Chapter 38
Walk Into the Snake's Den
I thought it was over. I thought the final, heavy closing of the Government Hall's doors behind me marked the end of the ordeal.
I was wrong.
A hand wrapped around my upper arm, not violently, but with a firmness that made my skin crawl. I turned.
Lilith.
Her face was no longer twisted in humiliation or rage. She had rebuilt herself in minutes, sculpting neutrality over her broken pride. Her smile was brittle at the edges, her eyes stretched too wide. That false calm was more terrifying than her earlier outburst. And honestly, it made me goose bumps.
"Alayna, there you are," she said lightly, as if we had run into each other at a brunch. "We're all grabbing something to eat. You should come, sister."
Eat. With her. With them.
Her friends had just finished tearing her to pieces, and now she wanted me to join them? The psychological whiplash was dizzying.
Was she planning something?
