Dark Wish (House of Sin 1)

Jane’s brows rise. “I don’t … think I’m being treated that badly, to be honest. I mean, we get lavish rooms, lots of food, plenty of attention.”

“Because that’s what’s important in life,” I retort, rolling my eyes.

“Maybe not to you, but to us, it’s a blessing when compared to jail or something worse,” Olivia says.

We look each other in the eyes. “And I think this has gone on far too long,” I say, trying to stand tall even though these girls make me question my own resolve.

“We don’t get to decide that,” Olivia says.

“No, I think I agree with Amelia,” April says through gritted teeth. When I look back at her, she’s stood too.

“See?” I say, trying to inspire something in the other girls, but neither of them seems impressed. In fact, they’re both just sitting there, looking at me like they wanna beg me not to start anything. And it fucking hurts.

I march over to Soren, huffing and puffing, but he just stands there near the door, arms crossed, glaring at me like I’m an ant he can squash at any moment. I’m not afraid of him. I’ve seen death, looked it straight in the eyes and spat in its face.

“I’ve seen enough,” I growl at him.

His nostrils flare. He looks away, and I follow his gaze right toward April. The moment she notices his penetrative stare, she gulps again and immediately sits down on the couch, clutching the armrest like she hopes it’ll protect her.

“Let me out,” I growl. “Do you hear me?”

All he does is raise an eyebrow at me, and it’s infuriating.

“I want to speak with Eli,” I say through gritted teeth.

“Amelia, c’mon … let’s talk about this,” Olivia says.

“No,” I reply, without even looking at her. “I want to know where Anna is. Now.”

“Anna?” Jane mutters.

“The other girl,” I say, and in the spur of the moment, I clutch the door handle and jerk it until the door opens just a tiny bit, enough for me to stick my fingers through.

Soren suddenly grabs my wrist, lifting my arm in the air while grunting at me.

“Let me go,” I growl at him.

He narrows his eyes at me and then fishes in his pocket and presses something, I don’t know what, but a beep goes off.

Within seconds, guards burst into the door.

“Party’s over,” one of them says, and he grabs me and pulls me out.

“Fine,” I retort. I don’t even fight as they drag me away from the room. The women continue to glare at me up until the door is shut again. While they stay inside, I am hauled up the stairs. While they get to continue their conversations, I get to go back to my room.

And I’m not even sure if I mind.

The next day, Mary comes to my room. She doesn’t say much. “C’mon.”

She turns around and walks toward the door, so I follow suit.

“Where are we going?” I ask.

She doesn’t answer. She simply walks down the hallway.

“Is there something important I need to see?” I ask, prodding her again. I don’t care what she says.

We go downstairs, and she pauses near the dining room. The guards pull the doors open. Eli sits at the dining table. Alone. My feet are frozen to the floor.

Why did Mary bring me here?

What is going on?

Mary nudges me forward, pulling me from my thoughts. “Go on. Don’t make him wait.”

I swallow as I approach the table. All the seats are empty except for the one Eli is sitting in. Who would have so many seats at a table without inviting the guests to fill them? What’s the point?

I sit down on my usual seat, far away from him.

Eli merely stares at me, his palms on the table as he cocks his head. One rough growl leaves his mouth. “Closer.”

I suck in a breath and contemplate my options, but when I glance over my shoulder and spot all the guards standing in line, I know there are none. So I scoot my chair back and get up, shoving it aside as I walk beside the table, gliding my hand across every chair until his eyes rest upon one of them, the one nearest to him.

When I sit down, he says, “Good girl.”

“Why did you bring me here?” I ask.

“I’m just curious what you thought about that get-together you had,” he says, cocking his head.

I make a face. “Fine.”

“Really?” He snorts. “Doesn’t look like it went fine to me.” He adjusts his tie. “In fact, I think you didn’t like the answers you heard.”

I place my hands on the table in front of me, but it doesn’t stop the tension from building.

“Those girls are here because of what they did, and they all know,” he says.

“They’re lying,” I say through gritted teeth. “You’ve brainwashed them.”

“That’s what you’re telling yourself to feel better about your own decision. But you know just as well that you too chose to come here.” He takes a deep breath and sighs. “You couldn’t stop yourself from trying to create another uprising, could you?”