Page 109 of Goldsin

“Hide in the Harrows’ walk-in closet,” he urges. “Behind Lady Harrow’s winter coats is a concave wall, where you can wait until the end of the party at exactly three in the morning.”

“How do you?—?”

“It’s where your mother hid.”

His words stab me like a thousand knives, leaving me stumbling on the spot. My vision blurs even more, hands tingling.

“Wha—?”

Screaming cuts me off mid-sentence.

A girl—the one who was holding in her laughterearlier—is caged between the arms of a fox, his mouth latched onto her neck as he rips the ribbon with his teeth. From where I’m standing, it looks like a fox biting into its prey, killing it.

He spits the ribbon onto the floor and goes back for more.

Then I see her thrust at his chest, her body trembling even more, until a piercing shriek splits the silence.

Panic blinds me as I see her throwing punches at him.

He doesn’t flinch. Instead he remains in the same spot, with his mouth on her neck.

I think I’m truly seeing a fox devour a rabbit.

She screams, and I recoil. Her voice wobbles as it turns into despair, wailing.

The more strangled sounds she makes, the more I’m ravaged with despair.

I can’t seem to move. I want to help. Push him away from her—from leaving another mark on her skin.

But I can’t move.

My heart is thundering, but I can’t move.

Her knees buckle until her body slumps into his arms. Obedient, compliant, now she’s lost her senses. The fox lifts her in his arms. Her head tips back, and I see the mark he left with his teeth. The crimson dripping down her fair skin.The consequences of my weakness.And a suppressed scream leaves my mouth.

I frantically look around me for someone to share my reaction. Instead I come face-to-face with Lucian still onstage, and I finally notice the two golden foxes behind him—how they stand unmoving. Observant.

The Harrow brothers are staring at me. Their father too.

Lucian remains still, and the fox on his left copies him, detached, with his hands in his suit pockets. Yet his stare is scorching-hot on my skin, making me want to peel every layer of it off me. His posture screams of control—the kind that has his hands fisting in his pockets. Like he wants to do something but can’t. Like he’s the opposite of in control.

Then my eyes move to the right, where the other fox stands tall, his hands visible with all his built-up emotion. Julian’s face may be covered, but I can picture the tautness of his brow and the way his lips are crooked in a sinister smile.

I know that’s him ... but I’m even more certain the moment he tilts his head.

Ravenous.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

AURELIA

Ipush my legs, running with all my strength through the corridor.

My heart pounds in sync with the sound of my heels. Figures shift form in the shadows as I pass them in a blur. One of the gold foxes is following me—maybe all three of them. All I know is that I can’t let fear deliver me into their arms without a fight. I’m not easy prey like my mother was. I have claws, and I intend to scratch back.

I breathe through my nose, my legs threatening to buckle under me, but I force myself onward, using the memory of my mother to sharpen my resolve. Her pain blocks any surfacing doubt.

The mysterious guy with the red fox mask gave me a hiding spot, and I’ll use it. Just not now. Right now I need to get to the kitchen and procure a weapon.

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