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Chapter Seventeen

Kai

“Why don’t you talk to me anymore?” Stacy pouts, stepping in front of me and blocking my view of Tokyo. I lean the bat against the wooden bar before releasing my grip on it.

Why the fuck is she dancing on him like that? And why the fuck is Lalo touching her like that? He’s like a brother to me, so I know him well enough to know he’s trying it. The asshole is really trying to spit game, and Tokyo isn’t pushing him away fast enough. My stomach churns, heat bubbling in my chest.

“Stacy, not now,” I snap, trying to step around her, but she moves to block me, her pout shifting into a glare.

“What is your deal, Kai? Ever since that bitch—“

I don’t think. My hand shoots out, wrapping around her neck—not tight, but enough to make her freeze. Her breath hitches as I lean in, my voice low and sharp.

“Call my sister a bitch again.”

Her lips tremble, but the fire in her eyes doesn’t waver. “And what?” she spits, yanking herself free. “Look at you. She’s changed you.”

Her words hit harder than I expected, and for a moment, I don’t know what to say. My grip loosens, and she steps back, her big blue eyes glistening—not just with anger, but something else. Hurt .

“You used to be an asshole, sure,” she continues, her voice cracking, “but at least you never put your hands on me.”

The air between us feels heavy, thick with unspoken words. I open my mouth to respond, but before I can, another scream cuts through the music. This one’s louder, rawer, and it sends a chill up my spine. Smoke billows into the air, and the beat drops, shaking the ground beneath us.

“Stacy, wait!” I call as she turns on her heel and stalks toward the maze. My voice barely carries over the music, and I hesitate, torn between going after her and finding Tokyo.

The screams come again, closer this time. My chest tightens as I push through the crowd, the strobe lights and smoke disorienting me. Stacy’s silhouette disappears into the maze, swallowed by the darkness.

The maze swallows me whole. Smoke and strobe lights flicker erratically through the dark, casting fractured reflections on mirrored walls smeared with streaks of glowing paint. The smell of copper hangs thick in the air, sharp and metallic, mixing with the acrid bite of the smoke. It coats the back of my throat as I call out again.

“STACY!” My voice echoes off the mirrored surfaces, warping into distorted whispers that bounce back at me. “Stacy!”

No response. Just the pulsing red glow of the dome’s beating heart, casting eerie shadows that seem to move on their own.

Then, I hear it—a scream that cuts through the haze like a blade. Not the high-pitched wail of a woman, but a deep, guttural roar. Raw. Agonizing. My heart thunders in my chest, the sound so visceral it feels like it’s right behind me.

I press forward, deeper into the maze, my hands brushing against the cool, slick walls as I try to navigate through the disorienting smoke. A sudden rush of wind whips past me, too fast and precise to be natural. My breath catches, and I freeze, my eyes darting around wildly.

And then I see it.

A glowing neon heart tip—a fucking arrow—embedded in a nearby wall. The sharp point is slick with something dark, and it drips slowly onto the ground. My stomach twists as I step closer, the red glow illuminating the smudged mirrors around me.

“Shit,” I mutter, picking up my pace. My boots skid on something slick, nearly sending me sprawling. I glance down, squinting in the dim light. A puddle spreads across the floor, thick and viscous. Blood . My pulse races as I back away, the coppery stench burning in my nose.

Another scream erupts, this one high-pitched and frantic, coming from my left. I whip around just in time to see a woman clawing at her neck, her eyes wide with panic. An arrow protrudes from her back, glowing faintly as if mocking her. She stumbles forward, disoriented, and crashes into a mirror. Glass shatters around her as she collapses to the floor in a lifeless heap.

“What the fuck...” The words tumble out of me, barely audible over the music that’s still pounding in the background. My legs move instinctively, carrying me backward as smoke swirls thicker, the air growing hotter and heavier.

The warmth floods me, creeping under my skin, making my thoughts feel hazy and disconnected. My reflection stares back at me from every angle, distorted and multiplied in the mirrors. The sight makes my head spin. I lean against one of the mirrored walls, pressing my forehead against the cool surface to steady myself.

A scream rips through the air again, sharper this time, followed by muffled commotion. I push off the mirror and stumble forward, following the sound. The strobes disorient me, flashing in bursts that make it impossible to tell what’s real and what’s not.

A crowd of ravers have gathered in a small clearing of the maze, their faces lit with the pulsing red glow of the dome. They’re cheering, their voices rising over the chaos as they watch a masked Cupid stride toward them, its golden bow raised. The figure moves with eerie precision, the reflection of its porcelain mask gleaming in the fractured mirrors.

The music cuts out, leaving only the heavy thud of the dome heart and the gasps of the crowd.

“Welcome to fucking Heartless!” a distorted voice booms from unseen speakers. “NO RULES. NO MERCY. GET READY TO TEAR YOUR HEARTS OUT.”

The masked cupid raises its bow, and the crowd erupts in cheers again, thinking it’s some twisted performance. But then the arrows fly.

The first hits a man square in the chest, and his laughter morphs into a choking scream. His veins darken, bulging grotesquely under his skin as the arrow tip glows brighter. Blood sprays from his mouth as he collapses to his knees, his body convulsing before falling limp.

For a heartbeat, the crowd stands frozen, unsure if what they’re seeing is real. Then the next arrow strikes, piercing a girl’s throat. Her body jerks violently, a gurgling noise escaping her lips as blood pours down her chest.

Chaos erupts.

The music slams back to life, the bass syncing perfectly with the beating heart overhead. The masked figure fires again, its neon arrow raining down indiscriminately. Screams fill the maze, blending with the music in a macabre symphony. People push and shove, clawing at each other in desperation to escape, but the maze shifts, the walls narrowing and trapping them.

My chest tightens as I watch the carnage unfold. Blood spatters across the mirrored walls, dripping in crimson streaks. The once-cheering ravers now writhe on the ground, their bodies twisted and broken.

“Stacy!” I shout, but my voice is drowned out by the chaos. My legs feel heavy, my thoughts muddled by the heat crawling under my skin. My hand moves instinctively to the nearest wall, my reflection staring back at me with wide, panicked eyes.

I hear a laugh—a low, chilling sound—and whip around to see the masked figure reloading its bow. My breath catches as its blank mask tilts in my direction.

And then, it fires.