“What did you think?”
Samuel’s voice sounds distorted as I keep my gaze locked on the back of the leather seats of the car.
My eyes trace down each crack of the fabric, trying to keep my mind at bay, but it’s not working out very well. The images of Kam’s bare body, blood flowing out from his palms and down his arms, keep invading my brain. By the time it is all over, blood covered the stage. It glistened in the light of the stage and made my stomach churn.
I felt Mrs. Donovan’s eyes on me when I let out a shriek as Samuel brought down the blade, slicing open each of Kameron’s palms. Samuel heard me, too. Rage boiled over him as he looked down on me from the stage.
I don’t know how he saw me with the blaze of the lights, but he looked directly at me, like he knew my shriek by heart. The rage that laid in the single look had me shut my mouth for the rest of the ritual. I have never been afraid of Samuel till that moment.
“Eden?”
Samuel’s voice pierced through my thoughts again.
“Huh?”
My head lagged in looking at him.
“What did you think of the induction ceremony? The offerings to the Divine?”
“Good.”
Images continue to flash in front of my eyes again. My head lazily nods as I lose my train of thought again.
“I heard your commotion during it.” He shifts closer to me. “You can’t interrupt the rituals again.”
His words sober me up.
Our gazes snap together.
“I just—”
“No. It can’t happen again. Do you understand?”
A sense of annoyance creeps under my skin.
“If I had been given a proper briefing of what I was about to bear witness to, maybe I wouldn’t have interrupted.” I glare at him.
He has no right to be mad at me for being shocked at what I saw. He was supposed to warn me. He was the one who was supposed to prep me on what to expect during my first adult induction ceremony, but he failed to do so. Iwasn’t going to sit here and let him turn the blame onto me for his carelessness.
“Hmm.” He draws out. “So, your outburst is on me?”
His words didn’t come out harsh but eerily calm.
“I didn’t say that.” I look down, uneasy from his calmness.
“Then, please, tell me what youaresaying.” His hand grips my chin and pulls me to look at him. “Go on.”
I yank my face from his hand. His pupils dilate and his nostrils flare.
“What I’m saying is... with the little information mybrothergave me, it is no wonder I was shocked.” I cross my arms tightly over my chest. “Samuel, you didn’t tell me anything. You didn’t think about telling me that they would be cut and bleedand...”I look down and shift in my seat before I flicker my eyes to him again. “... naked,” I add in a whisper.
The corner of his mouth twitches, and a light sparkles in his eyes but fades within a second.
“I’m sorry. You are right. I should have warned you.” He runs his hand through his neat blonde hair. “I was too preoccupied with how you would think of me afterwards that anything that happened took a back burner.” His eyes soften as he looks at me next to him. “How was I to tell you that you are about to see these men and women bare in front of you? That you are about to witness them offer their souls in exchange for a taste of the Divine?”
“You could have said exactly that.”
He deflates a fraction. “I suppose so.”
