Reyes’s life.
Catherine’s words still echoed in her skull.
"If you don’t prove your loyalty, he won’t stop."
That was the Kingmaker’s way.
A test of devotion. A final power move.
To keep her in line—he was going to take Lucas out.
Unless Isla stopped him first.
A Clock Counting Down to Death
Isla sat in the dim glow of the fire, her heart pounding, her mind racing.
Her mother watched her with careful amusement, sipping her tea like she hadn’t just admitted to helping orchestrate a murder plot.
"Do you know who the assassin is?" Isla asked, keeping her voice steady.
Catherine
