Something’s not right. I’m on a hard chair, sitting up. There’s no beeping, only silence as I strain to open my eyes, recalling the nurse drugging me.
When I look around, I’m definitely not in the hospital anymore. But it’s pitch black, so I can’t see anything. I go to stand but my arms are bound and there’s a gag over my mouth. It takes me a few minutes to register that I’m in the old Belgrave mausoleum. At least I think I am. It has the same musty smell and stale air.
Struggling against the restraints is useless. I’m trapped.
Minutes later, the lights flip on to reveal an enormous round wooden table and every person who played Mercy is seated at it, except for Remy. Each person is in the same situation. Their hands tied and mouth gagged.
What are they going to do to us?
Decider announces, “The final dare. Thirteen. Sacrifice.”
My eyes dart to Luca. He’s focused on me, and I can see he’s rattled which gives me no comfort. We’re at their will. We’re literally prisoners of Mercy. And there’s not a fucking thing we can do about it.
“But only one team has earned the right to partake.” He waves around the table. “The rest of you are here to earn your freedom. The price—silence.
“Mercy is sacred. It must remain veiled in secrecy. There’s no alternative. You can all walk away from here. The agreement is you will never speak of Mercy to anyone. Ever. And if you do, the price will be grave.”
A hooded figure moves behind each player one by one and to remove our gags. Decider asks them whether they agree to an oath of silence. Once the person agrees, their arms are unbound.
What happens if we don’t consent? No one has refused yet. And I’m afraid to find out. These dudes are clearly crazy and take this game way too seriously. They kidnapped me from a freaking hospital and tied me to a chair. They made sure we didn’t bail on the final challenge.
When they get to Micah, he agrees before they release him, but he doesn’t leave like the other players did. They do the same for Brooke, me, then Luca. The four of us remain.
Brooke moves next to me as I attempt to get up but as soon as I put weight on my leg, it gives out, pain radiating to my toes. “Guess no one thought to grab my crutches when y’all kidnapped me.”
Luca starts towards me as I yell, “Don’t you dare fucking touch me. I’ll crawl out of here if I have to.”
“Let me help you,” Brooke offers.
“The remaining team is not permitted to leave until Mercy has concluded.” Decider holds up three daggers before he places them on the table. “The final challenge—sacrifice. Only one person wins Mercy. That person must sacrifice the other.”
Did he just really say that? I look at Luca. Will he kill me? He wants to win. He says he’s done with the game. But is he? He killed my mom to play.
I ask the Decider, “You really want one of us to murder someone to win Mercy?”
“Yes. Without sacrifice, our nature remains selfish.”
“Selfish,” I laugh. Out of everything they want to test, it’s selfishness. These individuals really have reached an entirely new level of insanity. “Selfish is killing people for entertainment. No one wins this fucking game.”
“Three daggers,” Luca utters.
Decider announces, “The Deceiver is still eligible.”
Luca starts coming towards me, terror on his face. “Ivy, come here.”
When I stumble, Brooke keeps a hold of my arm. Micah swiftly grabs a dagger, moving behind me. His arm is around my waist, the blade at my throat.
Luca cautiously paces closer; every movement appears like he might attack at any second.
Brooke is a few feet away. “Micah, stop. What are you doing?”
He only removes the dagger from my skin long enough to point it at Brooke as she retreats, his yells echoes through the tomb, “You did this.”
“Get your hands off of her,” Luca says steadily as he takes another calculated stride to me. When the metal tip pokes harder against my skin, he stops. Every muscle in his body rigid as he holds his arms up in surrender and calmly tells his brother, “You’re out of the game. There’s no reason for you to hurt her.”
“It’s supposed to be me. I’m supposed to win, not you,” Micah shouts, his body trembling as he clutches me tighter, keeping me between him and Luca.
“If she doesn’t walk out of this fucking room, no one does,” Luca calmly states.
