“Then why did you?” I yell, shoving him in the chest.
“It’s inconsequential now,” he says. The muscles in his jaw tic and clench with each word.
“Where did they take her?” I shriek, stepping even closer, getting myself ready to ball up my fists and hit him as hard as I can.
“You are all such emotional creatures,” he says, barely above a whisper; like a thought that was too important to contain in his own mind. His eyes dart all over my face, taking me in, until he slowly shakes his head and steps back.
“Tell me where they took her…where are they taking everyone who hasn’t died? Tell me what’s going on,” I say through tightly clenched teeth. “Take me there and I’ll give you back your mask.”
“I could just take it back right now,” he says, stepping closer to me.
I fold my arms over my chest and settle my fingers around the hilt of the knife that’s tucked into my waistband. “So why don’t you?”
His lips quirk up in one corner. “You and your little blade are entertaining to watch. I’m leaning toward keeping you as a pet.”
I’ve never wanted to stab someone before—never wanted to watch someone bleed—but right now, with him standing over me, mocking me, it takes everything I have inside me not to throttle him. “Just tell me where she is.”
I barrel into him, fed up with his games. I’ll make him take me. I’ll make him…
With a simple flick of his wrist my body slams against a wall and black spots dance across my vision.
I blink my eyes to find him hovering over my bag, my belongings scattered amongst the dirt and grime of the floor. My belly grumbles in protest seeing my entire meager supply of granola bars flattened under his boots. I climb to my feet slowly. I’m about to scream, lash out about how selfish and horrible he is, about how much I hate him for everything that his people have done, but something stops me. My movements still and I glance down at what he is prying out of my bag. Taking a slow, deep breath, he holds the mask in his hands reverently, then slowly brings it up to his face.
I wait for the hum—for that deep electric buzz that grates and rattles your bones. Yet nothing happens.
His breaths speed up. Heavier and heavier, faster and faster they come, until he’s just about hyperventilating behind the face armor.
I flinch back when it drops to the floor. The hollow sound it makes is somehow sad and heartbreaking. I take another step back, not wanting to feel any sympathy for whatever was happening in front of me. My boots scrape over glass and the crunch is loud, killing the silence. His head snaps up and blue eyes meet mine. His mouth falls open but no words come out.
My first thought is to run. If he picks up that mask again, I’m dead and so is my sister.She isn’t dust yet, I refuse to believe that. I scramble back, slamming my calves into the corner of a coffee table and tumbling right over it. I look around wildly. I need something, anything to throw or hide behind.
“I’ll take you,” he says. His voice is hoarse and low.
“What?” my voice squeaks.
“I’ll take you to get your sister.”
I don’t know what just happened, but I don’t care. All I care about is getting Claire.
