Page 16 of Insatiable

My thoughts are shattered a moment later as a scream rends through the air. I swivel to my right to find one of the contestants that had a moment ago been eyeing a piece of pie, is now hanging in a cage ten feet above his seat.

I make to stand, more in shock than anything else, but a sharp pain in my shin stops me. I glance up and see Felix staring at me. Almost imperceptibly, he shakes his head. He knows something. He knows something the rest of us don’t. While it’s not entirely unlike Felix to cheat in these trials, it’s a surprise he’s cluing me in on his cheating. I look down the table to where Anthura is helping herself to cheesecake. If Felix knows that standing up will be a problem, then there’s only one person he could have gotten that information from.

I don’t know whether to feel angry that he’s cheating, angry that he’s cozying up to Anthura… again, or relieved that I have a modicum of the upper hand in this trial. No eating and no standing up. Got it. I relay the information quietly to Quinn and Juliette. Quinn immediately whispers it to Dade beside her, but Juliette just pouts, saying nothing to Tomas, who still has her in his grip.

I steal another glance at Felix. He’s staring at the plate in front of him, his expression a mask of indifference, but I wish I could see what’s going on behind those unreadable eyes. The fact that he’s helping me is undeniable now. The kick wasn’t random; it was a warning. But the question gnaws at me—why is he helping me? Felix, of all people? I’ve never trusted the motives of men, especially not his, yet here I am, wanting to believe that his actions are genuine. It makes me feel weak, pathetic even, this need to cling to the idea that maybe, just maybe, he’s doing something good. Urgh. I hate that I'm second-guessing myself, questioning his intentions while my defenses keep crumblingevery time our paths cross. The more I think about it, the more disgusted I feel with myself, for wanting to believe in Felix of all people. Do people really change? I didn’t used to think so. I look down at the food and concentrate on something that is in my power. I need to get through this trial. I need to feed this life growing inside me and that means gathering all the strength and willpower I posses.

The “feast” lasts for hours, and the food on the table doesn’t remain static. As some courses disappear, other fresh courses appear in front of us. All the while, George continues eating as though he’s the one who hasn’t eaten for a week and not the rest of us. This circle is truly wretched, but I’m in Hell. I didn’t expect a walk in the park. Thanks to the cookies filling my belly, I’m able to resist the weirder and weirder food that keeps appearing in front of me. I’m the only one getting meals like tuna fish and chocolate milk and chicken with horseradish, but I’m the only one that’s pregnant.

One by one, the contestants ascend into the air as they can’t resist the temptation any longer or they make the mistake of standing up. Each one hangs pitifully in cages above where they were seated. Finally, after what feels like a month but in reality is probably five or six hours, George stands.

“By my count, there are twenty of you left. The trial is over.” He looks up to where ten people hang above the table. “You ten are out of the Games. Your punishment will be to stay in Gluttony forever. Well done to those who resisted food made by my finest chefs. Your reward is to eat the feast… for real.”

I glance over at Felix, who picks up a chicken drumstick. He doesn’t look directly at me, but for the briefest of seconds, I think I see his eyes flicker to mine. The food is safe to eat. I finally let go of Juliette’s clammy hand. Within half a second, she’s grabbing at the pile of hotdogs in front of her and shoving one in an unladylike manner into her mouth. I reach out and take aslice of the pizza that has been haunting me for hours and take a bite. The salty taste of the tuna mixes surprisingly well with the strawberry ice cream.

After the best meal I’ve ever had, we all make our way out of the Earthery. I hang back until I see Felix. Making sure Anthura isn’t with him, I pull him aside.

“You knew what was going to happen in this trial, didn’t you? You are the one who left cookies for me.”

He gives me a look that I can’t read and I hate it. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Just then, Anthura does appear and Felix is by her side in a second like a pathetic lap dog. I know he’s lying. Maybe I was wrong about the cookies, but it was him kicking my shin that stopped me from getting out of my seat and therefore being disqualified from the games. Now I just have to figure out if he’s helping me for my sake or if this is all part of a game thought up between him and Anthura and I’m merely the pawn.

9

DAMN IT ROWENA

FELIX

“What were you two talking about?” Anthura has been silent the whole ride up to the penthouse and now her voice grates on my nerves.

“Who two?” I ask as she steps off the platform to her door.

“You and him. Robert. I saw the two of you whispering when we left the Earthery.”

“I left the Earthery five seconds before you did. What do you think we were talking about? An in-depth conversation about Shakespeare’s best plays?”

“Don’t be facetious,” she snarls. “Are you coming in or not?”

I don’t want to come in. I want to go to my room and sleep and maybe think about what the fuck I’m doing without Anthura constantly up in my grill, but to say no would make her suspicious and I need to get Rowena out of this circle, if only for the sake of the baby. I’m not having a son or daughter of mine spending their days watching George stuff his face while he or she withers away to nothing. It’s a fucking baby, for fuck’s sake. I step out onto the ledge next to Anthura. She gives me a curt smile, then opens the door.

I make to follow, but she’s turned and is blocking the doorway. “If I thought for a second you were thinking of fucking that freak and are using me to help him, I’ll send you into the fiery pits of Hell where you belong.”

“I’m so confused,” I deadpan, not confused at all. “I thought we already were in the fiery pits of Hell.”

Anthura’s faces turns down into a scowl. “I’ll take you all the way to Satan himself and then don’t beg for my mercy.”

I put my hand to the doorframe and step closer to her. “Anthura. That’s exactly what we’re trying to do. Get to Satan, or have you forgotten? You can’t get to Satan any more than I can without going through these bullshit games, so just cut the crap and let me in. I push past her and she doesn’t try to stop me. If she didn’t want me in her apartment, she’d have pushed me off the moving platform when it went past my floor. She just likes to think she’s winning these little fucked up games of hers. I stride right over to the kitchen and grab a couple of cookies which I pocket for Rowena’s breakfast tomorrow morning, then I pour myself a healthy measure of Dragonfire whisky.

Anthura sidles up next to me and wrenches the glass out of my hand.

“I was drinking that.”

Anthura smirks, her eyes glinting. "You're not afraid of me, are you Felix?" she murmurs, her voice low and seductive. She holds the glass to her lips and downs the whole thing.

I’m not afraid of what Anthura can do to me. She’s full of shit about taking me to Satan, but if she thought for a second there was anything going on between me and Rowena, she’d have her out of the games and there wouldn’t be a thing I could do about it. I glare at her, wondering where she’s going with this.

“You know what, Anthura? I’m done. I’ve eaten like a pig and my stomach feels like it’s about to burst. Maybe I should go sleepit off.” I take the empty glass from her hand and place it on the counter. “Maybe you should too.”

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