Chapter 30

30

MINA

The Past

May 26 th , 2:20 a.m.

I was as quiet as I could heading down the cellar stairs. I figured I had about three minutes before Nolan caught his breath, max. After that he was going to come for me, and no force on earth was going to be able to save my life.

But if Ella was still alive and there was something I could do to help her in the next one hundred and fifty seconds, then I was going to fucking do it.

The stair looped around, with earthen walls on either side, until I felt like I was descending into hell—then I scented smoke and sweat and heard what sounded like rough chants, like I was nearing a demonic football stadium. I reached the final level and stepped out into a massive cavern, with frightening-looking creatures carved into the walls, and the echoes of frat guys all around me .

Everything seemed vaguely Egyptian—and in the center there was a massive golden wolf's head, with an open mouth. It was the size of a small bus, and Ella was on the—altar?—of its tongue, tied down, inside of all its teeth.

She looked out of it, and Trent's closest crew from Rho Rho Phi were all around her, at the points of a symbol inscribed on the floor, with torches lit behind each of them—and they were all jerking off.

"You have got to be kidding me," I mouthed to myself in horror—and then I spotted a small sword on the table beside her head.

I would've guessed it was ceremonial if I'd come across it in any other context, and they weren't doing that , but now?

I heard Nolan bellow upstairs, and I ran forward at once.

Garrett saw me first—he let go of his dick to lunge for me, and I threw a heel at his head. It surprised him enough to let me get to the table, sweep up the dagger-thing, and start shouting at Ella. "Get up! GET UP!" She blinked and moaned, struggling with the ropes on instinct. "Get-up-get-up!" I shouted more, while wheeling around to confront Garrett, who was circling.

Braden made to let go of his junk too, but Trent held his free hand out. "Don't you dare stop," Trent commanded him, and he held back.

"That's right, keep touching your dick because Trent Donovan, Jr. told you to," I spat as Ella came around enough to start loosening the ropes.

"What—the," she said, her voice slurring, but they hadn't tied her tightly—they hadn't planned on her fighting back.

"You don't know what you're messing with here, Mina," Trent said, rising up on the balls of his feet, without stepping forward. He was strong as fuck, I knew that, and me swinging a sword like a drunk person at a shitty ren faire wouldn't have stopped him from coming for me. "You don't want to do this."

"You don't know what the fuck I want," I snarled, as Ella got herself free, and rubbed her face with her hands.

"Where the fuck are we?"

"Don't know, don't care—get off the table," I said, while trying not to take my eyes off of any of them. Garrett made to lunge at me again, but a whistle from Trent brought him up short.

"Don't! You know better!" my now very-fucking-ex-boyfriend commanded, and Garrett listened to him.

Somehow, some way, with my cheesy little weapon—that actually appeared very sharp now that I was looking at it more closely—I was in command of the situation.

Ella stood up beside me, teetering like a newborn horse, and I grabbed her with my free arm to pull her behind me, pointing at all the remaining boys with the sword. "I don't know what kind of fucking Aslan bullshit you were pulling here, but it didn't work."

I pushed us toward the stair, trying to keep an eye on all of them at once, but it was slower going in reverse. Ella was stumbling often—and Nolan was waiting for us at the bottom.

I braced myself—he was sober now—and he'd pull me to goddamn pieces.

"Let them go," Trent commanded, from behind me.

"What the fuck, Trent!" Nolan shouted over my shoulder.

"You heard me!" Trent's voice boomed in the cavern, and I saw Nolan shrinking back.

"Yeah. You heard him," I said, wrapping one arm around Ella, sword practically forgotten, as I hauled her up the stairs.