Page 61 of Insatiable

"It's going to be okay," I murmur, even though I have no idea if that's true. This feels so alien to me. I’ve seen so many naked people in my time, but generally they’ve been men’s bodies.

She pulls back to look at me, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears. “Quinn wanted me to save you.”

I don’t know what to say to that. I just want to get into my own pajamas and fall into the void of oblivion. I have no emotional bandwidth left for anything else. I untangle myself from her and try not to look down at her naked body. “You’re wet again. Dry up and come to bed. I’ll get dry in Ro’s closet.

She’s still in the bathroom when I’m dry and redressed and I worry that she’s fainted or something, but almost as soon as my head hits the pillow, I feel the weight of her getting into the bed next to me. Beside me on the other side, Rowena is snoring lightly. I shift over, allowing Tate some room, but as the bed is made for one, it’s a tight squeeze. Tate’s body presses up against mine and she gives a long sigh. I lay awake long after Tate drifts off, my mind racing with thoughts and emotions I can’t seem to sort through.

In the moment between sleep and waking, I feel Tomas beside me, his arms around my waist, but my heart already knows what my sleepy brain cannot quite comprehend. I wake up and turn over to find Tate with her arm around me. Not Tomas. I move her arm and, because Rowena is still sleeping on the other side of me, have to shuffle down the bed to get out of the bottom of it.

Tomas is gone. Quinn is gone. All I have is Rowena… and, I guess, Tate. It’s all so overwhelming. Hearing about Tomas’s death yesterday was compounded by the loss of Dade. And I had to hear it from Anthura. After leaving Tate in the hospital wing last night, Rowena and I had gone straight up to the very top floor of the tower. Anthura had the audacity to mock us when she told us that Dade had been killed because of his actions in the Labyrinth. At least I’ll never have to see that bitch’s face ever again. She’ll have toddled off to the next circle at some point in the night. Now that everything is over, I have to find a way toget on with an eternity in this hell hole. I quietly change into one of Rowena’s dresses, trying to keep the noise to a minimum as I rummage through her closet. After slipping out through the back door, I take a deep breath of the stale air. I need to be alone for a while. I need to grieve without Rowena offering platitudes or Tate… I’m not even sure how Tate will handle grief.

She was too sick to really deal with anything last night; she needs sleep to heal.

The atrium feels almost hollow now that the games are over, a stark contrast to the vibrant party atmosphere from the night before. I scan the canteen, my heart heavy, wondering if I can bear to sit there with the faces of the Inferno Games winners looming over me on the big screen. Those who died aren’t shown. I suppose that would be too much of a downer. It’s all fun and games watching the carnage unfold, but now that they are gone, there’s nothing left to commemorate their existence.

“Hey, Juliette.”

I turn to find Twila standing before me—well, more like face to stomach since she barely reaches five feet tall.

“I’m so sorry about what happened to Tomas.” Her voice wavers. “We didn’t intend for him to die like that.”

“No, you just planned for him to starve to death or get eaten by a hellhound,” I shoot back, the bitterness spilling out before I can contain it.

Her eyes fill with sadness, her face etched in guilt, and that only makes me feel worse. I rub my forehead. “I’m really sorry. I know you don’t have any control over these games.”

“If I were you, I’d hate me too,” she says,. “I have no clue what’s going to happen next, but I get a free pass through the circles.”

“I guess you’ll be heading to Avarice now?”

She nods slowly, her expression somber. “Yep. Hades is waiting for me. I hoped…” She glances down, shame flickeringin her eyes. “I hoped to say goodbye to you and Rowena before I left. I actually thought you were her in that dress until I saw your black hair.”

I look down at the flowery dress, my chest tightening. “It belongs to Ro. She’s still asleep. Should I go get her?”

Twila shakes her head, urgency in her voice. “There isn’t really time. Hades is dealing with Dade right now, and we need to leave before the contestants wake up in Avarice.”

My brow furrows in confusion. “Dealing with Dade? Anthura told us he was dead.”

Her brow furrows. “Dead? No,” she says, a glimmer of surprise breaking through the sorrow in her voice. “He’s locked up on the demon level.”

A wave of relief washes over me, momentarily pushing back the pain. “Take me to him.”

She hesitates. “I can’t. You know that.” Her voice is firm, but her eyes hold a hint of compassion, as if she wishes she could help.

I want to tell her that Tate can get us out of here. All of us, but whether I like it or not, I can’t trust her. Not while she’s still hooking up with Hades. Until they split up, she’s on their side.

“Quinn will never get over it if she knows Dade is being held hostage.” I want to add that she’d never forgive Twila, but that might be overkill.

Twila screws her face up in frustration as her name is called out. We both turn to see Hades striding over to where we are.

Twila pulls me down to her height and gives me a hug. It feels hollow until I hear her whisper in my ear. “I’ll see what I can do.”

And then she’s gone. Down into the elevator with Hades. Down to Avarice, where Quinn will be waking up, hopefully as good as new in a few minutes. I can’t even follow them. The only person I know with an elevator marble key is Dade, and he’s already down there.

I sit in the canteen, lost in my own thoughts and grief for almost an hour, before the elevator doors finally open and a man with giant black wings strides out. A spark of excitement and relief fills my chest with warmth. I rush to Dade and am in his arms with his wings wrapped round me before I know it.

“Quinn wasn’t wrong when she said you give amazing hugs!” I mutter, suddenly feeling uncomfortable with the sudden public display of affection for a man I have barely talked to before. I don’t even really know him.

“She said that?”

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