Page 124 of Inferno

It’s a similar assessment I made five years ago, but I coaxed life out of her. She was there, hiding beneath the pain.

“What are you saying?” I press.

He claps his hands together.

“Once that light goes out in someone, probably in desperation, they’ll do anything. Kill anyone. We don’t know her motives.”

The rhythmic tap-tap-tap of my fingers on the desk punctuates my contemplation of his words.

“We won’t get answers until she wins. We own her now, remember that.”

Finn shakes his head.

“You think interrogation will work on someone that doesn’t flinch, cutting themselves?”

I flick my eyes back to my screen, watching as she enters the “take a sweet” room.

“I’ll find her weakness.”

He follows my gaze and leans over.

“Like she found yours, hmm?” His lips form a thin line as he watches her.

“She’s fascinating. Needs studying, really,” Finn whispers, and I push him away.

“Get back down there and monitor her.”

He nods and slides the mask over his head.

“I mean. She could have stabbed the guards in the last game and didn’t. Dangerous. She has a game plan, I’m telling you.” He taps the side of his head.

I trust his gut.

But I also trust mine.

I won’t let her beat me again.

There’s more of us than there is of her. If anything, this shows me she has a plan and she won’t fuck it up. I see the determination in her eyes.

We are starting a battle, one I intend to win.

Chapter 45

CHARLOTTE

Song- Sugar, Sleep Token.

As I step into the next room, it’s like every kid’s dream.

The air is thick with the sweet smell of candy. A deep breath fills my lungs with the sugary scent of various treats.

Ignoring the rules, I look up, and my stomach rumbles. Every single inch of this wall is decorated with candy. It’s like a rainbow threw up in here. Pinks, reds, purples. A six-foot lollipop, impossibly tall and shimmering with an unnatural sugary gleam, towers before me. I’d never seen anything like it.

As I look down, the soft, pink, sand-like clouds of sugar surrounds my feet.

Wow.

But as I glance to the far left, the stark reality of the situation hits me with full force.

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