Chapter 35 Elle
ELLE
The rest of the night is a blur.
I experience it in snapshots, like photographs being taken where the flash blinds my eyes. I’m not even sure this is a night I want to remember, but when I’m led to this small, secluded area off the larger cavern, leaving Sabrina somewhere behind, I realize there isn’t much choice.
Keeping my gaze trained on my feet, I’m stripped of my cloak. Cold air scalds my body, licking the exposed skin.
Someone behind me reaches for the hem of my sweater.
I push my elbows down, trying to shove their hands off. “Don’t fucking touch me!”
The masked person shows no emotion, continuing to try and remove my top. I ball my hands into fists, punching against them to no avail.
“Let go of me, asshole,” I growl, rage boiling inside me—at their unwanted touch and at me thinking Jean-Louis wasn’t pure evil.
I should’ve known better. Should’ve told Sutton about his father or at least told one of my siblings. Of course, his being on campus now isn’t a coincidence.
None of this possibly can be. Fear is an orchestrated notion, an agent of chaos, and I’ve probably just played right into his deviant plans.
I’m not even sure what I volunteered for, but it’s clear something sinister was going down. Since I imagine Jean-Louis would’ve let Sabrina go had I not been with her, I couldn’t let her be punished.
Goose bumps crop up along my skin. What have I done?
“If you do not take your hands off her, I’ll see to it you don’t leave the caves with them intact.”
The masked figure trying to undress me halts, glancing over their shoulder as a taller, broader, green-eyed masked man enters. I’m not sure what he’s doing here exactly, but my fear lessens a little when I realize who he is.
I knew when he touched me out there, though it’d been a strange understanding to have while a crowd of masked strangers stared at me.
It also confirmed my long-standing suspicion of him being involved with this organization, and given what I’ve seen happen in the forest, maybe I should be more concerned, but when he touched my chin out there, I didn’t sense any hostility.
Surely, if he wanted to hurt me, I wouldn’t still be here right now.
Nor would he be pursuing me during the day, telling me how much he wants me.
Maybe that’s naive, but at the moment when the rug’s just been torn out from beneath me, it’s the only thread keeping me tied to sanity.
The masked figure attempting to assault me grunts, releasing me with a shove.
I stumble, hitting the curved wall and catching myself with my hands.
When the person leaves, I turn slowly, swallowing over the massive knot in my throat.
He’s close, directly behind me, and I feel slightly less panicked now that it’s only us here.
“Are you all right?”
I nod. He slides my mask back, exhaling, as if relieved to actually find me underneath.
Warring emotions flicker through his green eyes, and I get a sense of déjà vu—not from any of the times we’ve been this close at our leisure, desperate to feel each other, but of something else. Something weighed down by all the secrets bubbling in the distance between us.
I open my mouth to speak, though I’m not exactly sure what I want to say. I have so many questions racing through my mind that it’s impossible to pick just one.
A part of me wants to know why he’s here, what his role is, although the display moments ago should be enough of an answer. The people out there listened to him like he was their god, and it was as terrifying as it was arousing.
Someone clears their throat behind us, and he turns his head slightly in their direction while keeping me shielded. A short, stocky masked person stands there, twirling their red hair around two fingers.
“Elder Dupont—er, Incarnate, sir,” they say. “The Director would like to see you.”
Sutton’s jaw clenches. “I’ll be there in a minute.”
“She said to come immediately,” they call out as they walk away.
When we’re alone again, I let out a breath and meet his gaze. “So what exactly is Incarnate—”
“You need to leave,” Sutton tells me in a low voice. “Now.”
I blink. “Huh? I can just wait for you to—”
“Now, Elle. Do not test me on this. The longer you stay, the less likely it is you make it out of here alive. You had no fucking business entering these caves in the first place. I told you to stay away from this shit.”
Being reprimanded like a child makes me see red. “Wait a fucking minute. I didn’t choose to come here. Your—”
“We don’t have time to argue semantics,” he snaps, pure fury radiating off him in waves.
He doesn’t touch me, doesn’t get any closer, but his heat seeps into me like a bloodstain, and I press myself to the wall, trying to make sense of its direction.
“You’re lucky I got to you before they could actually force you into one of their rituals. ”
“Rituals?”
“Yes. Death’s Teeth is more than just some vigilante student organization. There are expectations. Roles to be played. I can’t—I have to go figure out how to keep them off your back now that I’ve publicly offered to claim a Maiden.”
“A Maiden?”
“Nobody saw your face, so that should be an advantage,” he says, though as he pulls back a little, rubbing his chin, it seems more like he’s talking to himself than me. “Do you know who the other offering was?”
“Sabrina.”
His jaw clenches. The anger is so unlike what I’ve been getting from him lately that I’m not sure what to do with it. Not sure how to defuse it.
“All right. I will fix it. Somehow. Just promise me you’ll leave here and go straight to your dorm.”
“I’m not—”
“I will explain everything later,” he says, urgency straining his features. “Please, Elle.”
Even though I want to keep needling him for answers, I relent, acknowledging the desperation in his voice.
For a second, he looks me over, and something softens slightly in his gaze. But he doesn’t give me any time to ask more questions before he slides my mask back into place and stalks out of the room.
The redhead from before comes back and grabs my wrist, leading me to the area we originally came through. A still-masked Sabrina throws her arms around me as we’re joined by Jean-Louis, and she lets out a shaky sob.
She’s unsteady, slurring her words, and I can’t help wondering what the fuck they did while I was gone. There’s a deep gash pouring blood on the back of her shoulder, and I pull away as my fingers slip through the liquid, glaring at Jean-Louis.
He shrugs, hands in the pockets of his suit. “I said I’d bring you back. I never said in what condition.”
“And what exactly did you do?” I demand. “Does your son know you did this?”
“My son,” he repeats, scoffing. “Does he know about you? Shall I be the one to enlighten him?” As we continue walking, he sighs, tearing the masks from our faces. “What a disappointing evening this turned out to be. I was hoping for more blood and sex.”
I don’t say anything, balling my hands into fists. I’m not sure what’s going on or how important he is to this organization, so getting into an altercation likely wouldn’t end well for me.
Jean-Louis grabs my shoulder, hauling me through the tunnel. I drag Sabrina along, tripping over her every other step, but heave a sigh of relief when Lexington and Percy come into view.
The men from earlier are still holding them at bay, but they step back once Jean-Louis gives them the all clear.
Percy runs over, taking a partially unconscious Sabrina from me. Lexington stays where he’s at, eyeing Jean-Louis, whose hand remains on my shoulder.
“My offer from before remains,” Jean-Louis says in a low, malicious voice. His offer from last summer. “You’d be better off fucking me than Incarnate.”
“Still not interested,” I reply.
“You’ve no idea what you’re doing. What you’re inviting. When they realize he potentially picked an Anderson to be the Maiden, you’ll be torn to shreds. Literally.”
I twist out of his hold, glaring. “Who’s fault would that be? You dragged me in there.”
His eyes crinkle under the mask. Like he’s smiling. “I was hoping you’d be the sacrifice.”
“What the hell are you talking about? What sacrifice?”
“I’m sure he’ll fill you in soon.”
With that, Jean-Louis spins and stalks off, the click of his heels against the ground loud in the tunnel as my heart races, confusion mounting.
Lexington comes over then, frowning. He grabs my jaw, inspecting my face. “What the fuck was that?” he whispers, checking me over and over.
I swat his hands away, irritation spiking as I continue staring at the space where Jean-Louis just disappeared. “Looks like I’m on Death’s Teeth’s radar after all.”