Page 14 of Liar
Thorne Asher Briar II
Damion and Thorne’s are the only ones without dates chiseled under their titles. I shudder, thinking that Thorne’s body is one day expected to rest in peace behind these cold, heavy walls, alongside his cold, mummified relatives.
I wonder if he knows his name is down here waiting for him, or if he even cares.
Either way, that sounds like a Thorne problem. I should probably be more cognizant of the living being I’m stuck in here with, because she looks like she’s about to puke.
Savannah sits across from me, her sickly face illuminated between the glowing flames. We’re each seated on a marble bench, though who would want to come in and take a load off in this creepy AF tomb is beyond me. Savannah’s eyes shine like marbles as they dart around. She clutches her upper arms, humming to herself.
At any moment, she may fracture. The gall of these people—these Societies—truly outweighs any sense sometimes. Who was it that thought, let’s lock a girl who’s been kidnapped and held for ransom in an underground crypt and see how she does. Oh, and add in a stranger who looks just like her and took over her life. She’ll be fine.
On second thought, I know exactly the kind of maniac who would do this.
“So did they lure you in here by leaving a trail of chocolate bars, too?” I ask.
The humming stops. Savannah glances in my direction. She stares at me with glassy eyes. Her throat clicks. A tear runs down her cheek.
My joke falls flat. Obviously, neither of us are stupid enough to follow a sugar-coated trap into a witch’s gingerbread house, but here we are, anyway.
In an attempt to hold her attention, I add, “I was in the south hallway, heading out the doors to meet Malcolm’s driver Nash to take me home.” I search for clues that Savannah recognizes either of those names. Her face stays blank. “Someone jumped me. Put a black pillowcase over my head, tied my arms behind my back, and dragged me here.” Saying the words out loud puts it into my mind again. The unexpected force on my shoulders. The fabric against my lips. The hard, unyielding body behind me. I thought it was Thorne at first, deploying one of his fetishes again. My pussy even responded, throbbing in tune with my pulse, until I felt the scraping touch of my assailant.
Those weren’t Thorne’s hands. Too rough, eager, and harsh. My wrists were tied together so tightly I lost feeling in my fingers almost immediately.
“If you are truly Virtuous, you will submit and stop fighting.”
I slumped in my captor’s hands, but didn’t bother to contain a curse. Another goddamned challenge was coming my way.
“My first bet was on Aurora,” I continue, still searching for a reaction from Savannah. “She’d enjoy tying me up. But unless she had breast removal surgery along with her haircut, I doubt it was her.”
Not even a glimmer of recognition when I back-talked Savannah’s supposed best friend.
Sighing, I stand from the bench, smoothing out my rumpled, tartan skirt. Choosing my next approach cautiously, I say, “I’m sorry they’re doing this to you. Do you know why you’re here? Who they are? It’s not where you were held before. I promise. You’re with someone who cares. Me. You’ll be okay.”
Savannah gives one, slow, blink. Her voice comes out as a husky growl. “Don’t pretend to understand what I’m going through.”
I’m elated I got a response out of her but try not to show it in my expression. “This is some fucked-up shit, even for the Societies.”
“They use our greatest fears against us, to test our stamina.” Savannah recites it as if she’s reading the sentence off a piece of paper. “It’s no surprise they’ve latched onto my newest terror and are using it to test me.”
I nod in agreement. “Like I said. Fucked-up shit.”
“Yet here we are, anyway.”
This time, I can’t fight off a kindred smile. “My thoughts exactly.”
I glance around the small room, peering into the spots the fire can’t reach. “What do you think we’re here for?”
Savannah’s throat moves in another swallow. Her hands have stopped gripping her biceps and she lowers them carefully. Her breaths steady. My guess is, in the last place she was locked up there was nobody talking to her to keep her mind from spiraling. “There’s supposed to be a ceremony tonight to re-induct me into the Virtues.” Savannah’s eyes catch mine, the whites of them liquid and alive in the firelight. “Aiko told me you were a Virtue, too.”
The mention of my lost friend tweaks my heart, but I can’t let it get to me. Not now. “It’s recent. A few months old, really. I’m basically a baby.”
“Not from what I’ve heard.” Savannah folds her hands in her lap and tilts her head as she studies me. “Thorne doesn’t say much about you, but I’ve learned through his silences that you’ve excelled at the challenges. Exceeded the king’s expectations, even.”
I don’t want to think about Thorne, let alone talk about him. Not to mention Damion Briar. “I’m doing what I can to stay a member. They don’t make it easy.”
“Why?”
The question catches me off guard, though it really shouldn’t. I’ve repeated my standard defense hundreds of times in my head if I’m ever faced with this kind of inquiry, and I use it now. “Because I want to be part of the best. You know as well as me that to be a Virtue means your future is set. Position, privilege, power. All of it is yours, so long as you continue to meet the challenges.”