Heat rushes to my cheeks and travels down my neck. The weight of the V settles between my breasts in a heavy, suffocating, and permanent way.
Somewhere above, a spotlight clicks on with a sharp crackle of electricity. Dust rises around us. Shadows leap. And then a grand piano ascends from the dark floor just left of center stage.
A woman, draped in a red sequin gown that clings to her curves and wearing a mask identical to mine, sits in front of the keys. Her fingers hover for barely a second before she presses the first seductive note.
A languid melody slides into the room and curls around me. The chanting falters, but not completely, their voices blending with the music, humming in perfect, erotic harmony.
My throat tightens again.
This is really happening.
There's no way out.
I glance at Brax, and my mistake nearly destroys me.
His gaze drills through the skull mask, burning through my defenses, my training, everything I've built to survive this place. The womenaround him run their hands slowly up and down his thighs, their fingertips tracing the lines of muscle with reverence. He doesn't flinch, doesn't react, doesn't even look at them. His eyes stay locked on mine with questions that slice through my skin.
But there's also his darkness. It screams he's ready to kill, and I'm afraid he might as soon as he's released.
I mouth, "It's okay."
His breath only gets harsher.
Something inside my rib cage twists so sharply I nearly step backward. And I wish he'd stop looking at me. I wish he'd look away and just let everyone else witness this test that the Omni hopes I fail.
The music swells, reaching a haunting crescendo. The chanting turns melodic. It rises and falls, truly a dark prayer whispered directly into my bones.
When the final note breaks, the judge who sentenced us rises slowly. The room falls silent, and he asks the question. "What do you choose, Valentina?"
The question slams through me like a blade.
My stomach curls so tight it cramps. A violent wave of dizziness rolls through me. I clutch the chains holding the scarlet V to the point my knuckles hurt. My vision blurs at the edges. Every instinct I have screams at me to run, to refuse, to demand another punishment, another rite, anything but this.
There is only one choice. I survive, or I die. I complete the ritual, or I easily get replaced. And I can protect Brax, or watch him bleed for my failure.
I remind myself,I've been trained by the best.
It's just humiliation. There are worse things.
I lift my chin.
The scarlet V shifts with the movement. Its gold chains tighten across my ribs.
The room leans toward me, hungry for my answer.
My knees tremble, but I force my voice to rise.
"I choose?—"
The words catch. Emotion hits me harder than I ever thought it could.
Brax's eyes widen through his mask. The faintest shake of his head pleads with me to stop. But there is no reconsidering. There never was and never will be in the Underworld.
I seize what remains of my strength, bite into the wavering fear in my throat, and scream the words the Omni have demanded from me,
"I choose the Ritual of the Scarlet Hour!"
The crowd erupts. It's not in applause but a guttural roar that shakes the entire chamber. The pianist's fingers return to the keys.
