Page 116 of Deviant

“I’m sorry, babe, but you’ve got eyes. Tell me that isn’t one fine specimen of a man? It’s like his entire body was sculpted to perfection.”

“Yeah, okay. I’m comfortable enough in my sexuality to admit that. I can’t even hate on him.” Andy smiles from ear to ear, wrapping his arms around Harper’s waist.

“Hot or not, that idiot is about to get himself killed,” Ruby says, shaking her head in distaste.

“Nah, Elias’s got this,” Andy says, though there’s a worried glint in his eyes.

“Maybe we’ll get lucky, and he’ll slip and break his neck. That way, we all might actually have a fighting chance at winningThe Scourge,” Big Mike says, fist-bumping David.

“That is completely uncalled for,” Lucy defends, Lucas nodding behind her, to back her up.

“Doesn’t make it any less true,” Mackenzie interjects, her gaze never leaving Elias as he continues to climb up the slippery slope. “We all know he’s the favorite to win. With him gone, it’s anyone’s game.”

“I find it funny how some of you seeThe Scourgeas just some game you can win. It’s not. At least not for us. We’re nothing but pawns in someone else’s amusements. We have no free will to speak of. If we did, we’d still be back home instead of here. The sooner you realize that there are no true winners, the better it will be when your time comes up,” I state, my cold gaze locked on Mackenzie’s.

“There is always a winner, Rowen. And just like I won your boyfriend, I intend to win this game too.”

“If you think Aidan is such a prize, then you’re more delusional than I thought.” I scoff.

“I guess you would say that, being a sore loser and all.”

Why, this little—

“He’s going to jump!” Andy screams out, pulling my attention away from Mackenzie and onto Elias and finding him already at the very top of the waterfall.

God, please, don’t let him get hurt.

I hold in a breath as he jumps off it and dives into the air. Seconds feel like hours before he hits the water. Lucas, Lucy, Harper and Andy cheer and clap their hands, waiting for him to resurface, to congratulate Elias on his dive.

But when he doesn’t, my hackles begin to rise.

“Elias? This isn’t funny. Elias!” I shout, swimming to where he dove in and frantically looking for any sign of him.

“Guess we got our wish after all,” I hear David say behind me.

If I wasn’t in such a panicked state, I would have punched the asshole.

Oh God, what if he’s really dead?

No.

That can’t happen.

Nora would never forgive me if I had let her favorite brother plunge to his death and did absolutely nothing to stop him. I can practically taste my fear and that of my friends, as we all wait on pins and needles for him to reappear.

“Elias! Stop kidding around!” I yell, slapping the water beside me while my throat clogs with unshed tears.

Please, please, don’t be dead. Please don’t be dead.

“I don’t see him. Do you?” Andy asks, alerting me to the fact that both he and Lucas are beside me, having already swam underwater in search of him.

“No. The water is too damn murky to see anything under there,” Lucas retorts, his expression just as worried as Andy’s.

“How long has it been? A minute? Two?” I ask, my entire body feeling suddenly cold.

“More than that,” Andy responds disheartened. “By my count, it’s been about four minutes at least.”

I crane my neck back and stare up at the waterfall, verifying that it is a good fifty or sixty feet high. Maybe even more.

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