He lifts whatever is covering my eyes, his cape flowing in front of me. With a dramatic flair, he pulls back his hood, black hair gleaming like pitch in the flickering flames. Then, his full mask. And I see his face.
The man who has sat behind me for the past year.
Quiet. Forgettable. Safe.
“You understand why I chose that name, too, right?”
“Because you’re Grayson?—”
“Tut, tut. Come on, Pandora.” His gloved hand reaches for me, and I flinch. “Because of your father. I thought you’d feel more comfortable with me that way.”
My face screws up in disgust. “You chose to tell me your nickname wasGbecause that’s what my father goes by?”
He shrugs, as if this makes complete sense. “Of course.”
When I attempt to shift out of the chair, he eyes the bindings on my arms. My legs seem to be free, though. “What’s this about?”
“Our ceremony. I can’t have you, not fully, until the chosen time. But I will.” He leans in close, and I back up asmuch as I can. My head hits the stones behind me. “My love…join me.”
“Join youwhere?” I ask through tight lips. If he tries to kiss me, I suppose I could let him. And kick him in the groin.
He laughs and wanders farther into the room. A shadow disappearing into the night. Only his voice echoes back to me. “I want you beside me.”
“Beside you?”
Silence is his only response.
Keep him talking, Scout.
“So…G. What’s with the organs? Do you, um, like,eatthem?” I say louder than normal, because I don’t know if he’s even still in the room. Blinking hard, I try to adjust to the light.
“Your liver is gorgeous. So perfect. I’m sure all of your organs are. I almost took something from you on Thursday.” He reappears, looking forlorn, eyes searching the dirt floor. “Alas, I gathered up what I could from your best friend. She was the perfect sacrifice. A substitute. So you and I can make more for the Gnu.”
My brain’s still too fucked up to understand anything. “What? I don’t understand.”
“Malkaos, my darling. He’s the seventh. And I was convinced I angered him with subpar samples, but then? I found you.He gave me you, Scout. My Pandora. The mother of the next generation. Together, you and I will gain more of his blessing. We shall be wed as soon as I can turn in my key.”
Key… The tangram.
“Your tangram.”
G nods slowly. “Yes! The tangram. It’s a key. We’llfinally be able to worship him together. Making new life. After we take an old.” His thumb brushes over my lips as he studies them like an experiment. Beholding me like I’m under a microscope. “Those who are unworthy don’t deserve to live.”
“What’s… What’s it akeyto?” I whisper.
As utterly petrifying as it is, Gray’s face turns almost seductive as he grins, wide and slow. “To a higher plane.”
Brown eyes twitching, he smiles like he just said things that make sense. Only to him.
I swallow. “What does that mean?”
As if I hadn’t even spoken, he nods suddenly and spins around. “I need your liver. I’m sureMalkaoswill be pleased.”
I gasp, a whimper cutting off the sound.
“Oh, don’t worry, my Pandora.” He returns to the light, then raises a candle up so the entire room is revealed. “I only need a small piece. Not the entire thing. And, as you know, a liver can practically heal itself.”
There’s a surgical table in the middle. Straps. An IV pole… And a medical tray with lots of instruments laid out on a sterile drape.
