Page 87 of Drop His Mask

They would be turning the teams against each other.

Raven. Stay safe.

Chapter 46

Never A Part Of The Plans

The Host

One Month - Three Weeks Ago

The Host stood guard against the wall as Sparrow slept soundly in her bed. Her room was adorned in bright colors. A plethora of toys strewn across the floor, but even still, the room felt empty.

As if it were missing something.

The door opening and closing beside The Host caused him to flinch, but he relaxed when Anadil stepped into his line of sight.

“You’re here almost every night and yet the girl hasn’t seen you in so long. Why don’t you spend time with her?” Anadil asked, taking up station next to him.

“Why are you here?” The Host crossedhis arms.

Anadil let out a shuddering exhale. “Little girls shouldn’t be forced to grow up too soon. I have done everything in my power to make sure she can have the best childhood this world will allow her.”

The Host scoffed. “You brought her to a pit of vipers, you threw her in a padded room, you allowed my predecessor near her.”

Anadil whipped her head to him. “And yet she is safe.”

“You are the reason she almost died!” The Host tried to contain his anger, but Anadil was his kryptonite, always throwing fuel to the flames.

Anadil cocked her head, eyeing him appraisingly. “You’ve met with Drago now. You know the plan, that this will all be over soon. You know about thecherished. About the rest of the world. You know so much, Julian, and yet, you can’t see the truth even as it looks you right in the eyes.”

“What truth is that?” He twisted to her, taking her in.

Anadil shut her eyes, rubbing her temples. “In this world. In our country. In every instance that we have existed, we have been given impossible choices. Isn't that what this game is all about? So why? Why is it so incredibly hard for you to fathom that Ravendying? That was never a part of my plans.” Anadil didn’t wait for an answer as she crept further into the room. She gently laid onto the bed beside Sparrow, wrapping her delicately into her arms. “Nobody was there to keep me safe, but I have done all I can to prevent the same fate to befall Sparrow. Now leave. You don’t want to be here when she wakes up anyway.”

The Host’s eyebrows were furrowed in confusion, his heart pattering just a bit higher than it should.

Before Anadil’s words could sink into his nerves, before they could cause too much of a reaction, he buried them deeply.

After all, he had witnessed with his own two eyes as Nightingale stabbed Raven. She was just trying to get in his head,again.

He gave Sparrow one last wistful glance before turning on his heel and fleeing the room.

Chapter 47

Bonded Broken Creatures

Raven

Present Day

194 bared his teeth at me. “I should have killed you in the first game we saw you in. Nothing but trouble. You’re the reason they traded out my one ally. And now we have a weak woman on our team. What exactly can you do?”

I saw his intent before he even lifted his arm to swing. Side-stepping him, I swept my leg forward, keeping my center of gravity low. I used the leverage needed to knock him back and onto the ground. He landed below me with a loud pained grunt, and I did what I couldto contain my own.

A slow round of applause tugged my attention up. Oleks offered me a hand, stepping on 194’s chest in the process. “I told you to leave her the fuck alone,” he snarled before gently guiding me away.

“He’s going to be pissed.” But I felt better. Even if it had pulled at my stitches in the process.

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