Page 38 of Beg the Night

A spark of annoyance ignited and burned hot. “I don’t have to pretend.”

“Bullshit.” He angled in until his lips were at my ear. “I see through your facade, New Girl. I know you’re hiding something. Whatever gift you have will come out soon enough.” He lingered there for a moment, sending chills down my arms, before straightening and returning his focus to the crowd. “This game you’re playing is growing old.”

“And what game is that?” I finally turned to face him head-on. “Exactly what would be the purpose of hiding a power? You better believe that if I had power, I’d be using it to get out of here, unlike the rest of you.”

Jaw clenched, he gritted his teeth. “If it were that easy, don’t you think we would have done it by now?”

“Unless you’re not as powerful as Director thinks you are. Which would make plenty of sense, actually.”

His low laugh floated on the air around us, low enough that it felt more like a vibration than an emotion coming from Sinner. A single dark shadow spun out of his chest and twirled up the side of my neck.

I sucked in a breath as the darkness grazed my skin, sending chills down my entire body.

He smirked at my reaction but said nothing as the shadow twisted around a loose strand of my hair and tugged lightly.

The space around us disappeared. For a second—for a long, torturous second—it was just the two of us and Sinner’s shadow. His dark eyes lured me in, trapping me within their depths.

And when he lowered his focus to my lips?—

“Am I interrupting something?”

At the sound of Director’s voice, I yanked away from Sinner and spun, expecting to be punished for his minuscule show of power.

Instead, all the air was knocked from my lungs.

Because standing next to Director was a tall woman in a pristine ball gown. She had long black hair and a familiar tight smile on her face.

If I had the capacity to breathe, I’m pretty sure I would have screamed. Instead, I wobbled, but before I could fall, Sinner clutched my arm roughly and steadied me.

“Hello, sister.”

ELEVEN

sinner

Oh, this was golden.New Girl’s sister was here, indulging in food and wine with the rest of Director’s prized mystics.

Was this what she’d been hiding?

I wanted to think so, but based on the shock in her expression, I wasn’t so sure.

When she swayed on her feet, I begrudgingly kept her from falling. No use making a scene. She stood with her mouth agape and her brown eyes wider than I had ever seen. In another life, I might’ve felt bad for her. Might’ve even wanted to help her.

But not in this one.

“You two are sisters?”

The woman—New Girl’s sister—couldn’t have been more different. Her hair was done up elegantly, not a strand out of place. Nothing like the constant mess of her sister’s mane. She had a softer face. A softer smile. Softer everything. People like her instantly put me on guard. It was clear she hadn’t suffered in this life.

And those who hadn’t been truly damaged didn’t understand what it was like to get shit done for survival and survival alone.

Not that I trusted New Girl, either. She was a whole different type of disaster.

“They are,” Director answered for them. “And they have plenty to catch up on. Let’s leave them to it, shall we?”

I immediately sought out New Girl’s gaze. Her deep brown eyes flashed to mine, too. A silent plea. This shit wasn’t right.

But here, we were simply pawns, pets of the Ministry. Bound to obey their every order. So, like the good little pets we were, we listened.

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