Everything about him infuriated me. That stupid skull, his open eyes, his existence entirely. They were less scary here, either because I was used to them or because they seemed to have no intention of harming me. But in the streets of Paris and at the theater, they were so out of place that it was innately terrifying. It made my soul scream. But here… They belonged here.

I continued to stare at him, feeling so much anger toward every single person here, capturing us and believing we were angels just because we were beautiful. I took a step toward him, moving off the path and onto the dirt.

He immediately stepped back, mirroring my actions.

I stopped, surprised that he moved away. “You afraid of me?”

Silence.

I took another step toward him.

He moved back again.

“I asked you a question.”

Nothing.

“You just stand out here all day and night with that stupid skull on your head? What’s the point? You don’t have anything better to do with your time?”

All I received was a blank stare, his eyes visible between the bones of the eye sockets.

“You’re pathetic, you know that?” I turned back to the path and continued on my way.

This time, he followed me.

I stopped and looked at him over my shoulder.

He stilled.

My eyes narrowed. “Don’t follow me.” I moved forward again.

His footsteps were audible on the cobblestone.

I turned back around. “Did you hear what I said?”

He slowly cocked his head sideways, like a dog trying to understand its owner, and there was something so weird about that.

Furious, I marched to him with my palms out, ready to shove him back and down the hill.

But he ran, getting away from me as fast as he could.

“That’s what I thought—bitch.” I moved toward the church again.

But he followed me…again.

I didn’t bother trying to chase him away. They were a dime a dozen, and there was no escape. At least the most intrusive thing about them was their stares. I wasn’t afraid that they would grab me or hurt me. If they intended to do that, it probably would have happened by now.

I made it to the church, the lawn out front containing the graveyard of the women who would never escape this place. The demons realized they weren’t true angels—and the women paid with their lives.

I stopped when I noticed something out of place.

One of the graves had been dug up. The headstone was still there, and a pile of dirt was beside it, like someone had grabbed a shovel and dug six feet until the remains of some poor soul had been found.

It hadn’t been that way just yesterday.

I remembered because I looked at them every single day, thinking about the women who had come before me, who had suffered at the hands of these freaks.

Then I heard the sound of an engine, something approaching in the sky, the noise faint but quickly elevating. I ignored the grave and looked up, expecting to see a plane flying overhead.

It was a helicopter.

It was the first airborne thing I’d seen in the sky since I got here. Planes didn’t seem to fly above this space. Even in the far distance, I’d never seen exhaust from a plane. The sky was always totally open.

Until now.

When it crossed the sky, the sound was deafening, audible to everyone in the camp. It flew past the trees and then started to descend.

“Oh my god…” It was landing.

Here.

I resisted the urge to run and draw attention to myself, so I walked slowly down the path, aware of the Malevolent who never pulled their gazes from my face. I lifted the hem of my dress and made the trip back to my cabin, my heart pounding in my throat, freedom at my fingertips. It was probably an ally who had come to deliver something, but I would investigate every detail I could find.

By the time I made it down toward the bottom of the camp near the field, I could see the five men facing Forneus and the Malevolent. A duffel bag was dropped in front of them, and the guy in the front didn’t lower his gaze to look at what was delivered.

But I recognized the blond man slightly behind him…with those blue eyes…those shoulders…the wetness in his gaze.

He was here for Beatrice and Claire.

I moved quicker, ignoring the Malevolent that quickly started to descend on me like they knew I was about to run for it.

If this was my only chance, I was going to take it.

Benton’s expression was indescribable, like he didn’t know if he should sob or scream.

I didn’t understand what was going on—until it dawned on me.

Benton lunged for Forneus, pulling out a knife from nowhere. The man in black pushed him back, and then Benton pulled out a gun and fired, but his arm was pushed to the sky, so the bullet missed its target.

Tags: Penelope Sky Cult Romance
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