26. Dade To The Rescue
26
DADE TO THE RESCUE
ROWENA
I can’t breathe. The moment Juliette steps into my room, her face says it all. She knows. She knows what’s happened. I can see the pain etched into every line on her face, raw and agonizing.
“I’m so sorry, Jules!” The words barely escape my throat as I see her sit on the edge of the bed, her bag slipping from her hand and hitting the floor, spilling a pile of sandwiches everywhere.
“I can’t believe she’s dead!” Juliette sobs, collapsing into me. She rests her head on my shoulder, and it breaks my heart in ways I never imagined. Juliette doesn’t cry—she never cries—but now she’s drowning in her tears, her sobs shaking both of us as I hold her close.
“She?”
“Quinn. I saw her with Tate. There was blood everywhere. Dade went in there.”
My heart clenches, tightening in a way that feels unbearable. “Jules, it’s not Quinn who died. Didn’t you see what happened after Dade went in?”
Juliette wipes her eyes with her hand, smearing the tears across her face before wiping her nose. “No. I came up here as fast as I could. I couldn’t stand all the cheering after Anthura announced the death. If it wasn’t Quinn... who was it?”
My heart clenches in my chest as I struggle to find the words that will shatter her world all over again. How do I tell her that the person she loves is gone forever?
My grip tightens around her hand as I realize I have to say it before Anthura’s face fills the screen again, before she repeats it like it’s some twisted joke.
"It's Tomas," I say, my voice barely audible above Juliette's cries. "He's been murdered."
She’s survived his death once, but now... now there’s no coming back. Not for the already dead. There’s no second afterlife.
Juliette’s eyes widen, her breath catching as the words sink in. “Tomas? My Tomas?” Juliette’s voice cracks. “No!!!!”
I let her wail, holding her close until my shoulder is wet with tears and she runs out of breath. I’ve never seen Juliette like this before and because she’s usually so laid back, her sorrow is all the worse. It’s palpable, heartbreaking. Painful.
Losing someone we care about has always been a probability in the Inferno Games. I guess neither of us thought it would really happen. Once again, they don’t know who murdered him. It wasn’t caught on camera. It’s almost as if the murderer knows the labyrinth and where the cameras are, but how could he… or she? I don’t know who it is, but the list of suspects is getting smaller and smaller.
I shake Juliette gently as Quinn appears on the screen. She still looks like crap, but she isn’t dead yet. I’m holding onto hope that she’ll make it despite how bad she looks.
We both watch, Jules holding my arm as though if she let go, she’d fly away.
Dade appears, swooping in to where Quinn and Tate are. I’m surprised the games makers haven’t dragged him out, but I’m sure they’ll punish him enough when he eventually does come back out. He’s crazy to think otherwise.
It looks like he and Quinn are arguing, but both are whispering so quietly that I can’t hear what they are saying despite the volume being way up on my Hell Cell.
I glance at the stats to the side of the screen. Tomas’s death has brought the count down to six. Just one more, and it’s over—they’ll be through to the next circle. Do they even realize how close they are? Dade’s impulsive move to go after Quinn might have been the biggest mistake of all. She’s covered in blood, but she’s still holding on, and Tate is right there with her. If he’d only waited, they could have made it. Now, I wouldn’t be surprised if they all end up thrown out of the games.
Frustration bubbles inside me as I watch Quinn embrace Dade. His massive black wings unfurl, wrapping around them both, and then Tate too. The screen goes dark, swallowed by the vastness of those wings.
“What’s he doing?” Jules asks, leaning in so close she’s practically in my lap.
Whatever it is they are doing, it goes on for ages, until Dade’s wings contract and then flap until he’s in the air.
“He’s flying Quinn out of the Earthery!” Jules says, her voice an octave higher than usual.
I stare at the screen incredulous. “That’s not Quinn he’s holding. He’s flying Tate out!”