Page 37 of Broken Surrender
If Lena knew my sister, would Corinne remind me to get my act together?
I wanted to introduce them to one another. Perhaps it was because I wanted the two people I spent the most time with to get to know each other, to see how they reacted to one another, but I also knew that if they met each other, everything would fall into place. I could see it in perspective. What mattered, what didn’t. What my only goal was. The more power my sister and I had, the easier it would be to erase our final enemy.
I straightened my stance. Sacrificing Lena wasn’t supposed to be an issue.
CHAPTER 12
Lena
I blinked my eyes in the bathroom mirror. The red dress hugged me, my neck exposed and elegant. The gloves went past my elbows, gracefully cinching at the top. I had been to a few galas with John before, with a similar dress code, but I had never felt as beautiful as I did right then.
Maybe it was the way Desmond saw me, held me close, like he didn’t want me to ever leave.
The bathroom door opened. Zira entered, her eyes lighting up when she saw me.
“How do you feel?” she asked. “With everything that’s going on.”
“I feel…” I started, but what was I supposed to say? We had been working up to this moment for a long time, and while I was physically ready for the pain, I wasn’t sure if that’s how I felt inside. It was like I was being ushered to the edge of the cliff, my hands cuffed in front of me, being told that my parachute was on my back. I just had to believe it.
And there was something inside of Desmond that didn’t want to jump either. He wanted me for himself, whether he wanted to acknowledge it or not.
Zira took my hands and squeezed them. “That good, huh?” she said. She fixed her hair in the mirror.
“Are you going to take part in my offering too?” I asked.
Zira smiled. “Not likely.”
“But I thought—”
She cut me off. “Everything is a test,” she said. She uncapped her mascara and stroked it along her lashes. “You seem agreeable, and I always have a soft spot for the women in your position. But Callen? I could not care less whether he survives the night or not.”
My stomach churned.Survive the night?Why had she worded it like that? “They’ll kill him?”
She laughed. “No, nothing like that. He’s got enough to give the Syndicate that they want to see where it goes. But everything is a test, even down to who is invited to this event.”
“Are you part of the Syndicate?”
She eyed me up and down. “Not yet, but I will be.” She stowed her mascara in her clutch. “I’ve been going to these masquerades for a while now. Can I give you some advice?”
I wasn’t sure why she was asking. She had to know I was going to take it. I nodded.
“If you want this to be the last time you have to take part in one of these events, then act as if this was your idea. That you’re devoted to the Syndicate as much as you are devoted to Desmond. That will please the Board. And that’s how you avoid getting killed.”
My jaw dropped. “Did you say ‘killed’?”
She relaxed her shoulders. “It rarely comes to that. Mostly if the Board doesn’t trust an initiate’s loyalty. And as far as I know, Callen is good. But in the end,” she paused, leaning forward, “Callen is the one who controls this. He can decide what happens to you, but he may or may not get another shot at the Syndicate.”
My insides twisted, my palms clammy. Zira seemed like one of the few honest people I had met in a long time, like she was trying to wade past the bullshit to give me the real story.
But death?Thatwas what I was offering myself up for?
Did Desmond know?
“Are you supposed to be telling me this?” I asked, my voice quivering.
She gave me a sad smile, shaking her head. “But I never play by the rules.”
I bit my lip, then met her eyes for a brief second. “Thank you,” I said. “Wish me luck.”
