Page 41 of Surviving Hallow Hill
Something beneath my skin seems to stir, and I scratch at it discreetly. Fuck, not now. My temples start throbbing.
“What do you want from us?” I demand. My anger and anxiety rise in equal measure. I want to gasp, but I hold the sound in my throat until it hurts.
“Miss Lucero, you have already given me everything I want.”
“Which would be what?” My nails curl into my palms. I almost dread the answer.
“You have given me success where others have failed! You, Miss Lucero, are my most successful experiment.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” My skin starts to burn. “Where have you taken my friends?”
He shakes his head and brushes off my questions about Kira and Amrose. Dr. Hyde’s plain-Jane face pierces me with an amused, condescending look. “Let us be honest without fear here, Miss Lucero. It’s just us, after all.” He tilts his head in Sia’s direction. “She lasted more than you. Every test run, every chemical injected? Her body absorbed it without tainting her blood like it did yours. Unlike you, her Sekar magic is still intact and so much more.”
Everyone stiffens at his words. Sia, to be reminded that his Sekar magic has thinned, as if he needs that reminder on top of knowing that his relic is gone. As if he needs to be reminded of everything this place has taken from him. And the others, they stiffen as if they’re just realizing the impact of those words, what I went through.
I never really talked about what happened that day.
About how I left there and the pieces of me didn’t really quite fit.
Just like they don’t fit now.
My insides are rolling, begging for release. To be let out of my prison. It’s rising, hovering just beneath the surface, ready to break free.
“Let us go,” I spit from between gritted teeth. I feel the blood on my palms now from where my nails are digging in just a bit too hard.
“Why in the world would I do that? Aren’t you listening? You’re my most successful subject, and your time at the Hallow has not come to an end.” He leans back against a metal table casually. I hate how relaxed he looks, like we aren’t a threat to him at all.
“If we won the Hallow games, we earned our freedom!” Sia cuts in. I can hear every emotion he’s feeling laced through those words. Agony. Fury. Heartbreak. Hopelessness.
It mirrors what’s in my own heart.
Hyde chuckles, and while there’s no real malice in the sound, it still makes the hairs on my arms stand up. “I never promised such a thing. You invented the rules of the game on your own. Besides, there is still one Hallow opponent you have yet to beat.”
Somehow, I know what he’s going to say before he says it, and I know the others do, too.
His smile curls. “Me.”
Rue’s had enough of the bullshit. He steps forward, a snarl ripping from his throat. His hands extend, morphing into black claws as he takes a step towards Hyde. His whole body starts to transform, wings sprouting from his back.
“Enough talking,” he growls. “And let’s end this.”
Sia takes a step beside Rue. He has no weapons, but the force of his rage is as sharp as any blade. “Yes,” he agrees. “Let’s.”
Hyde smiles as they charge, and when the smell of orchids hits me, I know they’ve made a fatal mistake.
There’s a reason he’s untied us. There’s a reason we’re alone with him in this room, with no one but Marcen as our witness.
Because it doesn’t matter how unassuming Dr. Hyde is.
He doesn’t need protection from us.
I start to shout a warning, but I’m too late.
Those electric golden eyes flare, and magic, a force so powerful it leaves me gasping, blows in their direction. It hits them with full force against their chests, blowing them back against the clear panels of the walls around us. A sickening crunch resonates within my ears, and when Rue and Sia fall...
They don’t get back up.
Styx whines and assumes a protective stance in front of me.
