Page 40 of Beg the Night

My interest was officially piqued.

I stood my ground at the edge of the party, though, waiting. Watching. New Girl didn’t strike me as the family type. She certainly didn’t strike me as themy sister is a mystic and is already working for the Ministrytype.

Full of surprises, wasn’t she?

The music around us grew even louder, adding to my growing agitation. I’d always hated music. My father loved it. Mags, too. They would play it all hours of the day, singing along and laughing ridiculously.

But for me, music was never simply music. It came with memories. Vivid ones. Each song like a fucking time capsule.

Here, there was nothing I could do as the melody washed over me, washed over my senses.

“Attention!” Director announced loudly, yanking me from the painful memories and ceasing the horrid tunes. “Attention, everyone!” She stepped up onto a small, raised platform on the far side of the room. “I have a few things I’d like to say.”

The crowd fell silent.

I glanced one more time over to New Girl. Her sister grasped her arm harshly, fingers digging into the skin, but New Girl yanked away and stumbled backward.

Thankfully the people around them were all focused on Director and paying the squabble no mind.

I was half tempted to interfere. Half tempted to drag her sister aside and ask what the fuck her problem was.

But soon, she, too, was watching Director.

“Today,” she said, her voice ringing out clear and strong, “we were victorious.”

All over the clearing, people broke into applause.

“It wasn’t long ago that mystics were considered lesser in Ashora. They were once forced to hide. To suppress their talents. To lie about their true abilities.” She took a long, shaking breath. Were people really buying this shit? “But because of you, because of the hard work the Ministry army puts forth every single day, we are freeing those who live in fear. We are freeing those who have been put down by their own communities. The earthlies cannot control us anymore, not when we stand together in our power!”

The crowd roared.

I fought the urge to vomit.

“I can say with true pride and honor that every single mystic in attendance today will help save the rest of the gifted population from the fate that they were destined to succumb to!”

More applause echoed off the trees. This was all so, so wrong.Thiswas the fate we all feared. Being forced to merge our powers under the claiming was what we should be fighting against. We should be rallying to stop the entity forcing us into slavery.

“Today,” she continued. “I present our new mystics with honor. These are the next fighters of our cause. The next soldiers in our army of freedom. With pride, they step into their true strength so that we may one day know peace. So that one day, we’ll no longer have to live in fear.”

Predictably, she had to pause for applause once again.

“Dance,” she insisted. “Indulge. Enjoy yourselves this evening. The mystics who have not yet claimed, please take the time to speak with our army.” She scanned the crowd pointedly. “I’m certain they’ll inspire you to become who you were truly born to be.”

More cheering. More clapping and stomping and hollering. Had these people all been fucking brainwashed? Had the Ministry figured out how to control the minds of the masses? Maybe the entire fucking army was being controlled by a few of the mystics, forced to obey their commands. Forced to fight for the Ministry. It was the only solution that made sense. There was no way in hell this many would willingly fight for the Ministry. Not when they had seen firsthand how mystics were treated under Director’s rule.

Still. They danced. They smiled. They seemed to be enjoying this pathetic excuse of a life they’d been given.

All the while the pit in my chest grew.

And grew.

And grew.

TWELVE

athena

“Ithought you were dead,” I whispered as soon as Sinner and Director were out of earshot.

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