sinister vows : Bloodline of Deception

The first rule of the assassin underworld: trust no one. The second rule? If you must trust someone, make sure they fear you more than they love you. Kingsly never forgot the rules. They were carved into her bones, stitched into her soul like an unbreakable contract. And yet, as she stood in the middle of a blood-stained ballroom, surrounded by the bodies of men who thought they could outplay her, she realized something. The third rule was missing. Because no rule had prepared her for him. A slow clap echoed from the shadows, deep and mocking. The sound sent a sharp thrill down her spine. She didn’t have to turn around to know who it was. She felt his presence like a loaded gun pressed to her temple—dangerous, intimate, inevitable. Aaron Blackwood. “Beautiful work,” he drawled, stepping into the dim glow of the shattered chandelier. Blood smeared across the marble floor, reflecting in his cold, unreadable eyes. “But you missed a spot.” Kingsly exhaled through her nose, steady, controlled. “If you’re here to lecture me, don’t bother. I don’t take advice from dead men.” Aaron grinned. Not a smirk, not a polite curve of the lips a full, unhinged grin. The kind that sent men running and left women breathless with the wrong kind of excitement. “That’s funny, sweetheart. Because last I checked…” He took another step closer, the space between them charged with something raw and electric. “I’m still breathing.” Her fingers twitched at her side, itching for the dagger strapped to her thigh. They had been at each other’s throats for years, fighting on opposite sides of a war neither of them started. She had put a bullet through his shoulder once. He had left a knife wound across her ribs. They were not allies. And yet, tonight… She knew what he was about to say before he even spoke. “You and I,” Aaron murmured, his voice laced with dark amusement, “we have a problem.” Kingsly tilted her head, heart pounding against her ribs. “We don’t have a problem, Aaron. You do.” His grin widened, all sharp teeth and wicked intent. “Sweetheart, if I go down, I’m taking you with me.” She should kill him. Right here, right now. But instead, Kingsly did the one thing she swore she would never do. She listened. And just like that, her fate was sealed.