Chapter Sixteen
I awoke sitting in a chair, a piece of cloth obstructing my vision. The smell of sage filled the air, and the shuffling of shoes echoed not too far from where I sat. My body was bound to a chair, and I was unable to wiggle out. I tugged one of my arms, testing the tightness of the rope and found it barely budged from the force. Panic rose in my throat as I tried to free the restraints. The more I fought against the bonds, the more my skin burned from the rope. Shit, shit, shit. This was it. I was going to die, and all of this was for nothing. I pulled until I began to rock back and forth, praying I could at least snap one of the stupid legs. Panic rose in waves as I tried with all my might to get free. If I couldn’t escape, I hoped Heather made it out—
“We will release the rope once you calm down,” someone said.
“Fuck you,” I spat, pulling harder on the rope. My wrist rubbed against the material, hissing with each tug.
“She’s more resilient than we thought,” another voice chimed in.
A small hand rested on my shoulder. “We are not here to harm you.”
“Then why did you drug me and tie me up?”
Someone sighed heavily to my right. “Forgive us if we thought you were trying to break in.”
“Or steal.”
So many voices sounded like they were coming from every direction. “Can I at least get this stupid thing off my face?”
“I see no harm in that.”
Hands untied the knot from the blindfold as I regained my sight.
Three figures watched me blink several times until I recognized a familiar man in the corner. “I knew it.”
“Shit. Get the rope off her now,” he commanded.
Two girls in the scarlet capes untied my hands and feet from their binds. Massaging my wrists, I observed the small room they crammed themselves inside. Josh wore that familiar S on his right breast, the same bow and arrow strapped to his back. I looked down at my arms to find red patches of irritation forming.
“If I knew it was you breaking in, I would’ve escorted you out myself,” Josh said.
The invitation burned in my back pocket. I reached for it, feeling its edges on my fingertips. “The door was open. Am I not allowed to be here?”
“Not without an invitation, and since you snuck in, I assume you don’t have one,” said one of the girls in a scarlet cape.
A smug look on her face made it much more entertaining when I revealed the invitation. “You mean this one?” I held up the pretty card, flashing it in her face.
She snatched it before I had a second to register what had happened. “Impossible.”
Josh uncrossed his arms and peeked over the girl’s shoulder, his eyes following the words on the back. “What do you know, Zo. An invitation.”
Annoyance crossed her face. “Well, Ms. Remi Watson. What were you doing sneaking in like that?”
“I wasn’t sure if it was still happening,” I fibbed.
“Did you not get the time change?” the other one asked.
“No,” I lied.
“She’s here now. Let’s join the others.” Another male appeared from the shadows. My heart stopped at the sight of his face.
Kal .
He wore the same outfit as Josh, with a matching bow and arrow strapped to his back. That stupid scarlet S was stitched in the same spot.
His stride toward me had both my fists curling with anger. I knew I couldn’t trust him either.
“You,” I whispered, my voice laced with rage. The last time we spoke was when he basically said I should finish trying to fuck him because I started it.
All eyes were on Kal. He seemed unaffected by the fury I projected at him.
“The introduction is about to begin. Come, let’s join the others.” He held his hand out for me to take.
Everyone else left the room but Josh, who lingered by the door.
“Why? So, you can make me finish what I started?” I hissed. Kal’s face fell. “I didn’t mean for it to come out like that.”
Josh stood straight, his eyes darting back and forth between us. “What’s going on?”
Kal ignored him and took another step toward me, a hand outstretched. “Please, Remi.”
“No. I’m not leaving with you,” I snapped, stepping back.
Josh pivoted so he was now blocking me from Kal. “What did you say to her?”
Kal’s jaw flexed, his nostrils expanding. “For once, Josh, this doesn’t concern you.”
“Actually, it does,” he sniped. His arm extended to secure me behind his back.
“Remi and I…” Kal rolled his neck as if he were trying to hold back from getting physical. I wouldn’t lie and say that didn’t scare the absolute shit out of me. “We had a moment in the janitor’s closet at school, all right?”
Josh peered down at me. “With him?” Disbelief coated his words like he couldn’t believe I let him touch me again.
As much chagrin as that one look gave me, now was not the time to revisit my past mistakes. And I’d be damned if these two clowns distracted me from the true reason I came here in the first place.
“Where’s Heather?”
Kal leaned to the left so his eyes caught mine. “At the ceremony, which we should be going to now.”
Josh crossed his arms, once again obstructing my view of Kal. “Only you, Kal, would find an excuse not to face your terrible actions.”
I raised my eyebrows in surprise. As much as he pissed me off the other night with the whole campus curfew bullshit, he wasn’t afraid to make a spectacle of Kal’s shitty behavior.
It made me chuckle, which caused both men to turn and give me a look. “As much as I enjoy this banter between you two fools, I need to find my roommate, so if you’ll excuse me—”
Josh stopped me mid-step. “You have no idea where you’re going. Let me guide you.” The emphasis on ‘me’ made it pretty clear that Kal wasn’t allowed to come anywhere near us on our little adventure through the cathedral.
Without taking his eyes off me, Josh signaled for Kal to move along. I’d never seen the man so furious when he breathed a rough sigh and slammed the door behind him, shaking the hinges in his wake. Relief from the absence of him released the tension from my shoulders.
“Remi, promise me something.” My eyes wandered up to those baby blues, dazzling under the ceiling lights. He was too close; way too fucking close. His breath, a delicious peppermint, caused my mouth to water for such forbidden feelings. I desperately wanted something to hold on to, just to keep my wits about me. “Yes?”
“Don’t ever find yourself alone with that man again. I don’t give a shit if he’s a part of the society. I don’t trust him alone with anyone, especially you.”
“I think after what I just witnessed, the likelihood of that happening again is slim to none.”
His eyes lingered a little too long on my lips as he wet his own with that fucking tongue. “Good, because I don’t think I can hold back from crushing his fucking skull.”
I cocked an eyebrow. “Violent, aren’t we?”
“For you, yes .”