And the devil?
She deserves worse than that.
The Divine One steps in front of me, exhibiting a grace and agility that made it impossible for me to discern her gender or identity until she removed her mask.
“I think it’s about time you four head out,” Aria tells me, her mechanical voice scraping at my skin like the rusted edge of a blood-coated blade.
Dominic tenses, his eyes narrowing suspiciously. “Why’s that?” Somehow, he was able to pick up on something in her tone that the rest of us missed. It’s why he’s the unofficial second-in-command of our ragtag group, stepping into the leadership role when Landon is indisposed.
“There are…things happening tonight. Things that you four are not ready to see,” Aria answers, and I’m momentarily surprised she granted us an honest answer.
Then her words sink in, and my stomach drops to my feet.
“What things?” I ask.
Aria doesn’t answer, and it’s unnerving, to say the least. I can’t read her expression with that damn mask on, so I have no idea what she’s feeling. Is she amused? Upset? Angry? Idon’t believe she’s any of the above, if I’m being honest. She’s completely impassive, stating this like it’s a fact of life.
The woman truly is dead inside.
The ominous silence between us grows teeth and claws that manage to penetrate the haze I’m in, swiping through my crowded thoughts in one fatal slash of talons.
“What do you plan to do tonight?” I can barely speak through the tightening in my throat.
“A chosen few will follow me to a separate room, where the festivities will continue,” she says, still in that detached, mechanical voice.
They’re going to kill people.
Innocent people.
That one thought reverberates through me like a thousand poppers being thrown to the ground, exploding simultaneously.
I remember the caged fight I watched.
The macabre art show.
What is it going to be this time?
Indecision wars in my chest with my all-encompassing fear, but I find myself blurting out, “I want to come.”
Beckett turns to stare at me incredulously. “You want to what now?”
I don’t answer him, keeping my attention trained on Aria. She’s wearing a mask; I’m not.
But right now, I feel as if I am.
Keep your expression blank, Ellie.
Keep it blank.
“I thought you wanted me to take over for you,” I tell her, infusing my words with as much sass as I’m capable of. As much confidence. She’ll never give in to me if she sees me as weak and cowering. To drive the matter home, I add, “I’m not the same girl you first met. I’ve killed since then. And I’ll kill again if it means keeping the people I love safe.”
She continues to study me from beneath the confines of her mask. I feel like a butterfly pinned between two slides and shoved underneath a microscope. I’ve never felt so tiny or insignificant before—simply a blip on this world.
Aria nods, the barest dip of her chin. “Come on.”
She turns and moves toward a far door, leaving the party behind.
Dominic sidles up beside me. “I hope you know what you’re doing.”
