Page 18

Odessa

T he dress I had picked for tonight sat snuggly along my frame.

While Marley had originally bought it for herself, I couldn’t deny that it fit as if it were made especially for me.

The sweetheart neckline accentuated the curve of my breasts and the black fabric glittered with each small movement, dancing like liquid starlight had been draped over my body.

It was, in a word, dreamy. Shame I had to wear it to such a foul event.

Oh, everyone was supposed to act excited, and I’m sure some were.

But I couldn’t find the feeling of excitement. All I felt was dread.

After this evening was over, we’d be forced to begin the games and I knew not all of us would make it out.

I lined my eyes in a black eyeliner and painted my lashes with a few coats of mascara.

The golden mask glowed in the warm candlelight.

I’d almost gotten used to its weight, liking the way the magick flowed into my veins.

It was addicting. For the first time in my life, I felt powerful.

Maybe that was why I’d fantasized about Dex like I had.

The mask could have been influencing me with a darker, more dangerous part of my psyche than I realized.

Most of the magick wielders were known to be callous and sometimes even cruel.

I chalked it up to needing a ruthless nature to win the games, but maybe the magick had something to do with it too.

There was no denying the way I felt once I had gotten the hang of it.

Accessing that thread of magick within had become easier and easier the more I practiced.

Each time I used it, I could feel the power blossoming within me— growing and becoming more settled into my very fiber.

We were enmeshed together, this power and me.

And I liked it. Maybe too much. It made me realize just how someone would be willing to kill another in order to keep it.

What should scare me, sent a thrill through my body.

The dread I’d been feeling was discarded and a wholly new feeling had replaced it. There was a gleam in my eyes that shone back at me in the mirror. I hardly recognized myself from the girl I’d been when I first received the summons. I’d been frightened. Skittish. Worried.

But lying dormant beneath my chest cavity was a gold thread of power that thrummed with my mother’s reminder to be ruthless. I could feel it within me, alive and thriving — ready to strike. All I needed was a target.

I lifted the mask away from my face with a frown, looking at it with concern at how dark my thoughts had become.

I’d been able to snag a quick shower after training today, spending the majority of it avoiding Dex and his annoying smoldering.

The man made glowering hot. The knowledge that I had not only seen but then…

well, never mind. It wasn’t important. I just needed to focus on getting through the night in one piece.

The gods were to be in attendance, and that knowledge had my nerves aflutter.

To make things worse, rumors of random room searches had been making the rounds at dinner, and I debated taking the dagger with me. I could strap it to my thigh and hope it stayed put. It was either I take it with me or risk getting it found while I was at the masquerade.

Fuck it. It wasn’t worth getting caught.

The belt to one of the dresses Marley had packed might just do the trick. Without second guessing myself, the decision was made. The cool metal of the blade sat against my thigh as I wrapped the black fabric belt around it, binding it to my body as tightly as I could.

I took a few practice steps and jumped up and down to see if it would hold.

So far, so good. Now it just had to stay there for the entirety of the evening.

Placing the mask back on, I took one last look in the mirror as its power surged in my veins filling me with a confidence that shone back at me in my reflection.

The rotunda was packed with servers and opulently dressed contestants.

Neon lights illuminated the space, similar to the very first day we’d arrived but now with hues of blue mixed in with the red.

When they merged together, they created the most gorgeous shade of purple.

Music played distantly from above, and I could scarcely make out the band from here.

All the contestants I could see, had chosen their very best outfits, but when I scanned the room, my eyes caught in horror at the three very prominently displayed heads that were hung above the entrance to one of the tunnels.

Magnus, Genevieve, and Uric.

Their names had been etched into stone beneath them, while their faces still were adorned with the masks they had chosen. If you looked closely, you could see the bones of their neck still attached and protruding from the freshly severed wounds.

Was that to be our fate should be fail and die down here?

Our bones to be made a part of the catacombs forever. A reminder of how insignificant we really were in the grand scheme of things. I didn’t think that when Uric was escorted away earlier, he would end up like this. It was vile and cruel.

Dex was nowhere to be seen, but I was too preoccupied with the visual of our fellow contestant’s remains to focus on anything else. A deep voice that carried a menacing tone, skittered to life in my head.

Less people we have to kill, isn’t that exciting?

My mouth dropped open at the intrusive thought, and I pushed through the crowd feeling slightly panicked as I grabbed onto a long flute of champagne one of the servers had on their trays. I tilted the glass back and drank the contents in one gulp.

I didn’t have time to ruminate on the grotesque scene I’d seen and that chilling voice, because the neon flickering lights dimmed, and a reverent hush washed over the crowd.

The gods had arrived.

They were even more breathtakingly resplendent than the last time we had seen them. But like before, the God of Death was notably missing.

Not much was known on how exactly they entertained themselves with the games, but most assumed they were able to watch somehow.

Using a magical recording device to relay live images of the games.

Some had claimed that they used rats to follow us through the tunnels.

Some others had sworn that they knew because they were gods, and therefore, all knowing of what was happening with the contestants.

I’d rather have the rats to be honest. The thought of them seeing me at my most intimate moments sent a shiver down my spine, but I supposed that’s part of how they maintained their power. Through vague stories of their lore, meant to invoke fear and obedience in their subjects.

To top things off, they’d erased all our history of our time as a people before their arrival.

They’d scrubbed our monuments and replaced them with their own likeness with a demand to be worshipped.

And many did without complaint. Now any mention of the time before was banned.

People were executed for committing such an offense.

Looking at those three heads above was just another reminder of how volatile the gods could be, and I was right in the thick of it.

The gods moved like the ethereal beings that they were, almost like they were gliding over the black and white tiled floor.

Each of them was dripping in opulence and proudly displaying a mask to match their power.

I realized our masks were replicas of theirs.

It seemed they were pairing themselves off to their matching power.

My spine straightened as the God of Shadows, otherwise known as Kage, came to stand right in front of me, offering me his gloved hand.

His mask matched mine in every way, The Onyx.

I took his offered hand with a curtsey, dipping my head into a bow to show the reverence required. Sweat gathered on my lower back, aware of the secret weapon I’d concealed beneath my dress. My power met his as soon as our hands collided, making me take a steadying breath.

Standing, I could see he was wearing an opulent black jacket that swept down to his knees.

It was embroidered with intricate swirls that mimicked the very shadows he was known to wield.

His shirt was well fitted, and his black pants were pleated and tight.

He was devilishly good looking in an otherworldly way but simmering beneath the surface was a feeling that if I made one wrong move, I’d be nothing but a pile of ash at his feet.

His dark wavy hair was styled neatly to frame the mask he wore, and his tanned skin seemed to glisten in the light, adding to his allure.

“Shall we?” He asked looking amused while he gestured to where the other gods and contestants were lining up.

I nodded my head and took his elbow letting him lead me. My eyes darted around the room, but still, I couldn’t locate Dex. Not that I cared. It was just interesting that I hadn’t seen him yet.

“How does it feel to have my power running through your veins?” Kage, The God of Shadows asked, and I nearly tripped over myself at his words.

“Um—”

He chuckled, throwing his head back as if he was so amusing. “Don’t lie, I know you must love it. The rush. The surge of power. And it’s only a drop of what I’m capable of.”

His arrogance was almost tangible. My mouth nearly turned into a grimace, but the I remembered just where I was and who I was talking to.

“I am very grateful. Thank you.”

“I bet you are.” His smile was wolfish and dazzling at the same time.

It was easy to forget that while charming he may be, he was also deadly.

It took effort to reign in my contempt that I felt for these ethereal beings that fucked with our lives for fun.

Without them and their stupid games, I’d be at home right now.