Page 5 of Beg the Night

Her eyes widened for a second like she was surprised I’d spoken up at all. “You’re direct. I like that. No use in wasting precious time.” She cleared her throat and straightened in her chair. “As I’m sure you know, an army of mystics can easily wipe out an army of earthly soldiers. Since the war began, the Ministry has been working to harness the power of the mystics. And for some time, we did so relatively easily, using tier one and two mystics who wanted to aid our cause. Tier threes were more rare, but we worked with as many as we could find.” Lips pressed together, she watched me for a moment before confessing, “Now, we have nearly none.”

Tiers.I had heard my brother speak of them before. Every mystic fell into one of the three categories, depending on the level of power they possessed. Threes were the most dangerous, but also the most desired by the Ministry. No wonder they’d become so rare. Any tier threes remaining out there were probably deep in hiding.

The room fell silent, as if she was waiting for a response from me. As if I had any idea what to say to that. “That certainly sounds like a predicament.”

“A predicament, it is. You see, if we do not win this war, life as we know it will cease to exist. You may never see freedom again if the Ministry does not succeed in finding the mystics and harnessing their power. We need tier threes. And we need your help.”

I choked on a scoff, a wave of disbelief washing over me. “You thinkIcan help you? Why?”

She assessed me with an arched brow. “Do not play games with me, Athena. I am a busy woman. I have it on good authority that you are a mystic. You’re going to tell me exactly what type of power you possess, and then you’ll help me win this damn war.”

I blinked once. Twice. Did she just say what I thought she said? This woman hadclearlylost her mind. “I am definitelynota mystic. Your ‘good authority’ must be mistaken. I have no power.”

Director’s fake smile quickly faded.

“I said do not play games with me.” She brought a palm down on the table with a sharp slap, her first sign of a loose temper. “It will be beneficial to all of us if you come clean right now.”

Hands in my lap, I surveyed the room. If this woman was crazy enough to think I was a mystic, then how the hell was I going to talk sense into her? She didn’t even know me! Her men had kidnapped me from my home while I mourned my dead family. What proof did she have?

“I’m sorry to disappoint you, I really am, but I’ve spent my life as a regular-ass person living with my family. My nowdeadfamily. I’ve minded my own business. I’ve never evenmeta mystic, and I certainly don’t possess any magical powers.”

Her jaw clenched, and I braced myself for a stronger outburst of her anger. Instead, she leaned back in her chair once more. “You seem like a nice girl, Athena. I don’t want to have to use force to get the truth out of you, but you and I aren’t the only people at risk here. The entire continent of Ashora is at risk if we do not win this fight.” She nodded to the door behind me, and two men walked in. If the room felt small earlier, it felt downright minuscule now.

I fought to keep my breathing steady. Panicking would only make the situation worse.

“Bring her,” Director ordered as she stood.

The men each clutched an arm and hauled me to my feet. I tensed, but didn’t fight them. I had a feeling I’d need to conserve my energy for what came next.

“Where are we going?”

Director didn’t look at me as she walked past, heading back into the steel hallway. “We’re going to find the truth.”

Three hours later,my voice was raw from screaming. The two brutes had dragged me to another door, but behind it, I did not find a clean, sterile room. No, we were in the depths of the underground, inside a dark, dank cage that smelled of death and blood.

Myblood, surely.

Maybe my death, too.

Breaths sawing in and out of my lungs, I rested my head on the back of the chair I was now strapped to.

“Tell us what you know and the pain will end,” Director ordered.

It took all my strength to hold in the sob clawing its way up my throat. “I swear to you, I am not a mystic. I’veneverwielded power.”

“You’re lying,” she retorted. “It’s doing you no good, Athena. Lying to us will not change your fate. You will help us whether you do it willingly or not.”

The man who’d been torturing me since they tied me to this chair stepped forward, the knife he’d been using held up in front of him.

He hovered close, leering at me. It was tempting to lie and tell them I was a mystic just to make the damn torture stop. What did these people want from me, anyway? Did they want me to burst out in magic and save the world? What was the point of all this?

“I’ll give you one more chance to come clean,” she said. “What tier are you? Two? Three?”

This woman was truly obsessed. It was her loss. By no stretch of the imagination could I even be considered a tierone. There was no way in hell I could evenfakehaving enough power to help her in this war.

Not like I would want to. This war she spoke of? The Ministry was to blame for it and for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of innocent people. They were power-hungry monsters who couldn’t control themselves. Tired of living normal lives among the earthlies, they’d formed territories of mystics. And when they’d stolen from innocent people and the earthlies had fought back…

These people were the reason the world was burning to the ground around us.

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