Chapter 53
Ronan froze at the city gates.
The towering banner of Stella City fluttered above him—soaked in blood. Fresh, dripping blood.
His breath caught in his throat. Step by step, he entered the city, each footstep heavier than the last. The streets were quiet… too quiet. Then he saw them.
Bodies.
Men, women, children. Old and young. Everywhere.
All dead.
Ronan stumbled back, pale as chalk. The scenes mirrored what he had seen in the forest—the same vicious mutilations. Torn throats. Missing hearts. Severed heads.
He's here… Ronan thought. The Exterminator…
Fear gripped his spine. Then realization hit.
My family.
He bolted.
Weaving through blood-slick streets, he raced past the dead, ignoring the stench of death and the echoes of silence. His heart pounded in his ears as he approached the mansion, praying—begging—that it had been spared.
It hadn't.
