Page 37 of Insatiable

Juliette’s face twists into a frown, clearly not the answer she wanted. "Look at her, with her perfect boobs and perfect hair. Friends, my ass. I’m going over there."

Before she can stand, Rowena slips into the seat beside her, effectively blocking her escape. Her face is flushed, and her usually frizzy hair is a mess. She looks like she just ran a marathon—or got out of bed.

"Did you just get out of bed?" I ask, partly to shift Juliette’s focus away from her jealous rage.

Ro’s cheeks deepen into an even brighter shade of pink as she mumbles, "I needed a nap. Pregnancy is exhausting."

“Can you please get it through to Juliette that obsessing over her ex—the one she’s called a rat multiple times—is pointless?” I ask, glancing at Ro.

“I’m not obsessing,” Juliette mutters, crossing her arms defensively. But even as she says it, her eyes flicker back to the table behind us, watching Tomas and Tate.

Ro sighs. “You don’t want him. He’s single, remember? And don’t you always say the best way to get over a man is to get under another one?”

“I am over him," Juliette protests. "Besides, you two already have the hottest guys here. You’ve got Dade, and you’ve got Felix,” she says, pointing at each of us.

Ro looks like she’s been slapped. “I can assure you, I do not have Felix.”

“Well, whatever. I don’t want your sloppy seconds, anyway. And who else is there? Everyone here looks like a walking skeleton, except George, and I wouldn’t fuck him with someone else’s pussy.” She mimes gagging for extra effect.

“May I remind you I’m pregnant and, despite not eating since the poisoning, I still have the ability to throw up,” Ro warns.

“Sorry,” Juliette says, sounding more annoyed than apologetic. “You’re right. I need to stop thinking about Tomas and his brazen ho…” She flashes a look at Ro. “And don’t start lecturing me about slut-shaming. I don’t give a shit. Look at her with her perfect legs out in that skimpy dress. She is a slut.”

Ro rolls her eyes but wisely holds her tongue, turning to me instead. “How’s Dade? Has he been discharged yet?”

“Yep. He’s in his room. I’ll go check on him after we’re done here. Actually, I wanted to ask you both something.”

Juliette’s still zoning out, her gaze locked on Tomas, so I direct my question to Ro. “I need to figure out how to get past a hell beast. Any ideas? We can’t kill it, fight it, subdue it, or talk to it.”

Ro raises an eyebrow. “Do I even want to know what a hell beast is?”

“Think of the scariest monster and you’ll be close. You two are out of the games. So is Dade. I can’t stand the thought of going down to the next circle without any of you, so we need to figure out how to get past this hell beast in the lower level and find the elevator to the lower circles.”

“Have you tried fucking it?” Juliette says, finally entering the conversation. “I find a good fuck calms the most savage beast.”

I notice Ro rubbing her temples as I shake my head. I don’t know why I’m even surprised by Juliette. At least I’ve taken her mind off Tomas.

“Funnily enough, when it was lunging at me with its razor-sharp teeth, I didn’t think to throw my clothes off and try to seduce it. I was too preoccupied with getting out of there in one piece,” I say. “Twila told me that the only way past it is if there’s an angel there with us.”

Juliette snorts. “You won’t find many of those in here.”

“There must be some other way to get past it,” I insist. “There has to be or all of you will be stuck here and I’ll be going down to the next circle on my own.”

Rowena sighs. “I’m pregnant. I don’t want to stay here, but I can’t run through the underbelly of the underworld with hellbeasts and demons chasing me. I have to stay here whether I like it or not.”

“No. I’m not going without you. Juliette. You’ll come and help me get past this hellbeast right?”

She looks at Ro, who won’t match her gaze. “I would fight a million hellbeasts if it meant getting out of this fleapit, but I can’t leave Ro on her own. I was thinking of speaking to Hades to demand he let us back in the games.”

I sigh in exasperation. “Hades won’t capitulate to demands. And no one is being left alone. We’re all getting out of here, or none of us are.”

Ro raises an eyebrow. “You considering dropping out of the games and staying with us?”

I rub my forehead. “I can’t drop out of the games. I have to get to Jenny.”

"Then we're at an impasse," Juliette says, crossing her arms. "Because we're not leaving Rowena, and you're not staying. So unless you can magically conjure up an angel or tame that hellbeast, and if you’re right about Hades, then I don't see a way forward."

There has to be a solution. I can't abandon my friends here, but I also can't give up on reaching Jenny. She needs me. We all need to get out of this infernal place.

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