Page 120 of The Order of the Bitter Hunt

I spare one last look with Tobey. Between the crack of the door, they look at me, and hope sparkles in their eyes. My undead heart breaks as the door clicks shut.

They need me to save them, but I still don’t know how. We’re outnumbered—three against the crowd downstairs. And, by the sound of things, the party is growing.

I can’t let my father see my worries. We follow him down the hallway. Jun is still in stunned silence.

“Are there other sacrifices tonight?” I ask.

How many people do we have to save?

“No,” my father says. “It must be one at a time. The others will have their opportunity to prove their loyalty. Tonight is all about you. I wanted you to be the first of this group to make the sacrifice.”

“Ah… thank you.”

Wonderful. I’m finally the star of the show, and, of course, it will end in blood and death. I’m meant for tragedy, not comedy, and I’ve always known it.

Jun hasn’t said a word.I’m practically hyperventilating as he and I return to the party. Butpartydoesn’t feel like the right word. This is a horror show. Even the people around don’t seem to be enjoying themselves. Glasses go untouched, and the music is eerie rather than energizing.

We step into the room to find it crowded, and—Caldwell might have had the right idea with the mask, after all. Now,everyone else is wearing them. I’ve never found the masks particularly alarming, but seeing a room full of them leaves me uneasy.

I no longer know who’s hiding behind each mask, and that’s where the fear lies.

The other guests are as on edge as I am, but they don’t have a reason to be. This ismyday. It’s not a role I auditioned for…

But I suppose it is. The trials I’ve been through were my audition, and a life at my father’s side was as well. Was there anything I could have done to keep from finding myself here?

Jun doesn’t speak until we’re in the middle of the party. We stand close to the speakers, and I hope the music can drown out our conversation from the rest.

“You can’t be serious about doing this,” he says.

I turn to him with rage in my eyes and flaring nostrils. “And you cannot possibly think I wantanythingto do with this. I won’t hurt Tobey.”

Nothing can convince me to. I don’t want immortality, and if I have to choose between my life and theirs…

I will choose theirs. Jun should know better.

His eyes widen. “You seemed awfully convincing in there, princess.”

“Good. Then I still know how to act after all. It’s a matter of self-preservation, and Tobey’s preservation. I’m pretending to go along with it until I can get them out of here. I won’t be sacrificing them to… to… to yourfather.”

“Shit.” He lets out a breath of relief. “I didn’t know if the fear I felt was yours or mine.”

The words have no meaning at first. They would be confusing to anyone else, but they click together after a moment. He’s talking about our mating bond. That means he feels it the way I do. Jun confirmed it already the night before, but to know he canfeelme through it is something else.

My expression softens. “You feel me, too?”

He nods, giving me a confirmation I don’t need. “I do. I’m not fucking used to it, but… I feel everything.”

“The fear belongs to both of us, then. This is terrifying. Anyone would be afraid.”

“I don’t want to be.”

“But it’s okay.” I squeeze his arm. “If you weren’t terrified,thatwould be even more terrifying to me.”

“Great.” He lets out a slow sigh. “What now? What are we supposed to do?”

“We’re going to save Tobey,” I whisper. “But we can’t do it if my father knows what’s happening.”

He nods. “Then that’s what we’re doing. Going along with the plan.”