Chapter 20
TWENTY
sinner
That cruel, conniving witch was going to fucking die. Maybe not tonight, but she’d had a death wish for a long fucking time. She’d pay the price sooner or later.
I scanned the deck, noting the sheer number of soldiers protecting her. Even if the shields weren’t blocking Athena’s magic, there was no way we could swim that far to shore. And I sure as hell didn’t know how to steer a ship.
Director stared at her. Sized her up. Like she was a fucking toy to play with.
When she finally turned and ordered her guards to bring out the surprise, Athena let out a breath. I fought the urge to shove her behind my back—to protect her from whatever this poor excuse of a woman was going to surprise us with.
Near the edge of the ship, a commotion began. The small, raised platform there was just tall enough for me to see over the heads of the people around me.
Athena, on the other hand, was too short.
And I realized quickly that was a good thing.
Because one after another, soldiers roughly dragged three men onto the stage. Each one was naked aside from their disturbingly filthy underwear and blindfolded with an equally filthy cloth.
Each one had their hands tied with ropes behind their backs.
Each one cowered and trembled, clearly petrified.
My grip on Athena tightened again—instinctually this time. I was probably hurting her. But if she felt it, she didn’t react.
She craned her neck one way, then the other, trying to see the stage.
My heart fucking froze in my chest.
“These young men…” Director continued, sauntering toward the stage with her back turned to us. “These young men may look innocent. They may look like your brothers. Your sons. Your friends.”
She made eye contact with cadets as she passed them. She even shook a few outstretched hands, and as if I were living in a fucked-up upside-down universe, they ate it up.
Did the Ministry they saw really look that different from what I saw? Did Director? How could they not see the injustice in the way they forced mystics to mate? In the way they kidnapped and imprisoned them for her cause?
“These men here are not your friends,” she said, throwing an arm out at the pitiful-looking, terrified men.
“They are not part of our family. In fact—” She spun to the crowd, facing us now.
“—these men have made it their life mission to eradicate mystics. These men—these earthlies—have killed dozens, if not hundreds of your sisters. Of your brothers.”
The people around us roared with anger. Even Karlyle and Alexander clenched their fists and stood straighter.
Warning sirens wailed in my mind. I’d seen this shit happen before. I knew exactly how this played out.
“Now,” Director continued as the crowd died down. “We can all agree that these earthlies, these men who want to hurt us, should pay for what they have done, can’t we?”
The others roared to life again. Florence pumped her fist, and Riot, at her side, shouted in agreement.
The cadets near us would notice soon enough that the two of us were not as…energetic.
“Well,” Director went on. “Some of you already know this. But there is a very special woman in our presence today.”
Silence fell over the deck. The ship sped up. Sea mist sprayed into the air.
My phantoms stirred and stirred and stirred, begging for a way out. Begging to be freed so they could protect her.
“If you’d like to watch a tier four mystic—the most powerful of our kind—eradicate these villains, then please turn your attention to this beauty right here, and welcome her to the stage.”
Every eye drifted our way.
My heart thundered and my blood ran cold. Fuck. How would we get out of this, when every person here was watching us?
The other threes knew about Athena’s status, but the ones and twos on board?
This was new information.
To them, Athena was a god.
That became very clear when a few squeals floated up from the group. Several cadets cried out in excitement. Some moved closer.
I pulled Athena into my chest with an arm around her torso. She was clearly in shock—I didn’t blame her. Nobody could have fucking seen this coming.
“Very well, very well.” Director laughed quietly. “Your claimed is protective of you. We can understand that, can’t we, cadets?” A collective aww rang through the crowd.
That only made me even more murderous. It only emphasized how fucking vulnerable we were.
I couldn’t protect Athena here. Not like this. Not with my phantoms on a fucking leash.
I couldn’t protect her. And that fucking terrified me.
Bile rose in my throat.
“Don’t worry.” Director locked those snake eyes on me. “We’ll take good care of her. Come on up here, Athena.”
She tensed in my hold. Anger raced through me. God, I wanted to rip her away from here. I wanted to hide away. To be literally anywhere else.
My heart pounded. Every instinct screamed at me not to let her go up there.
But what fucking choice did I have?
She gripped my arms and removed herself from my grasp. “It’s okay.” Turning, she gave me a shaky smile. “I’ll be okay.” She nodded. But no amount of assurance could have convinced me that she was okay.
Athena didn’t see a way out of this, either.
So she took a step toward the stage—toward those three blindfolded men—and the crowd roared to life, cheering and clapping and whooping for her.
They were fucking animals.
But I didn’t spare them a glance. My attention was glued on my claimed, who’d come to a stop a few feet away from Director.
“Up, up!” She held a hand out and pulled Athena to the stage.
She complied, wearing a tense, fake grin. She stood tall, her black dress barely brushing the ground as she took those steps onto the stage and overlooked the crowd.
The sun had fully set now, the sea waves in the distance behind her barely visible as the ship pushed forward. Forward.
My chained phantoms roared in warning. But there was nothing I could do except stand here. Helpless. Watching.
“Okay, cadets,” Director continued. “Who wants to see our beautiful four put on a show? Who wants to see how powerful a tier four can really be?”