Page 20 of Beg the Night (Mystics of Ashora #1)

TWENTY

athena

I couldn’t breathe as I sat on my cot and waited for the massive door to open. Our jailers would be here any minute now. The sun was setting, and tonight was the night.

The blood moon.

I’d never paid much attention to the moon before. But tonight, it felt as if the moon itself was making her presence known to every single person in this hell.

My body buzzed with anticipation. I had never been with anyone before, and Sinner was…he was surprising. When I met him, when he first volunteered to perform the claiming with me, I had been livid. I’d wanted to punch him in the face for daring to take away my autonomy. For daring to assume I’d be a willing partner in whatever he had planned.

Back then, I’d refused to let it happen. Because I’d always believed that all men were monsters, taking what they wanted by force. Like they deserved it. Like it was all owed to them.

Sinner, though, had shown nothing but…a strange level of respect for me. Yes, he ripped open my shower curtain from time to time and had a serious issue with personal boundaries. But the experiences we’d shared? The way he had pleasured me when I was drugged? When he could have done much, much more? It was hard not to be hopeful. Every instinct inside him had probably screamed for him to control me, to do with my body what he wanted.

Yet, he’d held back.

Was he entirely disgusted by me? Maybe.

But he hadn’t once boasted about the claiming, he hadn’t celebrated what would happen tonight, how he’d be given the opportunity to fuck me. How he’d be given the chance to get the hell out of here.

No, instead, he paced the dungeon near the door, ignoring us all. Not even acknowledging the men who tried to speak to him. Something else was on his mind. Something big.

I stayed on my cot, reminding myself to breathe.

There was no stopping this. No words we could use to convince the powers that be to reconsider, no deals we could make now.

We agreed to perform the claiming. Tonight.

In the crack of moonlight that filtered into our underground prison, I took in every sight, trying my best to sear every detail into my memory. Not because it had been a luxury or even a comfort, but because one day, when I was free, I would come back here and burn this whole place to the ground.

“Are you ready for this?” Leon asked as he approached, hands shoved into his pockets and his shoulders practically resting at his ears. His voice was quiet, but in the rare silence of the place, it nearly echoed.

“Is that a serious question?”

With a soft smile, he took a seat on the edge of Sinner’s cot. If it were anyone else, the owner of that particular bed would’ve marched over here and punched him in the face.

But even Sinner had a soft spot for Leon.

“It’s normal to be nervous.” He cleared his throat. “I don’t have any advice or anything, but I have a sense for these things. Tonight will be different.”

“Of course it’ll be different. It’s the mysterious blood moon, and apparently, it’s going to change my life forever.”

Head shaking, he lowered his forearms to his knees. For a moment, he watched me silently. Then, with a quick look over his shoulder, he angled closer. “No,” he said, his voice barely audible. “This’ll be different from any other blood moon. Something is up. You and Sinner, I don’t know exactly what will happen, but be careful. Tell him the same.”

I wasn’t exactly one for superstition, but the concern in his eyes made me second-guess my decision to agree to this. “I’ll be careful. You know I will.”

He nodded. “Be prepared for anything, okay? They might be the Ministry, but they aren’t as strong as we are. They aren’t as strong as you are. That’s why they keep us locked underground.”

I scoffed, my heart pinching. “We both know they’re stronger than I am. This entire mess has been a huge mistake. They’ll find out tonight that they were wrong about me.”

His jaw tightened. “I wouldn’t be so sure about that. I see it in your eyes—you really don’t think you possess any power. But Sinner?” He peered over his shoulder quickly. “He sees something in you,” he said when he turned back, his lips turned down. “He saw it the moment you stepped into this prison. That’s never happened before, and we’ve seen a lot of ones and twos come and go since we’ve been here.”

Adrenaline pulsed in my veins. “You think I have power?”

He gave me a smile so genuine it pulled at my stupid, stupid heart. “I know you have power. You just have to believe you do. Your survival is on the line here.”

One lock on the massive door at the front of the dungeon clicked, then another. As it creaked open, the floor beneath our feet shook. Straightening, I squinted against the sudden influx of light.

Leon stood, and I did the same, trying my damnedest to be ready for what came next.

Eight guards—maybe more—stood at the entrance. Sinner faced them head-on, fists tightened at his sides.

I gulped once.

“Sinner. Athena. Time to go.”

With a harsh breath in, I forced my feet to move.

I’d only made it a single step before Leon caught my arm. “Athena,” he whispered.

“What is it?”

“If you get out of here, and you have the chance to fight them…” He swallowed audibly, his face darkening. “Make them all regret it.”

Sadness washed over me, but I nodded. That was the best I could do. I couldn’t trust myself with words. How selfish had I been? I was getting out of here. I actually had a chance to survive this mess, to live life outside of this disgusting dungeon.

Could these other guys say the same? Monsters, I had called them. But could I blame them? They were trapped like animals down here. Stuck. Forced to do whatever it took to survive.

When death stared a person in the face, it was a hell of a lot easier to face it as a demon than as an angel.

“Hurry up!” the guard yelled.

Sinner glanced over his shoulder and locked eyes with me, his expression one of grim determination.

Good. He hadn’t given up yet, either.

If Leon was right, if something more than a typical blood moon claiming ceremony was going down tonight, we had to be prepared.

Sinner had to be prepared.

I gave him a tight smile and followed the guards out of the dungeon.

“Is this really necessary?” I asked. Not even ten minutes after being whisked away from the dungeons, Sinner and I were being shoved into the back of a van.

I really hated vans. Along with the men who handcuffed me and forced me into them.

This time, thank god, the guards didn’t make any flirty, disgusting comments at my expense. They kept their wandering hands to themselves, and they sure as hell didn’t look in my direction unless they had to.

I assumed I had Sinner to thank for that. He towered over every one of them, his broad shoulders and massive biceps making the trained soldiers look like teenagers.

He might not have noticed, but I did. They were afraid of him.

“If either of you try to use your powers, we’ll shoot you both. No questions, no exceptions.”

Sinner growled as he was shoved into the back of the van beside me. The two of us were positioned on a cold bench, and across the van, three guards sat, weapons at the ready.

The doors slammed shut, and the space darkened. “Well, this is cozy.” Yeah, humor was my coping mechanism, okay?

None of the men in the van responded. Tough crowd.

We maneuvered through the forest, the van bouncing violently for what had to be thirty minutes before the path smoothed out. My shoulder bumped against Sinner’s, and either of us could have moved at any time, but we remained that way. I was silently grateful for his presence, a tiny reminder that tonight, I wasn’t totally alone.

We might’ve hated each other, but our motivations were aligned. Survive, and fight like hell when this was all over.

Survive so we could come back here and kill every last one of them.

“Where are we?” I asked as the van came to a stop. “If you wanted to kill us, you know you could have done it back in the dungeons, right?”

As if in response, the van doors swung open. “Welcome to Director’s mansion.”

Holy. Shit.

“The ritual is at Director’s mansion?”

Sinner let out a low groan, probably annoyed by all my chatter.

I ignored him as I was unceremoniously yanked from the van. He was shoved out after me, nearly face-planting on his way out. I hated seeing him like this. Restrained. Defeated, almost.

It helped, though, knowing he had a hell of a lot of fight left. Someone like him wouldn’t go down easy.

“The ceremony will be at midnight. First, you’ll be dining with Director and a few others. Now get moving. It’s gonna take a miracle to make you two look presentable.”

Strange. She hadn’t had a problem with our appearances the dozens of other times she’s seen us.

But I digress.

I’d never seen anything as beautiful as the mansion before us. Granted, in my twenty-three years on this earth, I hadn’t seen many things outside of our small cottage in the woods. But this was…this was otherworldly.

The massive home was lit up, the white columns along the front showcasing the power that resided inside. The floor-to-ceiling windows added elegance, the tall peak at the center only making the structure look taller. There had to be thirty rooms inside, maybe more.

People seriously lived like this?

Sinner and I were guided—or shoved, rather—toward the front doors. Ten white stone steps—way too large to be useful at all, by the way—led to a set of doors that had to be two stories high and required two guards each to open.

If Sinner was impressed at all by this house, he didn’t show it. I, on the other hand, caught myself literally drooling as we stepped inside.

“Oh my god,” I whispered.

Sinner elbowed me gently in the ribs to shut me up.

The grand entrance was flanked by two spiral staircases. Everything was white. Everything. Statues and white stone masterpieces littered the edges of the large, open space. Once the guards funneled in behind us and those massive doors shut, all I could hear was the sound of my own heart beating, my own breath slowly fueling my lungs.

Two older women approached from the back of the house. “Sinner. Athena. Welcome to the Directorial Mansion!” Both wore modest clothing, a white apron, and a smile—which was the strangest part of it all.

Sinner and I stood and stared, neither of us speaking. I mean, were we supposed to say thank you?

“You’ll be dining in the grand hall this evening, but first, we’ll need to get you cleaned up. Come with me.” One of the women stepped forward and grabbed me by the shoulders, ushering me to the staircase on the left while the other woman guided Sinner to the one on the right.

For the first time all evening, Sinner spoke, his voice rough with disuse. “Where are you taking her?”

The woman escorting him laughed softly. “She’s going to bathe and change before dinner. You’ll be reunited shortly, she’s in good hands.”

My chest tightened. Did he really care about where they were taking me? Or was it his magic making him possessive again?

Either way, I forced myself to give him a small reassuring smile.

We could survive this. We would survive this.

We didn’t have another choice.

My few attempts at conversation with the woman fell short. She was nice enough, but even that made me oddly uncomfortable. How could anyone working for the Ministry be this kind?

She bathed me first, insisting that she help scrub the grime off my body, before drying my body and hair with a thick towel. She laid out a few dresses for me to choose from, but they were barely distinguishable from one another. They were all much, much too fancy. Even fancier than the one I wore to the ball.

“I don’t know,” I groaned. “Does it even matter? This is all a big game to her, anyway.”

Ignoring my comment, the woman picked up the dress in the middle and held it up to my naked body. “What about this one, miss? I think it suits you.”

It was thin. Very thin. The slim silhouette was made of a single white layer so light it was nearly sheer.

But none of the other options looked any more modest. “Okay,” I sighed. “I guess that will work.”

She helped slip it on, oohing and aahing as it fit me perfectly. Okay, maybe this was why she was so happy . She got to look at pretty clothes while she played dress-up with prisoners month after month.

I supposed there were worse jobs in the world.

“Are you sure this is it?” I asked. “I feel naked.”

The woman laughed as she twisted my hair into a loose bun at the base of my skull, leaving a few strands free by my face. It looked…effortless. I actually didn’t hate it.

“You look beautiful,” she whispered, her eyes on mine in the mirror. “Your body is a tool, miss. You must wield it as a weapon, no?”

“Hm. I don’t exactly feel like a weapon. More like a rag doll.”

She straightened behind me, placing both hands on my bare shoulders and angling in close to my ear. “You can be a rag doll if you wish. But you are a woman. You are smart. You are sneaky. They will underestimate you. If you act weak, they will see you as weak. But perhaps that is your greatest advantage.”

She smiled again. This time, rather than creepy, her expression was a little rebellious. The twinkle in her eye ignited a fire in my chest.

“What was your name again?” I asked.

Focused on smoothing my hair back, she said, “My name is Lauren.”

I dipped my chin, watching her in the mirror as she straightened my dress. “Thank you, Lauren. I suppose tonight could be a lot worse than it is.”

She didn’t meet my eyes as she kneeled in front of me with a pair of white heels. She grasped my ankle gently and guided my foot into one. “It could be worse, miss. You’re alive. It could always be worse.”

When she opened the door and gestured for me to step through it, I did so with my head held high.

I was nobody’s rag doll.

But a weapon? I rather liked that.