A grunt draws my attention to the left, and I see that Spencer’s bleeding from his arm, clutching an oozing wound as he grits his teeth and backs a step away from Gareth. He doesn’t have a knife to fight back with.

There’s no hesitation as I grab the blade from the tree, ripping it from the loose bark and launching myself at Gareth. He turns at the last second, hesitating briefly—probably because I’m not his mark—and then bringing his own weapon up to defend against mine.

The force of my lunge knocks the blade from his hand, but my triumph is short-lived.

White-hot pain explodes across my vision as I stumble and fall, my body going numb as my hands hit the damp dirt of the forest floor. What just happened? I think as a boy screams my name. It might be Spencer, could be Church. My brain isn’t working so great right now.

I’ve been stabbed.

I’m hauled back by my hair and thrown onto the ground. Someone’s gotten blood all over my pink dress.

“Finally,” Selena breathes, squatting over me, her dark eyes not without emotion. “I’m sorry, but blood is the only pact that can’t be broken.” She brings her knife to my throat, but I’m not done fighting yet. I grab Selena’s wrists, fighting against her much stronger grip. But my body must be running high on adrenaline because I’m able to keep her off of me until two sets of arms grab her on either side and drag her backwards, shoving her and sending her flying.

The McCarthy twins are here.

“Charlotte,” Ranger says, lifting me up and pulling me back against his chest. “You’re bleeding.”

“I think …” I start as my vision swims and I have to blink several times to stop the forest from spinning. “She stabbed me.” I put my hand on my lower back and lift it to my face, staring at the bright ruby red of blood.

“Jesus Christ,” Ranger growls, hauling me up and into his arms as Micah and Tobias circle Selena, trying to take the knife from her. The other cultists seem loath to interfere with me and Spencer, but they have no problem going for the others. Several of them descend on the twins, and as impressive as their skills are, as impressive as Church’s are, they’re all humans. They have limits.

“Ranger,” a man says, and I recognize that voice as the cult leader’s. He steps forward, out of the shadows of the trees, and lifts his mask up. Ranger’s body stiffens beneath me as I blink through the fog in my vision and try to make sense of who it is that I’m seeing.

It’s Ranger’s dad, Eric.

“Stay the fuck away from me,” Ranger growls, backing us up until we’re pressed against a tree. “I knew you were involved. I knew it, but … Jenica … How could you?”

“Blame your mother for that. She didn’t want you or Jenica involved in the Fellowship. She took great lengths to defy me, running off to Spain the way she did.”

Ranger’s eyes are wide, his jaw clenched tight. He looks down at me then and it’s fear that fills his expression. My hand reaches up to touch the side of his face, smearing blood.

“It’s up to each initiate to choose the person to complete their pact. Rick chose Jenica; there was nothing I could do. If she’d been a part of the Fellowship …”

“Then she’d be a murderer instead of a victim? No thanks.” Ranger pulls me close, his gaze shifting over to Spencer, Micah, Tobias, and Church. The latter three are being wrestled to the ground by dozens of cultists. The former is still facing off against Gareth, but at least neither of them have knives. That is, until Selena passes one of the recovered weapons back to her brother. “Call this shit off and maybe I won’t testify against you in court.”

His father smiles, but it’s not a pretty smile.

“Son, our traditions are centuries old. When the Fellowship first began, we even had the blessing of the church your mother’s so fond of. The wealth and success of our families depends on these traditions. Don’t tell me you haven’t enjoyed your privileged childhood?”

“I enjoyed my sister,” Ranger says, his heart racing against my palm as I lay my hand over his chest. I’m not even sure why I’m doing that, touching him so reverently. Things are getting fuzzy, I won’t lie. “And I enjoy my girlfriend. Let me get her to a hospital.”

“You know I can’t do that,” Eric says as several of the cultists approach and grab Ranger, dragging me from his arms as he does his best to fight back.

Someone lays me on the forest floor and steps away, leaving me with Selena and her knife, and nowhere to go.

I’m going to die here tonight?

I turn my head to the side and find Spencer and Gareth locked in a battle for their lives, the knife inching toward Spencer’s stomach. Selena comes for me again, kneeling down with the blade in hand, taking advantage of the blood loss that’s making my limbs feel heavy.

With the very last of my strength, I reach up and snatch my mother’s hairpin, shoving it into Selena’s eye and making her scream. She falls back, and I push up to my feet, shaking like crazy. I throw myself into Gareth, knocking him away from Spencer.

I collapse to my knees immediately, but I’ve given Spencer the opportunity he needs to take the knife. He shoves it through Gareth’s shoulder as hard as he can and comes for me.

“Chuck-let,” he whispers, looking back to see the other boys struggling against a horde of cultists. There must be … over a hundred of them now, filling the clearing. We’ve bought ourselves a few extra moments, but that’s it.

It’s over.

Spencer picks me up, just like Ranger did, but our backs are to the side of the rocky hillside that surrounds the fountain. There’s nowhere to go. Selena is sobbing and holding her hands over her eye while Gareth bleeds. Nobody moves forward to help them. I get it, it’s part of their ritual. But this isn’t going to last forever.

Mark appears out of the crowd, Aster by his side.

“If you want something done right, you have to do it your fucking self.” The two of them come for us, but I’ve got no fight left, and Spencer can’t do much while he’s holding me. The rest of the cult streams around us, blocking us in with a wall of robes and masks. The other four boys are on their knees, held by four or more cultists each. “Gareth, stop being a little bitch. It’s just a flesh wound.”

Gareth’s pulled the knife from his shoulder, not the smartest move in the world, but it seems that Mark is right. He doesn’t collapse to the ground, and he’s not spurting blood, so it’s likely Spencer missed any critical veins or arteries. And even though Selena’s eye is red and swollen, a bit of blood marring her cheek, she’s up and on her feet just a few seconds later.

The four of them surround us, dragging me from Spencer’s arms as he screams.

Mark, Aster, and Gareth hold him back as Selena sets me down and takes the blade one, last time.

The sharp edge of the knife presses up against the skin of my throat, and I close my eyes, hoping that it happens quick.

I can’t bear to hear the sounds of the boys around me, calling out my name.

“Everyone freeze!” a voice calls out as dozens of people in vests and masks surround us. Selena grits her teeth, shaking above me in pain or fear or adrenaline, I’m not sure. “Nobody move. Put your weapons down.”