Page 7 of Their Lethal Pet

“Why are you just now telling me this?”

“Because Iwantto be chosen,” I stress. “I… I need to find Sera.” It’s a nickname I usually only reserve for my sister in private, but Sage is basically family.

Which made withholding this information hard. But I wanted to protect her.

And, if I’m being honest with myself, I wanted to protect my secret as well.

Trust has always been a hard concept to accept.

But if I could trust anyone in this village, it would be Sage. Maybe in another lifetime or in alternate reality, that could have been possible.

Still, I need Sage to understand that she isn’t to blame for my choices.

“Sera’s out there and she’s waiting for me. All I know is I have to search for the Elite City she mentioned in the note.Chicago, she called it. That’s why I’ve accepted all the extra entries. You and Paulina don’t owe me anything.”

Paulina is Sage’s mom. She rarely leaves their house, her outcast status exempting her from today’s events. Hence the reason her daughter is here alone.

“Don’t blame yourself if I’m chosen,” I went on. “Please understand and believe me when I say Iwantthis.”

She gapes at me with wide, unblinking eyes for a long moment, the bells’ echoes growing more insistent with every passing moment. “She survived Monsters Night.”

“She survived Monsters Night,” I repeat, nodding. “And so will I.”

“By finding the Elite City?”

“Yes.”

“Chicago,” she echoes, causing me to nod again.

“I’ll be fine,” I tell her. “And so will you. Just keep your head down. Avoid the Viscount and his Barons.” That’s the title the other men in his circle have taken on, their titles demanding respect from the other villagers.

“I don’t know how to do that,” Sage tells me. “They… they keep showing up at the gardens, Alina.”

“Just don’t do anything to draw attention to yourself.” I pull her into a hug, my mouth near her ear. “Only trade entries for resources you really need. And don’t break any rules. If I’ve learned anything this year, it’s that being a rebel makes you more of a target.”

For indecent offers.

Promises of false protection.

Interest that’s a little too personal.

I don’t tell her those things, just leave it all unsaid. Because she knows better than anyone what happens when a female is seen as weak or easy prey. Her mother is living proof of how women are punished for the sins of men here.

“Remember what I told you,” I continue softly. “Wednesdays. Ten p.m. South Street by the cornfield. He’ll have a flashlight in his left hand, not his right. And he only accepts smoked meats.”

I’ve told her that a hundred times now, yet I can’t help doing it one final time.

“Stay safe,” I add, tears pricking my eyes. “And if you’re ever chosen, look for an old map. Find Chicago.”

I let go of her before she can reply, the ringing loud and overwhelming in my ears.

I don’t mind drawing attention to myself by being late, but Sage needs to hide. As well as she can with that silver hair, anyway.

Swallowing, I start toward the main road once more with Sage right behind me.

She says nothing, just grabs my hand and gives it a squeeze.

I release her when we near the festivities, the veil still clutched in my opposite palm.