Page 25 of The Shadow Sanctum

“Thorne.”

I tilt my head toward Luna’s voice. “Don’t come to my aid. I’m not your goddamn puppy.”

She sighs, soft and low—so quiet I wouldn’t hear it if I wasn’t listening so closely. I wait for one of them to say something else. Nothing comes.

Laying my head back on my seat, I begin to count, even knowing it’s useless. Useless to gauge where we are. Useless to calm my nerves. Every number is a wasted thought that only kicks at my racing heart—only clears the view to see that as of now, I am at Luna’s mercy.

Whatever this test is, it’s cruel. Even for Luna.

Ten minutes, thirty-nine seconds later, the SUV comes to a stop. The engine dies, and the front door opens and slams shut. Luna leans over me, her vanilla scent so sweet it's a mockery to my senses. She clicks the lock into place. Someone jerks on the handle a moment later before getting the hint.

We sit in silence for a minute, her beside me in the middle seat. Too close for comfort. She removes the blindfold and turns my head toward her.

My expression is firmly held in a scowl, but I forgot about the blood vessels that burst in her eyes last night. The swelling is gone, but the evidence of her crying hasn’t fully disappeared, even after … however long it’s been.

I should feel nothing.

And yet, my scowl slips. Like an absolute sucker, I let the cracks in her eyes sink my puffed chest.

“I need you to listen carefully.” She pushes the hair back on my forehead and runs her nail down my scalp. Tingles break from the path; she dulls the shooting sensation in my skull to merely an ache. “Regardless of your disdain for me, today is about your survival, and I am the one who designed your test… You’re going to be initiating alongside a wealthy man who is not good for the Shadow Sanctum. I know you can pass this test. I also know he can’t, and that’s in your best interest. If his money becomes irrelevant, your money matters more. But…”

Her eyes roam my head, everywhere her nails touch. “If you can find a way to get his banking information or whatever you have to do to get the rest of his money before he dies… You will be invaluable to my father.”

Luna’s tongue runs along her bottom lip. “He will give you anything if he believes you’re capable of replicating that success. You don’t care about my people, fine.” She shrugs, though there’s a crease that forms between her eyes. “But you can use that power to free yourself. And I want…” She takes a deep breath. “I want you to free yourself. If that’s what will make you happy.”

“Thanks, Head Keeper,” I say, the sarcasm so thick in my tone, she flinches. “Kind of seems like if you still wanted that, you’d be dropping me off at the bus station instead of…” I look around pointedly at the snow-covered trees with no civilization in sight, apart from a second SUV in front of us. “Here. But sure. I’ll get the dude’s information for you, no problem.”

The irony of stealing my own money for a woman who’d slap me and kiss me within the same breath…

Ha. Ha.

“So is this a fight to the death thing? Only one of us comes back alive? Or…?”

Luna’s mouth opens, but she isn’t quick to answer. The goodbye in her bloodshot eyes is answer enough. What’s left of the mask she dismissed me with earlier slips until once again, she’s the tender woman I’ve only managed to glimpse.

She leans toward me for a kiss I should block—but wait too long. As soon as I feel the softening of her mouth, I turn my head.

I care about you, Sawyer.

Give me a fucking break.

She clears her throat and sits up straight, tension twisting between us. I’ve been too much of a bitch lately. If I see pain on her face, I might do something stupid, like comfort her over my impending death she thinks she’s causing. That’s just…

Fuck her.

With my hands tied behind my back, I twist to unlock the door and jerk the handle to unlatch it. Someone on the other side opens it, and when Thorne sees me without my blindfold, he raises his brows and gives Luna a look. I don’t turn to watch her reaction.

After he secures my blindfold, he helps me from the SUV—oddly gentle for Thorne—and leads me on a long walk through the snow, at least seven other people joining us.

My guess is, Angel is one of them.

CHAPTER 10

SAWYER

Snow comes up to my shins as I’m shoved off the ATV, the air cold despite the sunlight beaming on my forehead. We must be in a clearing.

An arena? Special, if we had to drive to it. Not public.