Page 106 of Beg the Night

Thank god for shoes.Mine and Athena’s.

The others changed, too, no longer wearing those ridiculous white outfits. We packed the few items we had gathered over the two days at the inn, ate as much as we could handle, and hit the road.

I wouldn’t miss this little town. Crowded places weren’t for me. But I would miss the way Athena and Mags gawked at every tiny thing they passed, laughing and holding on to each other like they’d never seen anything better.

One of the delights they encountered was a dog wearing a sweater. It was fucking ridiculous.

We walked through town and into the woods, the same way we had come from. Benedict said it would be easier to jump from an open space.

Katherine remained silent. Thank fuck, too, because I wasn’t sure I wouldn’t draw blood if one shitty remark left her lips. Not after how she’d treated Athena last night.

The fact that every person in Athena’s familybut Katherinehad died?

It perplexed me. Deeply.

“All right,” Benedict said as we reached a small clearing. “There’s no going back once we’re there. We’ll be in range of the Ministry. There’s nothing we can do but move forward with our plan after this.”

Nobody spoke.

“Great. As long as we’re all on the same page.” He adjusted the strap of his bag across his shoulder. “Everyone hold on.”

Mags immediately wrapped an arm around Athena and held a hand out to Benedict.

Athena turned to me and smiled.

I twined my fingers with hers, ignoring the shadows that wanted to break free at her touch.

God, I hoped this worked.

“Three.”

I took a long breath.

“Two.”

Katherine pulled a silver object out of her pocket. I didn’t realize until it was too late that it was a small dagger.

No, no, no?—

“One.”

She stabbed Benedict in the gut.

Shit.

THIRTY

athena

Ihad known chaos. I would say my entire life had been one long stream of chaos, actually. But what I felt after we jumped? It took that term to an entire new level.

We landed on solid ground with a thud. There was a crack, but because of the adrenaline coursing through me, I couldn’t tell whether I was hurt or whether the sound came from someone else.

At the sound of a scream, I had my answer. It was a deep voice. Benedict, maybe?

Sinner’s shadows pulsed against my palm. I opened myself to them like he taught me and let them cloud around my body, then Margaret’s. I wasn’t concerned that they’d hurt us. I knew now that they had a mind of their own.

And they protected their family.

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