Insatiable (Inferno Games #3)

17. Earth To Juliette

17

EARTH TO JULIETTE

QUINN

“ H e’s fine. He can go back to his room now,” the doctor says, her voice curt and dismissive.

I glance down at Dade, who looks paler than ever, though at least he's conscious. I don't know if he ate more of the poisoned food than everyone else or if they gave him a stronger dose, but he's the only one left in the hospital wing. Rowena and Juliette were both released earlier, one by one, and I had to watch as the others left. Now, it’s just Dade and me.

“Can’t he stay the night?” I ask, trying to keep the worry out of my voice.

“It’s fine, Valentine. You heard the doctor,” Dade mutters, his voice hoarse but laced with that familiar stubbornness.

I want to argue, but I know how this goes. Last time, when a demon practically twisted his leg off, he shrugged it off and acted like it was nothing. Always hiding the pain, always pretending he’s invincible.

“You’re a stubborn ass,” I say, exasperation leaking into my tone as he drags himself out of bed.

He smirks faintly, but his eyes still carry the weight of exhaustion. It doesn’t escape my notice that he’s putting enough of his weight on me that he can’t stand up fully by himself.

I half walk, half drag him back up to his room, where he collapses onto the bed, the mattress dipping under his weight. Dade settles in with a barely concealed wince, his face pale as death, the dark circles under his eyes making him look like he hasn’t slept in weeks. He looks awful, and the sight of him sends a pang of guilt through me.

“You could’ve died… again!” I snap, the fear and frustration boiling over. “And again, you did it to save my life.”

Dade gives a weak chuckle, his voice raspy. “And I’d do it again, Valentine.” He pauses, his expression softening before he continues. “But you’re forgetting something.” His eyes meet mine. “I didn’t know eating all that food would save your life. I only ate because you demanded I eat up.”

“Semantics. You’d have eaten the food anyway.”

“I would, but so would you had you known it was poisoned.”

I slip onto the bed next to him and he rests his head on my chest. He’s not wrong. We’d both do anything for each other but that wouldn’t change the fact that after the final trial, we won’t see each other again.

“Don’t even think about it, Quinn,” he murmurs, even though his eyes are closed.

“Think about what?”

“Going down into the lower levels to kill that beast.”

I sigh and stroke his long dark hair from his face. “I did think about it, but Twila says that it’s impossible to pass. Only an Angel can pass it. Apparently Satan himself is the only person that can tame it because he used to be a fallen angel.”

A small snore erupts from his throat as my Hell Cell beeps. Extracting my arm from under him, I read the message.

BABE, COME HANG OUT WITH US IN THE CANTEEN

I’d planned to spend the night with Dade, but he needs to sleep and I need to figure a way to get us both out of this. After spending most of the day at the hospital I’m desperate for some time with friends.

I type back a reply to Juliette that I’ll be there in a minute and leave Dade to sleep.

Juliette barely glances at me as I take a seat opposite her in the canteen. She’s glaring at someone or something over my shoulder. Probably Tomas. I turn and find my suspicions confirmed. He’s sat with Tate and they both seem deep in conversation.

I wave my hand in front of Juliette’s eyes to catch her attention.

"Earth to Juliette!"

She blinks, her eyes sliding over to meet mine. "Sorry," she mutters distractedly. "Why is he talking to her? Why?"

I glance over at the scene she's obsessing over. I’ve never seen Juliette like this—so fixated on someone. Normally, she's detached, cool with the people she’s sleeping with. In the last circle, she didn’t even bother to mention who she was hooking up with. I shrug my shoulders. "I don’t know. Maybe they’re friends?"

Juliette’s face twists into a frown, clearly not the answer she wanted. "Look at her, with her perfect boobs and perfect hair. Friends, my ass. I’m going over there."

Before she can stand, Rowena slips into the seat beside her, effectively blocking her escape. Her face is flushed, and her usually frizzy hair is a mess. She looks like she just ran a marathon—or got out of bed.

"Did you just get out of bed?" I ask, partly to shift Juliette’s focus away from her jealous rage.

Ro’s cheeks deepen into an even brighter shade of pink as she mumbles, "I needed a nap. Pregnancy is exhausting."

“Can you please get it through to Juliette that obsessing over her ex—the one she’s called a rat multiple times—is pointless?” I ask, glancing at Ro.

“I’m not obsessing,” Juliette mutters, crossing her arms defensively. But even as she says it, her eyes flicker back to the table behind us, watching Tomas and Tate.

Ro sighs. “You don’t want him. He’s single, remember? And don’t you always say the best way to get over a man is to get under another one?”

“I am over him," Juliette protests. "Besides, you two already have the hottest guys here. You’ve got Dade, and you’ve got Felix,” she says, pointing at each of us.

Ro looks like she’s been slapped. “I can assure you, I do not have Felix.”

“Well, whatever. I don’t want your sloppy seconds, anyway. And who else is there? Everyone here looks like a walking skeleton, except George, and I wouldn’t fuck him with someone else’s pussy.” She mimes gagging for extra effect.

“May I remind you I’m pregnant and, despite not eating since the poisoning, I still have the ability to throw up,” Ro warns.

“Sorry,” Juliette says, sounding more annoyed than apologetic. “You’re right. I need to stop thinking about Tomas and his brazen ho…” She flashes a look at Ro. “And don’t start lecturing me about slut-shaming. I don’t give a shit. Look at her with her perfect legs out in that skimpy dress. She is a slut.”

Ro rolls her eyes but wisely holds her tongue, turning to me instead. “How’s Dade? Has he been discharged yet?”

“Yep. He’s in his room. I’ll go check on him after we’re done here. Actually, I wanted to ask you both something.”

Juliette’s still zoning out, her gaze locked on Tomas, so I direct my question to Ro. “I need to figure out how to get past a hell beast. Any ideas? We can’t kill it, fight it, subdue it, or talk to it.”

Ro raises an eyebrow. “Do I even want to know what a hell beast is?”

“Think of the scariest monster and you’ll be close. You two are out of the games. So is Dade. I can’t stand the thought of going down to the next circle without any of you, so we need to figure out how to get past this hell beast in the lower level and find the elevator to the lower circles.”

“Have you tried fucking it?” Juliette says, finally entering the conversation. “I find a good fuck calms the most savage beast.”

I notice Ro rubbing her temples as I shake my head. I don’t know why I’m even surprised by Juliette. At least I’ve taken her mind off Tomas.

“Funnily enough, when it was lunging at me with its razor-sharp teeth, I didn’t think to throw my clothes off and try to seduce it. I was too preoccupied with getting out of there in one piece,” I say. “Twila told me that the only way past it is if there’s an angel there with us.”

Juliette snorts. “You won’t find many of those in here.”

“There must be some other way to get past it,” I insist. “There has to be or all of you will be stuck here and I’ll be going down to the next circle on my own.”

Rowena sighs. “I’m pregnant. I don’t want to stay here, but I can’t run through the underbelly of the underworld with hellbeasts and demons chasing me. I have to stay here whether I like it or not.”

“No. I’m not going without you. Juliette. You’ll come and help me get past this hellbeast right?”

She looks at Ro, who won’t match her gaze. “I would fight a million hellbeasts if it meant getting out of this fleapit, but I can’t leave Ro on her own. I was thinking of speaking to Hades to demand he let us back in the games.”

I sigh in exasperation. “Hades won’t capitulate to demands. And no one is being left alone. We’re all getting out of here, or none of us are.”

Ro raises an eyebrow. “You considering dropping out of the games and staying with us?”

I rub my forehead. “I can’t drop out of the games. I have to get to Jenny.”

"Then we're at an impasse," Juliette says, crossing her arms. "Because we're not leaving Rowena, and you're not staying. So unless you can magically conjure up an angel or tame that hellbeast, and if you’re right about Hades, then I don't see a way forward."

There has to be a solution. I can't abandon my friends here, but I also can't give up on reaching Jenny. She needs me. We all need to get out of this infernal place.

Suddenly, an idea strikes me. It's crazy, probably suicidal, but it's the only option I can think of.

"What if we create a diversion?" I say slowly. "One of us lures the beast away while the others make a run for the elevator."

Rowena shakes her head vehemently. “And who is going to volunteer to be eaten by a hellbeast to save our sorry asses?”

“I think I’ve found someone.” Juliette sits up straight and pastes on a smug grin as Tate appears next to us, her genuine smile brightening the dimness of our surroundings. “Hey, ladies. I was wondering if I could join you. It’s a little lonely down here.”

Juliette scowls, crossing her arms defiantly. “You didn’t look lonely when you were snuggling up to Tomas just then.”

Tate furrows her eyebrows, her expression turning defensive. It’s reasonable, considering that when I glanced over earlier, she and Tomas were sitting at opposite sides of a table, hardly what I’d call snuggling.

“I’ve already told you I’m not interested in Tomas. He’s the only person that talks to me,” she explains, her voice steady but tinged with frustration.

Juliette snorts, a hint of sarcasm lacing her words. “I bet he is.”

“Anyway, is it okay to join you?” Tate gestures to the empty seat next to Juliette, her eyes hopeful.

“Of cour—” Rowena starts to respond, but Juliette shoots her a glare, cutting her off. “This seat is taken.”

Tate raises an eyebrow at the obvious lie, glancing between Juliette and the empty chair. “Seriously? By who?”

“By her!” Juliette points across the canteen where Hades and Twila are chatting. “Twila!” She shouts across the canteen, then waves Twila over.

Tate’s face falls, and she quickly walks away, clearly upset by Juliette’s outburst.

“Why do you have to be such a bitch, Jules? She said she was lonely,” Ro says, giving Juliette a disappointed look.

Juliette shrugs unapologetically. “Do you really want her hearing us talk about how to get past a hellbeast? We don’t even know if she’s in with the leadership. How else did she get in the Games from Lust if she’s not cozying up to one of them?”

“I thought we were done with that conversation,” Ro mutters. “You were going to fuck it to give the rest of us a diversion, if I remember rightly.”

Juliette gives her an annoyed smirk.

“It’s not over yet,” I interject, just as Twila takes the seat next to Juliette.

Twila looks between us with raised eyebrows. “What did I just walk into?” she asks, her voice teasing but her eyes sharp.

Ro glances at me, then back to Twila. "Quinn here is asking for hellbeast advice."

“Again?” Twila looks at me, unimpressed. “I thought I told you it was impossible, and now you're dragging Rowena and Juliette into this?”

Her words sting, and I feel like a scolded child. “There must be some way to get us all through this.”

“I told you there wasn’t," she snaps. "And you promised you’d stay in the games and forget about getting past the hellbeast.”

“I didn’t promise,” I protest. “I said I’d think about it. You said Satan can control it. Is there any way to get him up here to talk to us?”

Twila gives me a withering look. “Don’t you remember what I told you back in Purgatory? The only way to get to Satan is through the Inferno Games. That’s why I joined them. That’s why we all joined. I wanted to hook up with him, which I’m sure wasn’t everyone else’s objective, but no one can see him unless you make it to the ninth circle.”

Frustration bubbles through me. I don’t like being told no and I especially don’t like being told something is impossible. I was told it was impossible to find a way out of Hell, but then I was introduced to the Inferno Games. There’s always a way past things, even if they do seem impossible.

“What about getting Juliette, Rowena and Dade back in the games, then? Is that possible?”

She shrugs. “Possible but unlikely. Felix already tried that. I thought Hades was even considering it until Anthura pulled him away.”

Ro’s eyes open wide. “Felix tried to get back in the games? He was never out of them in the first place.”

Twila’s eyes wrinkle and she tilts her head to the side. “Didn’t he tell you this? I thought you two were hooking up now?”

“We are not hooking up!” Ro says a little too loudly. Through gritted teeth, she carries on. “and no, he didn’t tell me. Tell me what?”

“He came and pleaded with Hades to let you back in the games. He said that he’d cheated somehow and would step down if you could go back in.”

Ro looks like she’s about to faint. “Felix gave up his place in the games for me?”

“No. Anthura ran over and said he was crazy and drugged up and that he hadn’t cheated and that was that. As far as I’m aware, he’s still in the games and you’re still out. Sorry.”

“Can you all excuse me?’ Rowena gets up, looking even paler than she did before.”I think I need a nap.”

“Didn’t you just come down from a nap?” I ask, but she’s already scurried away.