I scan him suspiciously, my chin raised.
“Is she safe? You don’t have her chained up, do you?”
His painted lips twitch slightly, then he shakes his head, looking away.
“Only when we…”
He cuts off, and I almost roll my eyes, already knowing exactly what he’s getting at. But none of this makes sense. How’s Kyro dead? Why is my sister here—withhim? This unsettling, freaky-looking guy, but before I can ask another question, he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a wad of cash.
“You must be starving or thirsty. Go get yourself something. You’re gonna need your strength. I’ll be back here soon. Don’t go running off.”
I hesitate before carefully taking the money, then watch as he turns and slips into the crowd, disappearing like a ghost. The carnival swallows him whole, leaving me standing there with a thousand unanswered questions swirling in my mind.
I glance down at the cash, then sigh and shove it deep into my pocket. Food is the last thing I’m thinking about. My stomach is completely empty, but my thoughts are a tangled mess.
As I start to wander deeper into the carnival, an eerie feeling settles over me and it’s clear almost immediately, it’s not just any carnival. It’s ahorrorcarnival.
All I can smell is sweet butter and something deadly. The amusement booths are lined with weird prizes, like fake severed limbs dangling from hooks, glassy-eyed dolls with cracked faces sneering from shelves, and masks twisted into expressions of agony that seem to watch my every move.
The food vendors seem to match the theme, smothering everything in thick red sauce, making every bite look bloody.
Performers lurk in the darkness, waiting for the perfect moment to pounce, sending screams rippling through the crowd.
A woman in a tattered Victorian dress drags a rusted meat cleaver along the bars of a cage as I pass her, her smile too big, her white eyes far too dead.
A clown, balancing on stilts with smeared face paint and needle-sharp teeth catches my eye, and he winks at me before slipping back into the shadows.
This place ain’t just trying toscarepeople. It’s something else, but I push my thoughts aside, knowing I need to see Harley before I plan ahead.
Forcing my focus forward, I step over the cracked ground, the uneven surface crunching beneath my feet. Then I lift my head and as soon as I do, I see it, which makes me stop entirely.
Far ahead and intimidating, shrouded under the dark, foggy skies, stands a huge circus tent. It’s red and white striped fabric is faded and stained, the colors dulled with age. The structure sags in places, its edges frayed like the hem of an old, forgotten costume.
I tilt my head to the side, taking in the unsettling sight. There’s something off about it, but I can’t seem to look away. It’s like it’s calling to me.
I’ve never been to the circus before. I’ve seen the posters, the flashing lights, the larger-than-life talents of surprise and spectacle, but I’ve never stepped inside one. And now as I stand in front of it, my vision blurs at the edges, my focus narrowing.
“Welcome home.”
When a whisper drifts into my ear, a woman’s voice, low and ethereal, I spin around, half-expecting one of the eerie performers to be messing with me. But while my eyes scan the carnival, there’s nothing or no one close by.
Until there is.
Her.
She stands some distance away, her now long blonde hair dancing lightly in the wind. Hellion leans in, saying something in her ear. But she’s not looking at him. She’s staring right at me like she’s seeing a ghost.
Unshed tears glisten in her blue eyes, and I feel a lump rise in my throat, thick and suffocating. Over a fucking year. It’s been over a year since I last saw her, since we ran and tasted freedom for a quick moment before it was ripped away.
But here she is.
Beautiful. Healthy. Finally… free.
That’s all I ever wanted for her. That’s why I was willing to risk everything and drag her out of the nightmare that almost killed her.
Hearing my sister, mybigsister, the one I never even knew existed until I was thrown into the room beside hers, beingviolently raped over and over, was a horror I could never have prepared for.
The walls between us were thin, but not thin enough for me to help her. Only enough to make me listen toeverything.