Varick
The mist was a spectator favourite. Ignus had developed it a few years back, driving the girls mad with visions in that forest. The men whooped and cheered around me as Selena drove her stake into Marie's heart because of some entity the fog had conjured.
I felt sick. Ill, even. Mercy's blood was giving me too much of my old self back. I couldn't watch this any more. With every passing moment, I had to battle the urge to run out into those woods and take Selena into my arms. Carry her somewhere far away from harm.
Plans ticked over in my mind. Could I reach the yacht before the Helsings stopped me? Could I get Selena out of here?
Despite the torrent of ideas swimming in my mind, I knew, deep down, that it was pointless. The Helsings would catch my attempt at saving her on camera and send a pack of Vs after us. And when they caught us, we'd be ripped limb from limb as punishment.
My torment didn't go unnoticed by Mercy whose eyes continually found mine across the auditorium. The game was inescapable, projected tenfold on the wall until all I could see was blood and mist. The Vs were hunting in packs, taking down girls one at a time. There were only seven left, now. And Selena wasn't looking like she was going to make it.
With her wounds, she couldn't move fast enough to get through that forest unseen.
As she caked herself in mud, lying in the shadows close to Marie's body, I tried to figure out what she was thinking.
A stake was clamped in each of her hands. So I knew she hadn't given up yet. But the group of Vs heading her way weren't going to be beaten by a single girl. It wasn't possible. Even if she killed one of them, there were four others, including Melinda who was growing stronger every day.
Some of the men were clapping Ignus on the back, congratulating him on his ingenuity. While I, on the other hand, was tempted to snap his neck for it.
Mercy weaved her way toward me through the crowded seats, falling into the single empty one beside me.
“Got to give it to her. She's a determined little minx.”
“Fairing better than you would, I expect.” I shrugged off her arm as she tried to lay it on me.
“You'd do well to have a little more faith in me.”
“I'm pretty sure I had the upper hand last night.”
She thumped my arm. “Hush, will you? People are looking.”
I leant in close so a curl of her hair brushed against my cheek. “What's the matter? Afraid of everyone finding out you have a thing for being fed on?”
Her top lip curled back. “Shut up.”
My attention was drawn to Ignus across the room, chatting in low tones with Ulvic. I tried to drown out the din of the room to hear them, but there was too much clamour even for my senses to penetrate it. Ulvic had a worn look about him since the night I'd drank from him, avoiding me at all costs. Whatever Ignus had wanted from him, it looked like he'd gotten it.
“What's your brother up to?” I asked Mercy.
Her eyes whipped toward him. “Nothing that concerns you.”
“So you know?” I raised a brow.
She nodded slowly, giving me a hard stare. “And you're not going to find out.”
I'm not sure if I even wanted to know. Ignus had a twisted of idea of what fun looked like. Especially when it came to the games. Whatever he was planning, no doubt had something to do with the island, and my instincts told me it was nothing pleasant.
“What would it take for you to tell me?” I growled, staring her down.
A challenging smile grew on her features. “Even you couldn't do enough to make me tell.”
I frowned at that. Even me?
Mercy shifted closer, her hand snaking under the arm of the chair to lay on my knee. With a rush of understanding, I realised what all of this torment was about. Maybe it was the newfound humanity she'd instilled in me that allowed me to see it at last. I wasn't just some plaything she liked to torture. Mercy, as improbable as it was, liked me. Perhaps more than liked. The way her eyes glowed at me. The way she flaunted herself in front of me on a daily basis. Why she'd given me her blood. She actually wanted me to fancy her back.
It took several seconds for me to process this new information. And though I had streams of doubt running through me, I couldn't shake the feeling that I had hit the nail on the head. I'd finally sussed out her weakness. And incredibly, it was me.
I wasn't capable of love any more, but even if I had been, no part of me would ever be drawn to Mercy Helsing. She was as despicable as the rest of her family. Demanding the girls be starved before the games. Even once trying to have her father beat them into submission. Always the pretty ones.
I did something then that made my skin prickle with revulsion. I took her hand, winding my fingers between hers.
I have you now, I thought.
She stiffened, but didn't extract her hand. My suspicions were confirmed. Whatever way her mind worked, she was now convincing herself that there was a possibility I liked her too. But Mercy was by no means a fool. So I knew I had to tread lightly.
“Your blood...it's changed things,” I said quietly and her baby blue eyes widened to saucers.
“It has?” she breathed.
In all honesty, I wasn't lying. It had changed things. But only in so much as me feeling the weight of how monstrous this whole island was. And I was done playing a part in it.
“I can't stop thinking about last night.” Again, I wasn't really lying. Her blood played on my mind a lot. Why it was giving me such a powerful sense of who I was before I became a V. Why, of all the people I'd drank from, she had somehow provided me with more humanity than I'd ever received before. Not enough, though. Not enough to stop me from wanting to murder her. Brutally. Painfully.
I inclined my head and her grip tightened on my hand. The feeling in my chest was akin to a violent implosion. Her touch sickened me to my core. But I could see an advantage here, if I just let this play out far enough. I could get the upper hand.
“I'll see you tonight?” she confirmed and I nodded, flashing her the briefest of smiles – pretty much all I could muster even with my newfound acting abilities.
She released my hand, heading away and my mouth fell into a grimace as I returned my attention to the screen. There was a new, tantalising feeling growing in my chest. One that had evaded me for so long, it took me some time to figure out what it was.
Hope.