Page 46 of Insatiable

Juliette snorts. “I’m not into women, thanks.”

“So, do you still think Tate is with him?” I ask, mostly to keep the conversation away from me.

Juliette shrugs again. “Actually, I saw her last night. I think maybe I was wrong about her. Maybe she isn’t sleeping withhim after all. He probably wants to, though. She’s beautiful and blonde.”

“So… Do you think you’ll sleep with him again?” I ask.

“No.” Juliette answers quickly. “Last night was a fond farewell. It felt like a goodbye.” She sighs. “I guess it was a goodbye. He’ll be leaving this place anyway soon. Once the third trial is over, I’ll never see him again.” I never thought Juliette and my life would share the same path, but here we are. It’s both ironic and sad.

Quinn slams her fist down on the table, making all of us jump. “We are going to get out of here. I’m not letting them win.”

“If by they, you mean Hades and George and Anthura, they’ve already won. You can’t beat them.” Twila looks over in my direction. “Look at Felix. He tried and Anthura dragged him off.”

I try to remain impassive as the talk turns to Felix. When Quinn turns to look at me, I swear she knows, or at least she suspects something. “Do you know what that was all about? Have you seen Felix recently?”

It’s like she can see right through me, but I can’t tell her the truth. She’s made it perfectly clear what she thinks of Felix. I can’t tell her that I slept with him again. It would destroy our friendship. For the first time ever, I lie to a friend. “No. I don’t know. It doesn’t matter, anyway. Just like Tomas, he’ll be gone next week, too.”

Quinn grimaces. “Why is everybody being so complacent? We have to find a way to get back in the games, or get past the hellbeast.” She looks at Twila pleadingly.

Twila shakes her head, her eyes filled with resignation. "Quinn, you don't understand. There's no way past that hellbeast. It's not just a guard dog - it's a creature straight out of nightmares. Even if you could somehow get by it, Hades and the others would hunt you down. They have eyes everywhere."

Quinn's jaw tightens with determination. "Then we find another way. There has to be something we haven't thought of yet. A secret passage, a hidden exit, anything."

Twila sighs. “I know you’ve been down there a lot. If there was a secret passage, you’d have found it by now.” Quinn goes quiet for a moment, her face lost in thought. Then, suddenly, her eyes light up, and she pulls out her Hell Cell. We all watch as she types something quickly, a triumphant smile creeping across her lips before she punches the air.

“Are you going to tell us what you’ve just done?” I ask, raising an eyebrow.

“Nope.” Quinn grins at me. “But don’t feel defeated yet. I’m going to get us all out of this.”

She stands and is halfway out of her seat when all of our Hell Cells buzz. I pull mine out and read the message:

GEORGE:NOW THAT EVERYONE IS FIGHTING FIT AFTER THE LAST CHALLENGE, THE THIRD TRIAL WILL START NOW. MEET IN THE ATRIUM IN FIFTEEN MINUTES.

A heavy senseof dread settles in my chest. “Well, whatever plan you had, you’d better act fast. The trial starts in fifteen minutes.”

The color drains from Quinn’s face. “No, no, no. There isn’t enough time.”

It’s only then that I realize Quinn is the only one of us still in the games. The one person I believed might find a way to get us through, even if it was a long shot... and now, that last glimmer of hope is slipping away.

Quinn looks around at each of us, a storm of emotions brewing in her eyes. “I guess that’s it, then. If I get through, tomorrow I’ll be gone.”

My heart clenches painfully at the look on her face. She was our hope, and now it feels like everything is slipping away faster than we can grasp it. “Twila, do something!” I plead.

Twila looks distraught. “I’ll go speak to Hades. I’ll do what I can.” She runs off toward the atrium quickly, but I think we all know she won’t be successful in persuading Hades to let us all back in. She’s told us enough times.

“I’m sorry, Quinn,” I say, standing up and pulling her into a hug. Hear head rests on my shoulder as her body racks with silent sobs. Suddenly, there’s another pair of arms around us. “I never thought we’d be parted,” Juliette whispers as we pull together in a three-way hug.

Eventually, we have to part. George, Hades and Anthura are already waiting by the sofas.

“We were quite the team,” Quinn says, tears streaking her face. “I’ll miss you. Take care of that baby of yours.”

I hold her hand to my stomach. “I felt it kick this morning. I forgot to mention it.”

Her face breaks out into a sad smile. “So soon?”

“I guess time has no meaning in here. Come on. We’ll walk with you.”

Juliette takes one of Quinn’s hands as I take the other.

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