I claw at the hand covering my mouth, sinking my nails as deep as I can into the flesh. But I’m too exhausted to inflict muchdamage. My bones feel weak, like they’ll snap if I make any more sudden movements.
“It’s me. It’s just me,” Cyprian’s Familiar whispers in my ear. “I need you to be calm right now because they’re coming.”
My sigh of relief at the sound of his voice is cut short when Megan stirs, her groans echoing in the strange chamber. She clutches her stomach and rolls to her side, vomit splashing over the cold stone floor between us. Then, she lies still. Too still.
I have to get to her. I force my body to relax, convincing him it’s safe to remove his hand.
“I have to help her.” I make my way over to her, the rusted metal chains binding my wrists pulling tighter with each movement. As if my punishment is to watch her die. I yank on them in frustration. Everything I have done so far has been to protect the Familiars, the crowd enjoying the show—everyone trapped in this hellish nightmare. And I failed. It feels like it was all for nothing.
“There’s nothing you can do for her. She didn’t pass the test.”
A slimy sheen of sweat coats Megan’s face. She looks deathly sick. Her youthful beauty is soiled by blood and vomit.
I memorize her face. When the time comes when I can finally expose the horrors the vampires inflicted in the name of entertainment, I’ll remember everything and everyone who got caught up in this sick game. I turn to Cyprian’s Familiar, his blue eyes piercing my own with a hard certainty. Looks like the illusion is broken and finally someone else besides me can see this place for what it truly is: an exhausting mind-fuck.
I break eye contact to fully take in our surroundings. We’re in a dungeon, like one from a movie with castles, complete with iron bars and the constant slow drip of water.
“Where are we?” I ask, looking everywhere but at Megan.
“Underground. Which vial did you choose?” he asks.
“Knox’s. The one with the wolf symbol. It’s what he was dressed like for the ball.” My throat bobs at the memory, at all the things we had both said and left unsaid… before I stabbed him. The hollow ache in my chest returns.
“And what about Megan? What happened?”
To my relief, she groans at the sound of her name.
“She tried to take Knox’s blood from me. She didn’t drink any but since she had grabbed onto me, the gateway took us both. I guess that’s why she’s sick.” I maneuver the chains so I can shuffle my way over to the wall next to him, my body aching with each movement.
He holds out a hand for me to shake. “By the way, my name is Jack.”
“Danni.”
“I know. It’s nice to officially meet you, Danni.”
But before I can shake his hand, murmuring and shuffling outside of the cell catches my attention.
Jack still grabs my hand. “It’s them. We don’t have much time. Listen to me very carefully.” His grip is almost painful as he pulls me in closer to him. “Do as they say. Without question. Don’t put up a fight. The Rabbids enjoy the chase far more than obeying orders.”
As if on cue, the deep snarls of the Rabbids approaching grow louder inside the dungeon.
Why are the Rabbids here? Why did the vials take us to a jail cell and not our Masters?
Jack releases me just as the flicker of a flaming torch comes into view, followed by two creatures who are certain to haunt my dreams for the rest of my days. Celeste leads them up to the iron bars, her face stoic and cold, as if we hadn’t shared anything between us in the circus.
As if she wasn’t my friend.
Had I dreamed it all?
“Well, I’m surprised to see you’re still alive.” Her shrill voice bounces off the stone walls, making the dungeon even more unbearable. “Take them. The binding begins in thirty minutes.”
My blood chills as the bars open of their own accord. I reach for Jack as the creatures wrap their hands around my arms and drag me to my feet, chains and all, but he must have hidden back into the shadows of the cell.
I don’t put up a fight, just like he instructed. I try to memorize the path as I’m dragged through the labyrinth of damp tunnels. There’s nothing I can use as a marker to find my way back. The air-tight rock walls all look the same. As the flaming torch Celeste holds illuminates the way ahead, I notice the sheen on the rocks is the same sick shade of green that covers the Rabbids… and now Megan.
Is Megan turning into a Rabbid?
We follow Celeste through the winding hallways for what feels like hours. The air is stale as it fills my lungs. I focus on that feeling rather than my fear as the path slopes down, taking us deeper into the darkness. The uneven path of jagged rock scrapes my bare feet, making them sting from countless tiny cuts.
