Page 23 of Insatiable

It's a phrase that would normally make me laugh if one of my friends said it, but from her lips, it sounds disgusting and offensive. I struggle to maintain composure and hide the inner turmoil this conversation is causing me. As George steps forward to write in his book, I try to focus on anything but the gnawing irritation inside me. I need to keep my head clear and not let people like Tate get under my skin. But when I look down, instead of one piece of paper, there is a small pile of pieces on the table in front of me.

The next hour goes by in a blur as George swaps us around to ask the same stupid questions. Finally, he stops everyone with a clearing of his thick throat.

“Well done, everyone. I told you in my message this morning that I had a surprise. Well, this is actually the start of the second trial.”

Murmurs fill the room, but I’m not even surprised. I sigh, feeling a familiar sense of dread settle in my stomach.

“Together, we will head to the Earthery now. Come, follow me,” George announces with a smug smile.

I stand up, following George and everyone else out of the classroom and to the Earthery doors where we gather. The air feels thick with anticipation and anxiety.

“This trial is going to be surprisingly easy,” George continues, his eyes twinkling with mischief. “I’m going to send you in pairs. You will find a delicious meal inside. Only one of you can eat it. If you share the meal, you will be disqualified. The person who chooses to eat the meal must eat the whole meal and leave nothing left.”

A collective gasp ripples through the group. I glance at Rowena, her face pale and eyes wide. She looks at Felix, who gives her a reassuring nod. My stomach twists with unease.

“What kind of meal?” Quinn asks, her voice laced with skepticism.

“An exquisite, mouth-watering feast,” George replies, almost licking his lips. “But remember, only one of you can eat it. Choose wisely.”

I feel a knot tighten in my chest. This isn’t just a test of willpower; it’s a test of loyalty and trust. I steal a glance at Tomas, who looks back at me with an unreadable expression.

George starts calling out pairs, and the tension in the room heightens. “Quinn and Dade, you’re first,” he says, motioning for them to step forward.

Quinn exchanges a worried look with Dade, then they step through the Earthery doors together. My heart pounds as I watch them disappear inside.

“Juliette and Tomas,” George calls next.

I swallow hard, my throat dry as sandpaper. Tomas steps up beside me, his presence both comforting and infuriating. We walk to the Earthery doors, the tension between us palpable.

As the doors close behind us, the sight of the feast laid out on the table hits me like a punch to the gut. One plate with a mountain of bacon and another with a key lime pie. My stomach growls loudly, betraying my hunger.

“Remember the rules,” George’s voice echoes through the room. “Only one can eat.”

Tomas and I exchange a long, charged look. I can see the conflict in his eyes, mirroring my own. We both know what’s at stake here.

12

THE SECOND TRIAL

ROWENA

It’s hardly a surprise that George has picked Felix to go in with me. The tension between us in the classroom was palpable and it didn’t help that Anthura hovered near us, listening to our every word. I glance over at her sour face as Felix and I line up to enter the Earthery. The memory of when this whole place crashed down around us, almost killing me hits me sharply until I remember who saved me last time. It was Felix who shielded my body from the rubble. If it wasn’t for him, I’d be dead.

I close my eyes as we step into the darkness. When I open my eyes, I swallow thickly, I’d expected a table full of our combined favorite foods gleaned from the past hour in the classroom. What I didn’t expect was to find myself in the same cottage where we’d spent the first trial in Lust. The same trial where I’d masturbated furiously on the kitchen floor while Felix had stared at me in horror and disgust. I can’t look at Felix’s face as I take a seat at the kitchen table. There in the middle, is not the foods that Felix and I mentioned at all, but instead, a perfectly cooked, deliciously smelling Beef Wellington. The same mealthat I’d tried making before the weird magic they pumped through the Earthery had me doing unspeakable things.

Felix sits opposite me at the table. Neither of us speaks for a few minutes. The tension in the air could be cut with one of the knives laid out on the table.

“I shouldn’t have said what I said,” Felix finally breaks the silence, his voice low.

“You’ll have to narrow it down,” I reply flatly, my mind flashing back to the venomous words he used the last time we were in this kitchen.

“When we were here... I didn’t understand.”

“You called me a disgusting bitch, if memory serves,” I remind him, my tone icy.

He takes a breath, then picks up a knife and fork. I watch in shock as he slices off a large portion of the beef wellington onto his plate, before heaping the plate with the butter vegetables and potatoes. Selfish bastard. He’s not even asked if I’m hungry. He can keep the stupid meal. I hope he chokes on it.

I turn back to the window, trying to focus on the view—the plains stretching out endlessly, the mountains in the distance. It should have been calming, something to anchor me, but this place has twisted everything good into something unbearable. Even the air feels heavy, suffocating. The room, the food, Felix—none of it is what I want, not really.

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