Page 69 of Haunted

Landon’s laugh is soft, almost gentle. “Oh, shedefinitely doesn’t want to be found. That’s what makes it so much fun.”

The casual cruelty in his voice makes my skin crawl. “You’re sick.”

“I’m a hunter.” He takes another step closer, but I stand my ground in his way. “And I don’t appreciate interference in my work.”

“I’m not interfering with anything.”

“No?” His head tilts again, and I can feel those cold blue eyes studying me. “Then step aside.”

I lift my chin, meeting where I think his gaze is behind the mask. “And if I don’t?”

“Then you’ll learn why my brothers call me the patient one.” His voice never changes tone, never rises, or becomes threatening. Somehow, that makes it worse. “I can wait, Mira. I can stand here and have this conversation with you for as long as necessary. But Sadie’s trail gets colder every minute you delay me.”

He’s right, and we both know it. Every second I keep him talking is a second Sadie can use to put distance between them, but she’s still trapped in this maze. She is still wearing the torn remnants of a dress that mark her as prey.

“There’s nothing you can do to save her from me,” Landon continues, his voice almost gentle now. “You know that, don’t you? Just like there was nothing anyone could do to save you from Xavier.”

My hands clench into fists at my sides. “That was different.”

“Was it?” I can hear the smile in hisvoice even though I can’t see it behind the mask. “You signed the same contract she did. Walked into the same trap. The only difference is that Xavier got to you first.”

“Move aside, Mira,” he says again. “This ends one of two ways—either you step out of my path voluntarily, or I move you myself. Either option works for me.”

I step aside.

The defeat tastes bitter in my mouth, but what choice do I have? Landon is right.

“Smart girl,” Landon murmurs as he passes me, his shoulder brushing mine deliberately. “Xavier chose well.”

I watch him disappear down the corridor. Sadie took his footsteps already quickening as he picked up her trail. The casual confidence in his movements makes my stomach churn. He’s not rushing because he doesn’t need to.

I should have held him longer. Should have fought harder and created a greater distraction. Those extra thirty seconds might have been enough for Sadie to find a better hiding spot, or another route, or?—

But who am I kidding? Sadie was always going to end up caught, like I was. Just like we all were.

The silence settles around me again, broken only by distant sounds that could be anything or anyone. I wrap Xavier’s shirt tighter around myself and try not to think about what’s happening in other parts of this labyrinth.

Try not to think about Cora.

But I can’t stop myself. The image of her with those three men burns behind my eyelids. Sadie’s descriptionplays on repeat—the confusion in Cora’s responses, the way she couldn’t tell if she was being violated or if she was enjoying it. The mention of her father, of revenge.

God, what have I done?

I’m the reason Mayor Pike’s daughter is being used as a weapon against him. If I’d never gotten that invitation, never pushed Xavier for access to his world, Cora would be safe at home right now. She’d be complaining about her father’s fundraiser and wearing boring conservative dresses instead of torn silk in a dungeon somewhere.

The worst part is knowing there’s nothing I can do about it now. We’re all trapped in the choices we made, in the contracts we signed. Even if I could find her, even if I could reach her—what then?

The truth is brutal and inescapable: We walked into this willingly. We signed those papers, put on these ridiculous outfits, and accepted the risk. Whatever happens to us tonight—to Sadie, to Cora, to me—we chose it.

Even if we didn’t understand what we were choosing.

27

XAVIER

Iwatch from the shadows as Landon disappears down the corridor after Sadie, leaving Mira standing alone in her borrowed shirt. Twelve hours. I let her sleep for twelve fucking hours of the Hunt. What the hell was I thinking?

My brothers were right to mock me over the radio. In all my years participating in this event, I’ve never allowed prey to rest, never shown that kind of... consideration. The hunters who know me would call it weakness. They’d be right.