Page 74 of Beg the Night

Shit.

TWENTY-TWO

athena

“YOU LIAR!” The small golden knife left my hand before I could even consider choosing peace in this situation.

It impaled her thin bicep instead of her chest. I’d have to work on my aim next time.

“Liar, liar, liar!”

She was lying. It was all fake. This was some sort of trick to get me riled up before the ceremony, so they could control me.

“Athena!” Director yelled.

Margaret sat frozen in her chair, lips pressed together like she was holding back a laugh.

I stood, hands splayed on the golden tablecloth, watching blood drip onto Katherine’s white dress.

“Youbitch!” she yelled. “I am not lying, and we both know it! I’veseenyou use your power!”

I picked up Sinner’s knife, ready to throw that one, too. What the hell had gotten into me? It was like a deep hatred I had buried for Katherine had suddenly unleashed itself.

And I was ready to fight.

Two seconds before the knife left my grip, a strong pair of arms banded around me and hauled me backward.

“You don’t want to do this,” Sinner whispered in my ear. “Not now. Not here.”

“Trust me, I really do!” I reared back, fighting against him. But he effortlessly lifted me off my feet, restraining my arms against my own chest until the wave of rage had passed.

Director was standing now, holding a hand up to her guards.

Why? I had no clue. They could’ve taken me out easily, with the sheer number of them in attendance. Apparently throwing knives wasn’t cause enough for concern.

“Calm down, Athena,” she said. “Your sister is only trying to help.”

Katherine was crying now, gawking at her arm and the knife still inside it. She had always been a wimp.

“My sister has never in her life tried to help me. Everything she’s done has been for her own gain. Her apathy for her own flesh and blood has never been more evident than it is now, considering she’s willing to help the Ministry destroy her own sister.”

“You have this all wrong,” Katherine said through gritted teeth. “The Ministry are not the monsters you thought they were. They’re the only ones who can help the mystics!”

“And how would you know that, Katherine? What is your gift?”

She yanked the knife from her arm with a grunt. Then, as I stared at it in stunned silence, the wound began to heal itself.

Within seconds, the gash on her arm had closed.

Healing.My sister was actually healing her own damn wound.

Blurry memories of the healer who visited me in the dungeon flashed through my mind. The woman who’d always seemed so familiar, yet had never allowed me to see her face.

“Oh my god,” I whispered. “You’re the one who’s been healing me in the dungeons! You were there!”

She’d seen me the day I arrived, yet she hadn’t shown herself to me. And how many chances could she have had to?—

“I was doing what I could to help you,” she replied. “I’mstilldoing what I can to help you.”

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