Page 21 of Beg the Night (Mystics of Ashora #1)

TWENTY-ONE

sinner

I hated being touched. I hated being looked at. I hated being perceived in any meaning of the word.

The woman silently bathed and dressed me, ignoring every one of my arguments and grunts of refusal.

Finally, fucking finally, I was dressed in a loose-fitting white linen suit, a thin shirt, and soft white shoes that matched the ridiculous outfit.

All white? Wasn’t that supposed to signify purity or peace?

I was neither of those things. As I surveyed myself in the mirror, it took effort not to laugh.

Who the fuck was the asshole looking back at me?

The woman in charge of dressing me might have seen a big man with too-long hair. Or maybe she saw a guy who’d elevate the Ministry’s magic by performing the claiming ritual under the blood moon.

But I saw a monster being held in chains. A demon decaying under the surface.

A man drowning.

“You ready, sir?” She motioned toward the door.

No. I would never be ready for this. I sure as hell wasn’t ready for what I knew would come after this.

Regardless of how much I dreaded what would happen after this preposterous dinner, Athena had to feel worse. She was good at masking her emotions, almost as good as I was, but instead of shutting down, she covered her emotions with humor and attitude.

I’d been convinced by the act at first. It took weeks to finally see what was truly beneath the surface. And like me, she was hiding plenty.

Not just secrets I hadn’t pulled from her yet, but true, genuine fear.

“Let’s get this over with.” I sighed as I strode across the pristine floor in my ridiculous white shoes.

In the hallway, I was stopped in my tracks.

Athena stood in front of me, having just stepped out of her room as well. And my god…

Like this night wasn’t already going to be painful enough. She wore a white dress—no surprise there—that slouched off her shoulders, exposing her collarbones. The fabric fit her slim body perfectly, like a second skin, as the almost sheer fabric drifted to the floor.

And her hair was pulled back. I had never seen it pulled entirely off her neck before.

She looked incredible, her face clean of any unnecessary makeup, thank fuck. She didn’t need it. Never would.

She stared back at me, too, focus drifting up and down, probably cataloging my ridiculous outfit.

I made my way to her, forcing myself not to fawn over her as I approached.

“The grand hall is this way,” one of the maids said as they shuffled slowly ahead of us, giving us a few feet of space.

In a move more than a little uncharacteristic for me, I held my arm out to Athena.

Her eyes widened. “You choose now to become chivalrous?”

“There aren’t exactly many other opportunities to be chivalrous around here, Athena.”

She inhaled sharply at the sound of her name. I loved it when she reacted like that. Like she was excited, almost.

People were rarely excited by me. Afraid, maybe. Disappointed, absolutely. But never excited.

“All right, then.” She looped her arm through mine and we slowly followed after the maids. “I guess the only way out of this is straight through it.”

“It’ll all be over soon.” I kept my posture as stiff as possible as the heat of her body radiated from her. “As long as there are no surprises at dinner, anyway.”

“Can’t you feel it?” Athena whispered as we continued through the ridiculous maze that was the mansion.

We came to halt in front of massive doors that I could only assume led to the grand hall. “Feel what?”

Brown eyes wide, she peered up at me, and I saw it again. The fear. “Something isn’t right.”

Before I could ask her what the hell she was talking about, the doors were opened, and we were suddenly the center of attention.

The grand hall was the first thing I had seen in this place that was not white. Not even close.

The entire room—walls, table, chairs, floor—was gold.

Director rose from her seat at the head of the long table. Behind her, several guards were stationed. A man I didn’t recognize sat toward the other end of the table, and then?—

My heart stopped beating.

Mags.

It took everything in me to remain calm, to keep my composure. She stood from her chair, too, just as Director did. She wore a modest white gown that made her look younger than she really was. Her cheeks were pink and her skin was clear, not covered in dirt like she had been the last time I saw her. She looked… She looked healthy.

The woman beside her stood, catching my attention, and my gut clenched. Athena’s sister. The one from the ball.

Beside me, Athena froze, her lips parted and her focus scouring the room. Like me, she was taking it all in. Assessing the situation. Waiting for the other shoe to drop.

“Welcome, welcome!” Director waved, ushering us inside. Athena tightened her hold on my bicep. “Come in! Sit down! You’re just in time. The food will be served momentarily.”

I led Athena to the two open chairs directly across from Mags and Athena’s sister. I took the seat closest to Director, leaving my counterpart to sit next to the man I didn’t recognize.

Every cell in my body told me this was wrong.

As soon as we were seated, the rest of the group settled as well.

“Margaret,” I said as my sister shifted in her chair. “What are you doing here?”

It was impossible to keep anger from dripping from my words. She was supposed to be gone. Safe. Very, very far from here.

She cleared her throat. “Since Director pulled me from the dungeons, I’ve been staying here in the mansion. It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

I scanned my sister’s face, looking for any sign of trouble. She was a ball of fire when she needed to be, but she was smart. She would play any part if she needed to.

The question was, was this a role? And if so, what was the point?

When I didn’t respond, Athena spoke up. “I thought you would be long gone by now. That was part of the deal, wasn’t it?”

Her eyes were not on Mags, but on Katherine.

Katherine’s fake smile tightened, the thin skin around her eyes crinkling. “She’s out of the dungeons, isn’t she?”

Director’s shrill voice echoed off the gold walls as she interrupted, “I was surprised when Katherine told me of the deal you made. You’d perform the claiming willingly if it meant this girl could go free, do I have that right?” She assessed Athena, her expression calculating.

I choked back the trepidation trying to crawl its way up my throat. My sister was not a toy to be played with. She sure as hell did not belong to the Ministry.

“It was a tempting deal,” she said. “It really was. But you’re a smart girl, aren’t you, Athena?” Director leaned forward until her elbows were resting on the table.

I clenched my fists to keep from punching her in the mouth.

“I’m sure you can understand why I need Margaret here to stay with us.”

Anger and panic radiated from Athena, soaking into me the way her power had the other night, as if our connection allowed the easy transfer. It only compounded my own fury. Betrayal. Resentment.

“You lied to me,” she whispered, turning her attention back on her sister.

“No, I didn’t. I told you I would try, and I did. This is a much better arrangement for her than?—”

“I’m fine, Athena!” Mags zeroed in on her. “I’m fine here. It really has been nice. Much nicer than that dark place.” She swallowed audibly. “But I did miss you two.”

Director smiled, though the expression didn’t reach her eyes. “Yes, she did. It’s why I wanted us all to share this meal. Now, I assume we can all behave ourselves long enough to do that, can’t we?”

Athena took a shaking breath. Mags’s eyes were still on mine, a silent message playing beneath her small smile. Behave.

Yeah, I wasn’t much for following rules.

But they still had my sister. They still had my fucking sister.

“Well.” I cleared my throat. “It is nice to see you again, Mags. I suppose this is a nicer arrangement. How long do you plan on staying?”

Staying. As if she had the choice.

Mags shrugged, eyes darting between me and Director.

“She’ll stay until we know we can trust you.”

Hackles rising, I stared Director down. “You can’t trust me?”

She gave me a condescending smile. God, I hated her. “No, I can’t. You say you’ll perform the claiming tonight, but as the only unclaimed three in our arsenal, measures must be taken. You understand, right?”

Thank god the guards chose that moment to pour wine into our glasses. Without the interruption, I might have actually exploded.

I forced myself to look at my sister. If I looked at Director any longer, there’s no telling what I’d do with the knife on the table in front of me. Then I continued to survey the people around the table. When I stopped on the unfamiliar man, I frowned. “And who is he?”

Next to me, Athena picked up her wine and gulped, her whole being radiating tension.

“This is Benedict. Katherine’s claimed. The two of them are here to walk you through the ceremony.”

I tried to bite my tongue. But I’d never been good at keeping my opinions to myself. “We need teachers? Really? I think we can figure it out for ourselves.”

Director did not look amused.

“It’s actually more complicated than you think,” Katherine added.

The woman was so clearly nothing like her sister. She was the kind of woman who instantly made me put my guard up. I wasn’t exactly sure what it was that made me distrust her. It could have been her smile—clearly fake. Clearly rehearsed. What the fuck was there to smile about here?

Or maybe it was the way she looked at Athena.

They were sisters. I would die for my sister. Literally. But her expression was full of calculation rather than fondness when she looked at her sibling.

I didn’t know Athena well. But I knew she wasn’t the type to be this cold to her own blood. Especially the only family she had left.

“More complicated?” I repeated. “How so?” I fought the urge to reach for my own wineglass.

Katherine cleared her throat and looked down to her lap.

“That’s what we’d like to talk to you about, actually,” Director spoke. “It’s more than simply being together physically. There’s an aspect of magic sharing that you’ll need to be prepared for.”

“Magic sharing? What are you talking about?” Athena asked.

“Since you’ve agreed to perform the ritual, that means that when the blood moon reaches its apex, you will feel a pull. A summoning of your magic, of your partner’s magic. It’s so the powers inside you can combine.”

“And what if I don’t have any magic?” she asked.

Mags’s lips kicked up for a fraction of a second. See? I wasn’t the only one confident that she was hiding something. Something powerful.

“Whatever magic you do or do not possess, it will open itself to him, but only if you willingly merge. Your magic will not betray your intentions.”

That was a fucking lie. My magic had betrayed my intentions twice already, and it had come damn close on many other occasions. Even seeing Athena in that dress had my power ready to betray my every command.

“Then what?” I asked. “When it’s over, we’ll be normal again?”

Director’s gaze hardened. “You will never be normal again, Sinner. This ceremony will make you unstoppable. You will unleash a new level of power within yourself. Your abilities will be stronger than you ever expected they could be.”

“But I’m already a tier three. How could I possibly become more powerful?”

“You are an unclaimed three. A claimed three could tear you up on the battlefield.”

The words fell across the table, making my heart lurch. “And the battlefield? That’s where we’ll go next?”

One servant after another appeared, each with a tray of food. The smell immediately had my stomach churning.

“We’ll discuss all that later,” Director said, waving to the group of people hovering near the door that likely led to the kitchen. “Once it’s all done.”

Done. Like it was that easy. I would be stealing Athena’s innocence tonight. There was no end to that.

It would haunt me forever.

“May I use the bathroom?” Without waiting for Director to reply, I pushed my ridiculous gold chair back and made my way to the door.

The guards reached for their guns as I approached, but Director said, “Let him go,” and they parted for me.

One of them pointed to a door on the left side of the hall, and as I shuffled that way, he followed.

I scoffed. It’s not like I could escape. There were at least a dozen guards here, and my sister was seated next to the woman pulling all the strings.

I wasn’t going anywhere without her.

What I needed was a new plan.

Just as I placed my hand on the bathroom door, a high-pitched voice called out.

“Elijah, wait!”

I turned and frowned at my sister, who was running down the hall. “What are you doing?”

She stopped in front of me, panting, her cheeks flushed. The smile she’d been holding since the moment I saw her fell. “I know what you’re worried about.”

“Really? Aside from this fucking claiming bullshit, I now have to worry about getting you out of here. You were supposed to be gone, Mags! Far away. Somewhere peaceful! Happy!”

“You worry about me too much,” she said, chin lifted. “I’m fine. I’ll always be fine.” She glanced over her shoulder at the guards standing a few feet away murmuring to one another. “I know why you don’t want to do this. But Athena’s strong, okay? She can handle it.”

My chest tightened, and I turned away. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

She gripped my arm, stopping me. “Yes, you do. Just like I know what used to happen with you and Father.”

Head hanging, I cursed. “You weren’t supposed to know about that, Mags. You were never supposed to know.”

“I understand that you love me and you’re trying to protect me. But I want to protect you too, okay?” She took a deep breath. “Athena is different. And if it helps at all, I think she likes you.”

Her words were like a knife to my chest. “No, she doesn’t. And even if she did, it wouldn’t make what I have to do to her tonight any better. It’s vile.”

“It’s survival. She’ll see it that way, too.”

Fuck. Survival? I didn’t want to make my first time with Athena about surviving. I wanted it to be about…about literally anything else.

I blew out a breath, my entire being deflating. “Go back to dinner. I’ll be out in a few minutes.”

Mags frowned at me, her deep blue eyes glassy with concern. It wasn’t the least bit surprising. She always worried, and it fucking gutted me. I was her big brother. I was supposed to be the one worrying.

She cared too much. It was why she had been so damn nice to Athena when she showed up in those dungeons. It was why she cared about our parents. Why she still thought there was even an ounce of me that was worth redemption after what I’d done.

I stood in the white bathroom for a minute or two, slowly willing myself to rein in my power. If my phantoms took over tonight, there would be no turning back.

I had to control myself. For Mags. For Athena.

When had I become so damn sensitive?

Once my breathing was steady and my heartbeat had slowed, I made my way back to the dining hall.

As I approached, the guards were all rushing forward.

And when a scream tore through the air, it took everything in me to keep my phantoms from exploding out of me. Because that scream. Fuck.

It was Athena.

Though, as I breathed through the panic, I realized it was more of an angry howl. I shoved past two of the guards and burst into the dining hall.

Just in time to see Athena throw her knife across the table at her sister.

Shit.