Page 74 of Lust

He squints at me in confusion. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

He reaches up to his head. It’s as though the world suddenly becomes slow motion. All my muscles clench as his hand skims the bloody mess that used to be his face.

His roar reverberates throughout the room, jolting the other occupants awake and causing a wave of fear to wash over me. A doctor runs over and injects something into his side, and Felix gradually subsides into an ominous silence.

Struggling to get out of my bed, I manage to muster enough energy to demand, “What did you just inject him with?”

The doctor retrieves a stethoscope, placing it against Felix's chest while I watch in growing horror. “Sedative. We weren’t expecting him to wake up tonight. You either, as a matter of fact. How are you feeling?” He pulls the stethoscope away from Felix and places it on my own chest. It’s just then that I see I’m in a hospital gown and not the dress I put on earlier.

After he finishes using the stethoscope, the doctor gently takes hold of my wrist, his gaze fixed on his watch. “There was an incident in the Earthery.”

I try to remember, but all I recall is a mess of darkness and noise. “An incident? How did it happen?”

The doctor rests my hand back down. “They don’t tell us much in here. You’ll have to talk to Noémi if you want the specifics. All I know is that the ceiling collapsed while all the Inferno Games contestants were inside. Some got out with minor scrapes, a few had some broken bones, and some of you came out a lot worse for wear. I’m sorry to say there were two fatalities.”

My heart starts racing. “Fatalities? Who?”

“Sorry,” he says, giving me a resigned look. “I don’t know their names.”

The memory of Juliette’s voice and Quinn’s voice comes back to me and I relax a little. They were both here next to me. I know it. Juliette was here for a long time, but I’m sure I remember hearing Quinn say something about being in hospital in Purgatory.

I glance back at Felix. He looks peaceful. “Is he going to be alright?” I nod in his direction.

“He’ll survive. You and he were buried next to each other under a pile of rubble. They had to dig you both out.” He pauses. “Don’t you want to know if you’ll be alright?”

My mouth falls open. “It didn’t even occur to me to ask if I was okay,” I say sheepishly.

“You’ll survive too,” he assures me, patting me on the shoulder. “Now rest.”

I settle back down into the bed and stare at Felix. The doctor might think he’ll be okay, but I know enough about Felix to know that this will destroy him. He’s used to having everything be perfect. Perfect hair, perfect face, perfect bank balance.

I close my eyes and try to make sense of what the doctor told me. My memories of the second trial are hazy. I spent some time with Orlin first. He sat and stared off into space and muttered something about sinning. Then…

Then it was Felix. I open my eyes again. Felix came in next. I gaze at him as I try to remember what he said to me, but the memory won’t come. It’s there, but I can’t quite access it. I remember him bitching about Quinn. He’d been in the room with her first. Then… Was that when the ceiling collapsed? It must have been. I don’t remember anything after that. I close my eyes and try to sleep, but as my brain starts to dissolve into dreams, a memory comes back. Felix wasn’t the last one I spoke to. Moloch came in too. I distinctly remember him telling me that he thought he and Anthura would get through the games if she lightened up once in a while.

It makes no sense. How could I have seen Moloch if the ceiling had collapsed first? Maybe I’m getting it wrong and Moloch came in before Felix. But no. That’s wrong too. I told Moloch I’d just been speaking to Felix.

I shake my head, sending a sharp pain resonating through my skull. Maybe I’m over thinking it, or maybe the Doctor was wrong. There’s no way Felix and I could have been buried under the rubble together.

I heave in a breath and try to calm my racing heart. Suddenly, it all comes crashing back. Panic floods my veins as my memory begins playing in my head with absurd clarity. I was with Moloch when the ceiling came crashing down. Moloch ran away in the darkness, leaving me alone and terrified. The noise was deafening. The lights flickered a few times, showing the extent of the devastation. I was rooted to the floor in fear, and then Felix showed up. My heart rate notches up as I remember what happened next. He took my hand and tried to pull me out, but I was too scared to move. That’s when the ceiling came down and… Holy Hell. I let out a strangled gasp. Felix shielded me as a concrete block shattered above us. He’s in here because he was trying to save me. Felix Barclay saved my life. A sickening realization hits me. He’s disfigured because of me.

38

GOING DOWN

QUINN

“What the fuck are you doing?” I scream out as my stomach bottoms out. The dread I feel at falling through the air at speed is only matched by the confusion I feel at Dade’s reasons why he’s currently subjecting me to my worst nightmare.

“I'm getting you out of here,” he growls, offering no other explanation.

I know in my heart that he’ll still his giant wings, and the way he’s holding me tightly against him as we rapidly fall is some comfort, but that doesn’t stop the queasiness in my stomach. I’m furious, but beneath that, I’m curious.

“Put me down,” I demand, my voice almost getting lost in the wind that whips my hair up into his face.

“We don't have time for me to chase after you if you decide to run,” he says.

“Dade, put me the fuck down. I'm not going to run.” It's then that I realize I mean it; wherever Dade is going, I want to go.

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