Page 40 of The Puppet Master
I break from her gaze and try to be relieved. But I’m not.
She iswaytoo good at this.
The music grows louder as we move down the hall and spill into a wide sitting room where Aurelius lounges in a high-backed chair. In the corner, a scary-thin Seraph plucks a harp with slow, delicate strokes, glassy eyes transporting her to another place. Hopefully abetterplace.
At our arrival, Aurelius lifts a hand to silence the music. When it continues, he clears his throat and pins the Seraph with a glare. The song dies mid-note.
“What the fuck is this?” I push forward to finally free myself of Pippy. “Aurelius, you assured me?—”
Again, he holds up a hand.
Just a hand. A simple, silencing gesture that unleashes somethingrawin my DNA. It overrides my fear until my heart throbs in my fingertips and my muscles seem to swell.
Forcing my lips together, I watch him stand, his face a blank mask. He cups his bracelet while ambling toward me. “Ifthisis things going as well as they can be, I’m afraid you’ve failed your task, Sawyer Hansley.”
“It’s been less than a day. How could you possibly believe I’ve failed?”
Leather shoe catching the rug, he hitches. Tension thins the air between us—two lions circling a carcass. “I was told you were thebest.” He nudges the wrinkle from the rug. “So far, I have to say I’m disappointed.”
I open my mouth on reflex but stumble before words can form in my mind. Static sparks behind my eyes, creases formingin my forehead while I try to make a puzzle piece fit into a slot one size too small.
He was told I was the best … by who?
That isn’t the kind of thing you hear on thenews.
Blinking away the static, I nod toward Luna. “Get her out of here.”
No one flinches. Aurelius stares me down, the sharp line of his jaw flexing as we crank up the discomfort for everyone in the room. Finally, he breaks eye contact to nod at Luna’s U-haul. The Keeper carries her from the room while two others follow behind him. After a pointed look from Aurelius, the Seraph scurries away.
Aurelius, Raven, and the Keeper at her side remain.
“If you were told I was the best, then you should trust that. Instead, you just showed her I have no real authority. How is she supposed to respect me now?”
Aurelius’s hand lifts, fingers fanning open—his version ofwho gives a shit. “I suppose it no longer matters.”
“Of course it fuckingmatters.”
Now, more thanever.
Wilcox’s hollowed scream ripples through my mind so vividly, it’s as if it’s in the room. It’s an impossibility that doesn’t stop my eyes from glancing toward the window. His body has either been burned or buried by now.
“Aurelius, she’s just been kidnapped and forced into what she views is a cult. Of course she’s going to try to run. Sheneedsto. That’s the only way for her to see there’s no way out.” Tugging my wrists against unforgiving rope, I take a step toward him. “There’re stages to this. She needs to feel anger and fear before she can make it to acceptance… I can get her there, but I need you to trust me.”
His chin tips back, a predator displaying his sharpened jaw. I half expect his teeth to bare. “You’re saying you knew this would happen…”
It isn’t a question … but I nod anyway. “Yes. Of course, yes.”
“Then youlether run in front of my people who need to believe she’s happy here.”
“They will.” My voice is so thick with assurance, part of me believes it. “For future women, they will. Luna will be ready in three weeks, and I promise you, they’ll be pleased with the result… Until then, you’ll just have to manage their expectations.”
Air spills from Aurelius’s flared nostrils as if he’s just discovered gum on the bottom of his shoe. Gum that, to his deep dismay, still has flavor.
“What is the next step?” Raven asks, drawing me to the dullest brown eyes I’ve ever seen. Free of remorse, free of anger, free ofeverything. It seemed interesting that they’d put a woman in charge of security, but looking at her now, I understand. There will always be bulked-up pawns like Thorne, but it takes a frightening level of detachment to order a man’s death without blinking. Even more to make children watch.
Dropping my eyes to her pointed nose, I recalibrate. Think.
The next step…
