They drag me toward the altar, my feet scraping uselessly against the floor.
"LET ME GO!"
I wiggle and fight through the pain.
"OCTAVIAN!" I scream, fear taking over my body.
"He's not coming," a man says quietly into my ear. "No one is."
Then one of them grabs my jaw, forcing my head still.
I catch a glimpse of a white cloth before it's pressed over my mouth and nose.
The smell burns the inside of my nostrils.
I try to hold my breath, but my lungs are already screaming.
I gasp as my legs give out.
The hands holding me are the only thing keeping me upright now.
My vision blurs, the candles bleeding into streaks of gold.
The last thing I see is the statue.
The weeping face staring down at me.
And then,
Nothing.
35
OCTAVIAN
Icatch up to Elizabeth halfway down the corridor and lunge forward, my hand gripping her shoulder. I yank her back, spinning her around and slamming her against the wall.
"Where is she?" I yell, my forearm pressed across her chest.
Elizabeth's eyes are wide, but there's no fear in them, just satisfaction.
"Where she belongs."
My hand moves to her throat before I can think. I squeeze, lifting her off the ground until her toes scrape uselessly against the floor.
"I have no problem ending your life," I say, my voice firm and dark. "And everyone else's here, if that's what it takes to find her."
"You think you can stop it?" she says her face turning red. "You're already too late."
Then she jerks something from her pocket, a knife, and swings at me.
I let her go and jump back, avoiding the blade.
"I'm willing to die for this," she gasps and comes at me again, faster this time.
I twist, narrowly avoiding the blade, then grab her wrist and twist. I use her momentum, redirecting the blade downward, and drive it into her thigh.
She screams and lets go of the knife. I rip it out and she collapses, clutching her leg, her face in agony.
