“She’ll learn soon enough,” his father says. His hands are shockingly strong, gripping me so hard I’m sure his fingers are leaving bruises on my bicep.
“Or she won’t,” his brother says. His grip isn’t as hard, but his nails dig into my skin, pinching me in a way I’m sure is intentional.
They force me down the stairs, and the front door looms in my vision. My feet slip against the smooth hardwood floors as I try—in vain—to slow myself down. They’re actually going to throw me outside, onto the icy mountaintop.
They’re going to kill me for the sake of some stupid game. For the sake offamily tradition.
Some part of me is still holding back. Still desperate to prove that I’mone of them. But instinct rears its ugly head within me.
There’s a fluttering panic in my chest. The fear of an animal driven into a corner. I haven’t felt this way since high school, when my first con fell to pieces after someone dug into my parents. A trio of girls cornered me in the bathroom, calling out my lies and taunting me about my family.
In that moment, like this one, I can feel the world crumbling under my feet. It gives me that same sensation I imagine I’d get it I flung myself off the side of the building. That sense of falling from a great height, but for a second, I’m free. Because I realize that whatever happens next doesn’t matter. Which means I can do whatever the fuck I want, for once. No more use pretending.
I do now what I did back in high school. I focus on the hand in front of my face, open my mouth, and bite until I taste blood.
Adrian yelps and releases me. I turn, teeth bared and copper on my tongue, toward Louis’s father.
I catch a glimpse of Louis over his shoulder. I’ve always wondered what expression he would wear if he saw the real me, all of that feral anger I keep buried so deep. I’ve pictured him as horrified, shocked, afraid, angry. But instead he just looks… disgusted.
It makes me pause. Makes my gut twitch in instinctive self-reproach. And in that split second of hesitation, Louis’s father twists both of my arms behind my back, so fast and powerful it leaves me dizzy.
“Unacceptable behavior,” he says, scolding me like I’m a child.
Then he continues marching me toward the front door.
My heart sinks. Even if I got away, where was I going to run? There’s nowhere to go but out into the cold. Straight to certain death.
Just before we reach the doorway, Louis jumps in front of us. New hope flutters in my chest.
“Wait,” he says, holding up his hands. “I don’t want to send her out like this. She doesn’t understand. Let me talk to her.”
Louis’s father is silent for a long moment. Then he releases me. I stumble forward, and Louis catches me.
I look up at him, blinking away a blur of tears. “Thank you,” I whisper.
As he cups my face, I slip a hand into his pocket.
“It’s going to be okay,” Louis says. “I know this is a lot. But it’ll all be worth it in the morning, I promise. You just have to trust me.”
I nod, eyes locked on his, as I slowly pull my clenched hand back.
“I do,” I say, and knee him in the groin.
I rush past him and out the door, his car keys clutched in my fist.
After a pause tograb my coat and throw it over my shoulders, I step outside and pause again, my blind rage abating for a moment. The world outside of the house has been transformed. It’s dark, and the wind howls, biting at every bit of skin left exposed by my hasty preparations. The temperature is so cold that it hurts to breathe. And snow has started to fall, forming a white barrier that makes it impossible to see more than a few feet in front of me.
My stomach sinks. I can’t drive down the mountain in this. I also forgot my goddamn phone inside, I realize—not that I had any service as it is.
“Diana!”
I may be stuck here, but I’m not willing to face Louis and his family yet, so I slam the door behind me and plunge ahead. At the very least, I can hang out in the car until my vision stops spinning. Let Louis and his snobby relatives worry about me while they play their stupid game. It’s petty, but the idea of ruining their fun gives me strength as I plunge ahead.
It’s insane how quickly the weather has changed. The staircase is covered in fresh snow, and I can’t even see the bottom. Still, I determinedly thump my way down, clinging to the railing to avoid slipping on ice. When I hear the cabin door open behind me, I hobble faster, knowing that Louis must be on my heels.
The staircase is solong, and perilously slippery in the weather, but I manage to reach the bottom without falling. One step onto open ground, and my boot plunges into snow up to my calf. I grunt with effort as I lift it out again to take another step forward. This one sends my foot even deeper and throws me off-balance. Gritting my teeth, I push forward—but someone grabs my arm and pulls me to a stop.
Louis. I slap his hand away as I turn to face him. His cheeks are red from the cold, his blue eyes wide and pleading. He looks beautiful right now, like a winter prince carved from ice.
