Page 125 of Hell Breaks Loose

The back and forth fades with a shake of her head. I am certain it continues silently, where only she can hear them.

Sometimes, I wish I could hear them, the Seven. To know their plan. To understand my purpose.

To see what the future holds for this existence.

Every time these thoughts surface, though, the need arises again.

Triggered by her demands, her requests.

And fueled by a hunger that eats away at everything I have left.

It claws at my insides, and I am left gasping, weeping, curled in a ball in the corner of whatever room I call my own for the night.

I’m one of the lucky ones. Most have to go days without. Days living with the scorpions digging their way out of their skin. Nightmares of free will and the terror of going back to it.

Of being lost and alone.

For me, that means reliving a memory.

One I’m not even sure is real. A night of the bitterest cold. The deepest pain. Utter hopelessness.

Tumbling through the dark, never to see the sun again.

“I brought Marco here with the promise of offering up the woman. His stepdaughter. But I assumed we would have everything in order by then. That she would have told him what she knew.”

“What does she know that’s so important?”

“Where the throne of the Sinful is.”

“Then we still need her?” A twinge of hope wriggles up through the despair.

“We do. If nothing else, to make her pay for what I have lost. To make her pay for my brother’s sins.”

“Then let me hunt for her. Let me find her.” Because I need to. To see her and understand why she means so much to me.

“Fine. Hunt for her. Find her. And the hole the Block have crawled into. I want to wipe them off the map once and for all.”

25

HELLENA

“You must be exhausted.”

“You’d think so.” I sigh, pattering my feet on the area rug of the cabin.

“Ora really shouldn’t have given me such a nice room. I don’t deserve it after everything I put them through.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Gavin sighs, scooting toward me.

“Other people could use it?—”

“Other people don’t have three adults sleeping in the same bed.”

“What now?” Tell and I say in unison as he pokes his head around the corner from the bathroom, his naked torso glowing golden tan in the soft light. He grins as we lock eyes.

“Don’t act like that wasn’t the plan all along.” Gav raises an eyebrow. “No fucking way am I sleeping anywhere but with you tonight.”

“I just assumed I was sleeping on your other side, honestly.” Tell winks.

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