I nodded, pulling the robe over my head.
He opened another door other than the one we’d entered through and pushed it open. “It’s time.”
When I stepped into the pitch-black room, my insides felt paralyzed. A chill settled in the air, something heavy with dread.
Wickedness clung to me with every step I took. Each one felt like it drained a little more of my spirit.
Eerie orchestra music vibrated against my eardrums.
The man guided me to what I assumed was the center of the room. I gasped, my gaze drawn to a flicker of light in the upper left.
I spun on my bare feet and saw a vibrant neon glow from that direction. A light beside it turned on, casting a faint glow. Then, one by one, tiers of masks came to life until the entire chamber was illuminated by rows of silent masks staring down at me.
The masks varied in color and style, though they all had the sameXas eyes. Some displayed unsettling grins while others had scowls or thin lines.
Even at a distance, they felt looming, as if they were right above me.
A soft light shone a few feet away, drawing my attention toward it. I noticed another group of masked figures in robes seated around a long table.
The arrangement struck me immediately, as if they were mirroring Da Vinci’sLast Supper. But instead of saints and apostles, they were devils.
Knelt before them was a line of other masked men, their heads bowed.
The door behind me creaked open. Another masked man entered the chamber, cloaked in the same robe as the others. He moved straight toward me.
By his height, broad shoulders, and the way he carried himself, I knew instantly it was Enzo.
I loathed myself for the small surge of relief that swept through me.
Stop it, Blair.This man is why you’re here.
Why you just went through mental hell.
He nearly drowned you. Humiliated you. Cut your fucking hair.
Yet, in this moment, I craved to run to him for refuge.
To beg him to stop this.
Realization hit me. That was probably their strategy with us.Break the Fawns down until we clung to the very men destroying us.
How profoundly fucked up.
These predators, the very creatures that hunted us, were now our saviors.
Enzo crossed the chamber in long, steady strides, and a light came on above me.
Glancing at my bare feet, I noticed symbols carved in the floor.
Intricate markings, like they were used during rituals.
My gaze lifted back to Enzo. The mask might’ve hidden his eyes, but I could still feel the weight of his intense stare.
My mind screamed for me to run. But my body only calmed when he came closer.
He towered over my smaller frame and bowed his head to look at me.
In what felt like slow motion, he reached out, his leather glove cupping my face beneath the hood.
