Page 134 of House of Crimson Hearts
“There are additional points to be awarded to the other teams in the following order. For coming second, Octavia Beaumont and Red receive three points.”
There’s a muted clap, so the Chief continues. “In joint third place, is Xavier St Clair and Talulla Binx and Dahlia St Clair and Lincoln Landry who both receive one point. And for the loss of half of her team, Sadie St Clair is in fifth place with no points.”
There’s another round of clapping and then the crowd falls silent. Cordelia picks the mic back up.
“We will have a day of rest, to allow for the hunters to grieve tomorrow and the teams to recoup their energy. The second trial will begin the morning after. For now, enjoy the ball, and enjoy the evening. Hunters, my thoughts are with you.”
The orchestra strikes up a fast beat made for dancing. I glance at Octavia.
“Come on, we have to talk…” she says, her face grim and takes me by the hand leading me out of the ballroom.
She winds through several corridors and then we climb a set of stairs and stop when we reach a door.
“I don’t want you to be mad at me, but there’s something I’ve been trying to tell you for a while, and it’s to do with your sister. So… I’m sorry, and I hope this is okay, I know how you’ve struggled with what happened. And this is messy and complicated, and I don’t exactly know the right way to explain. But I do need to apologise, and I figured that there was only one person who could really explain this part of it.”
“I don’t understand,” I say, frowning. But then my mind flashes back to the carriage in the forest and that she was going to tell me something before we were attacked.
“What you’re about to hear is only the start… But will you please hear your sister out?” she asks.
I go what I can only compare to vampire still.
“Red? Please? I’m sorry to spring this on you, but I cannot go on any more without explaining this to you.”
She leans down and places a kiss on my forehead. “You don’t need to be afraid of her, she’s fed recently, and I will be right by your side. But she loves you so, so much. She’s desperate to see you…”
“Okay.” I nod. “Okay.”
Then she opens the door to the balcony, and I come face-to-face with my sister.
“Amelia,” I gasp.
“Hello, sister. It’s been a while.”
Chapter34
RED
Amelia.
Amelia.
Amelia.
She stands in front of me, the closest she’s been since she turned. The balcony sways under my feet. My body freezes, flashes of the night my sister was turned race through my head. Her teeth sinking into my neck, darkness growing over my vision. My whole body cold.
Someone screaming my name.
Someone grabbing me. Someone feeding me.
“Red. RED?” Octavia’s squeezing my arm, wafting her wrist in front of me, the stench of iron in the air.
I snap back to attention, gripping her wrist. She yanks it away, taking her blood with her.
“Where did you go?” she says.
“Flashbacks, I… I keep getting flashbacks of that night.”
Amelia’s eyes well, “I am so sorry, Red. I didn’t even know who I was when I… when I…”
