Page 14 of Daemonium

"Maybe it’s his way of telling you he’s here with you."

“That is grossly sentimental,” Ciaran remarked amusedly.

“Don’t be a dick,” Lana chastised, then in a softer tone to Dion. “They’ve already confirmed he’s watching and doing what he can.”

“I know he is,” Dion said, looking out the window.

I watched him, my mind drifting. I remembered Dion a little easier than anything else. He was carefree and lighthearted. That spark was gone now, replaced by a somber heaviness he tried not to show. I hated seeing that. Not just for him, but for all of us. How would we go back to the world beyond this nightmarish playground after all was said and done? It wasn’t just about surviving the immediate danger; it was about finding a way to reclaim the fragments of us that this place had taken.

And at what cost?

How did the guys manage it? Their level of compartmentalization was on the next level and terrifying to me, but I realized I’d been doing it too, hadn’t I? Taking all this bullshit and rolling with the punches day after day.

As the tram glided smoothly along its track, I turned my head and looked out the window. Ky was silent and still beside me, his masked gaze fixed straight ahead. We entered the woods and that became my only view until we proceeded through a brick tunnel. Unlike the last time, this one had lights, and we weren’t riding an out-of-control bus.

“So what side are you lot on?” the athletic man suddenly asked.

“Ours,” Charon replied before anyone else could.

“And what’s that supposed to mean?”

The woman with short, silver hair and a hardened expression spoke up, her voice firm and unwavering. “Survival,” she stated. “They’re on the side of survival. In other words, winning.”

Ciaran leaned forward so he could see around Lana. “Look how quick she understood without needing to ask questions.” He tilted his head, and I could tell he was looking at the woman who’d spoken. “Carol Blackwood, right?”

Her expression changed subtly, not surprised but solemn. “That’s right.”

Blackwood? How did I know that name?

“Blackwood?” Lana used her arm to push Ciaran back. “Are you related to Thomas Blackwood?”

“As in Blackwood Architecture?” Mel chimed in.

There it was.

They were both right.

Blackwood Architecture had been contracted by our parents and countless others for various construction designs, everything from office buildings to houses. At least, that’s how we’d always understood it. Now, I wasn’t so sure.

Carol’s mouth drew tight. “Thomas is my brother.”

“And your brother pissed off the big guys on top,” Maverick stated matter-of-factly.

Carol nodded her head once. “That’s right. He didn’t fall in line with their demands for Project Paradise after he found out what they planned to do with the Spencer Estate.”

I shared a look with Lana and Mel. Project Paradise? Spencer Estate? “Is that why you were forced into the show?”

She met my questioning gaze with a faint smile. “I agreed to participate in exchange for his freedom.”

Brody scoffed, coughing when Mel elbowed him.

“Do you honestly believe he’ll be let go?” Lana asked.

“She knows he won’t,” Ciaran answered calmly.

“No, he won’t,” Carol agreed. “I have my reasons for agreeing, despite that. Just like you all do.” Her eyes were fixed on Ciaran when she said that last part.

She knew something—something I got the feeling I didn’t. If I picked up on it, then Liliana and Mel would’ve too. Sure enough, Lana looked between the woman and Ciaran.

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