Page 128 of Dance of Ruin

“Guilty,” Nico growls in a tone that makes my pulse race as it slithers down my back.

The man in the wolf mask nods. “Guilty,” he says gleefully.

“Guilty,” adds the man wearing the bull mask.

Stag Mask nods. “Guilty,” he murmurs in a slightly creepy, almost ethereal tone.

The man Nico called Hound turns to Han, voice steady.

“You have been adjudicated.”

Finally, the smirk drops from the man’s face. “Wait. On what fucking authority?”

“This court’s authority,” Nico says grimly.

“No, fuck that!” Han barks. “Fuck you and fuckthis! Get me on the phone with Desmond. We can figure this out man to man?—”

“Fight or flight?”

Han blinks, tripping over his words as Nico sits and the man in the wolf mask stands, leering down at him from the dais.

“W-what?”

“I said,fight…” the wolf growls, his tone full of malice, turning and gesturing to a low table draped in black velvet and covered in weapons.

Blades. Baseball bats. Axes. Chains. Hammers.

What the fuck.

“Orflight,” the wolf finishes. He gestures past the crowd with his other hand to a stone archway that appears to lead down a hallway lit only by low candlelight.

The color drains from Han’s face. “Get… Get Desmond,” he chokes. “Whatever he wants to make this right?—”

“We’re well past that,” the bull grunts.

“You know the rules,” the wolf says, his voice light—playful, even. “It’s not complicated. Run, or bleed.”

Han glances at the table. Then he turns, looking to the archway.

“What the fuck's in there?”

“A way out,” the wolf purrs seductively. “Maybe,” he amends.

Han swallows, shaking his head. “I-I’m not going in there.”

“Then you fight!” the wolf says gleefully. “Choose your weapon.”

Han stares at the table as a guard walks over and cuts his wrists free. He takes a shaky breath, his face grim. “Fuck it,” he mutters. “Knives.”

The wolf steps down from the dais, tilting his head slightly. Psychotic. Predatory.

“I washopingyou’d say that.”

A guard hands Han a huge, gleaming hunting knife, then offers its twin to the wolf.

My mouth feels dry. My nerves are jangling as I struggle to breathe.

What the HELL is this.

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