Dark Need (House of Sin 3)

She comes to me, placing her hands on my cheeks, and says, “Is it true? Did you take off your metal?”

I nod.

Her face turns sour, and she slaps me right across the face.

She steps away, farther and farther, the disdain only growing, and it stings more than the slap ever could. She fishes the key that belonged to my metal from her pocket and chucks it onto the ground like it’s worthless.

“How dare you. After everything we hoped for. Dreamed for. Sacrificed for. This is how you repay me?” she hisses. “How you repay her?”

She shoves aside another tarp that leads to the garden behind her hut. There’s a petite, curvy young woman with curly blond hair standing over some flowers with her back turned against me. She turns her head and looks at me, tears staining her eyes.

And then it hits me.

It’s her, the fair maiden promised to me.

The one my mother chose specifically for me.

The one that would’ve belonged to me if I had come back with honor and pride and had completed my duties.

“That key belonged to her.” My mother snarls, “You could’ve had all of this. But you squandered it all …”

On a girl who hates me.

“And for what?”

I shake my head, but I don’t know the answer.

All I know is that I felt the incredible urge to take what didn’t belong to me. To have what I shouldn’t crave. And even when I knew that it would cost me everything, I did it anyway.

“You’ve sinned,” the Elder whispers in my ear. “Now … accept your punishment.”

April

It took me days to find a flight that would take me across the ocean and even longer to find a boat willing to sail me to the island in question. I’ve spent literally all the cash I could afford, and now I’m in a country I don’t know anything about with little regard as to how I’m going to get back. But I keep going because I know Soren is out there, somewhere, all by himself, taking the blame for something I did.

I can’t let him sacrifice himself. Not for me.

So I wait until nightfall when the sailor is finally willing to take me to his island in the middle of the night. The water is creepy when there’s nothing but the moon to light our path. It reminds me of the first time Soren and I traveled together when he took me onto his jet ski, and we raced across the water. It seems like such a long time ago.

Still, none of that made my heart pound as it does right now as we approach the island. The trees looming in the distance look ominous, like a defense tower overseeing those who might approach. No wonder Soren felt so at home in the forests beyond the House. He was raised in them.

I swallow to try to get rid of my nerves as we get closer and closer. The cold of the night doesn’t bother me as much as the sounds coming from that island. It sounds like a devilish cry mixed with a stampede. What is going on?

The sailor stops before we reach the shore. “I’m not going any farther.”

I nod at him. “Thanks for bringing me here.”

“Sure. But I’m not sticking around.”

He flicks his hand as though he wants me to get off quickly before he’s discovered, so I take off my clothes and tuck them in my waterproof bag before I jump off. The cold water turns my body into frost instantly, the sudden cold making my teeth clatter. Still, I push on, swimming through the water to reach the shore. The water sloshes against the island's harsh stones, but I manage to climb up a slope and rest for a moment. Lying on the ground, I turn my head to watch the sailor boat away.

This is it. No way back now.

I steady my heart rate and focus on the journey ahead like Soren would.

I peer up at the trees to see if anyone is watching me, but it appears there’s no one around. Maybe they haven’t seen us, maybe I’ve gotten lucky.

That’s when I notice the plume of smoke rising above the treetops.

Maybe they’re busy with something else.

When I think the coast is clear, I crawl up and run as fast as I can, disappearing into the woods. Not far up ahead a blazing fire catches my attention. It doesn’t take me long to notice all the huts in the area, and the sight of people dancing to the flames has me mesmerized. All the men wear shorts with bare chests, while the women wear lavish white dresses fancied up with flowers and leaves. Some of them are on a raised plateau, with men bringing them food and drinks and worshiping the very chair they sit on.