Then I realize what this place looks like.
A church. An upside-down church. A sanctuary made in hell.
There’s even an altar. The Giant’s body lies on it like a sacrifice. Someone cleaned him up a little, but blood still pools around him.
I almost feel sorry for him. He was Dominus’s son, sent to fight for his family’s honor. But in this world, it’s kill or be killed. And I am a killer.
Kaiser sets me down on a chair. “Can you kneel?” he asks and helps me into a high kneeling position that won’t twinge my ankle. He tucks his robe around me more tightly. It’s so huge it wraps around me a few times and pools at my feet, but I appreciate it. It’s chilly in here, despite the fireplace built into the walls. Or maybe I’m just feeling the aftereffects of adrenaline leaving my body. All the pain I didn’t feel in the ring has arrived, and I’m living in it. My ankle and cheek ache.
Two men come forward, one wearing a black mask with devil’s horns. I recognize him from my father’s office a lifetime ago. The Devil is here.
The other is Father Francis. What’s a priest doing in hell? It was my idea, he told me once. He raised these boys, founded Fraternitas. Helped hone them into a weapon.
A few more figures join us at the front. A woman in a wheelchair, with brilliant tattoo sleeves. She’s holding a dagger, stroking its handle. The blood red jewels in her skull ring glint in the firelight.
“That’s Lucy,” Kaiser whispers to me.
Jaeger and Elodie also drift toward us, holding hands. Elodie’s changed into a simple white dress that makes her look like a priestess. She looks solemn, like she’s at a funeral. She and Jaeger take their place beside the altar. I notice she can’t look at the body.
“It’s time,” Father Francis intones.
Kaiser leans down to turn my face toward him. “It’s time I make you mine,” he murmurs to me. “Forever. My chosen one. My elita.”
“This is it?”
“This is it. I’m claiming you.” He cups my sore cheek. His brow furrows as he swipes his thumb gently over my swollen skin. He looks so upset by the fact that I’m hurt that I want to comfort him.
“I’m okay,” I murmur. I turn my head, kissing his palm. “Let’s do this.”
“The sacrifice has already been made,” the Devil rasps. “Blood has been spilled. You are already bound by blood and death. After this ceremony?—”
“Wait,” I blurt out. The sound echoes in the cavernous space. All the skull masks tilt my way, and I can feel their silent disapproval. I’m probably the only person in the world who dares interrupt the Devil. “Sorry. I know this is probably a bad time. But, uh, I have something to confess.” Crap, I’ve messed up this beautifully sinister moment, but I have to get this off my chest. I hover my hand over Kaiser’s arm. “You won’t like it.”
“Tell me,” he rumbles. “But if it’s about hunting down Dominus, I’m in. I’ll do it for you. We all will.”
“No, it’s not about that. I actually was going to leave Dominus to my father. My father’s still alive, you know.”
A murmur runs through the Fraternitas’s ranks. Out of the corner of my eye, I see one of the men raise his mask. It’s St. James, and he’s rubbing his face like he has a headache.
Kaiser kneels to take my hands. “What is it, Bella?”
“Um… so… I’ve been poisoning you.”
“I know.”
“Yeah, no, it wasn’t what you think. I wasn’t trying to kill you with the poison. This time.” Hecate, help me, I’m making a mess of this.
Kaiser has a patient look on his face. “Is this about the candles?”
“No. Not the candles. This is a poison you don’t know about.” I talk faster, trying to speedrun through my feelings. “See, oxytocin can be used as a fertilizer and some samples got shipped to me by accident and I thought it would be good to make you fall in love with me. So I made a sort of aphrodisiac lotion and rubbed it into my skin and?—”
“I know,” Kaiser says.
“And I think it made you love me… but it’s not real…” It takes me a second to hear him. “Wait, you know?”
“Yes. I figured it out. Atticus tested everything in your room when you were in a coma.”
“Oh.” I look around. In the front pew, a masked man raises his hand at me. “Hi, Atticus.” I turn back to Kaiser. “You knew.”
