Insatiable (Inferno Games #3)

24. An Unexpected Alliance

24

AN UNEXPECTED ALLIANCE

QUINN

I never expected to see any of the game leaders in the labyrinth, especially not Anthura, but it’s she who wakes me from an unsettled sleep. When I open my eyes, the walls of the labyrinth have gone, to be replaced by darkness. The little light there is shows Anthura looming over me, her arms crossed and an expression of fury on her face.

“Show me your hands!” she demands, her voice sharp and commanding.

I pull myself up and hold my hands out to her, which she grabs, turning them over roughly in hers. The last time she touched me, a burning sensation ran up my wrists, but this time they remain fine.

“Why do you want to see my hands?” I ask, my heart racing as I wonder if this is somehow related to the chocolate cake I consumed yesterday.

“Someone is murdering the contestants, and unfortunately, it isn’t us. I was checking for blood. What’s this under your nails?” She grabs my wrist and holds it up in front of my face.

“Chocolate frosting. Mud, maybe.” I feel a mix of relief and irritation. “So you’re saying that David’s death had nothing to do with you?” I suspected as much, but to hear it confirmed by Anthura is another thing. Seeing her mad about it is yet another thing. I thought she would find glee in watching us suffer, but I guess we’re messing up her plans—boo fucking hoo.

“Is this the same person that killed Michael and Lucia in Purgatory?”

She keeps hold of my wrist, and this time I feel heat start to build. I wrench it from her grip before she can blister my skin like she has done so many times before. “That’s what I’m trying to find out. There aren’t many of you left from my tower in Purgatory, but you are on my list.”

“I had no reason to kill Michael and Lucia,” I bite back. “Just like I had no reason to kill David.”

Her eyes narrow, full of venom. “Of course you’d say that, but here you are, in the games, trying to survive. I don’t trust you.”

“Then it’s a mutual feeling,” I almost laugh, rubbing my wrist, trying to dispel the lingering heat from her grasp.

She pushes her face so close to mine that I almost choke on her sulfurous perfume. “David isn’t the only one murdered. Anita was killed last night; Marybeth from the other tower was killed this morning. If I find you had anything to do with fucking up these games, so help me, I will hunt you down myself and make you wish you’d never lived and then never died.”

The menace in her voice sends a shiver down my spine. “You think I’m the one who’s messing things up? I’m just trying to stay alive, just like everyone else.”

“Survival doesn’t absolve you of suspicion,” she hisses, her eyes narrowing. “You’re too clever for your own good, and that makes you dangerous. Remember, the only way out of here is through the games, and the games don’t care who you are or where you come from. They only care about the bloodshed.”

“Then maybe you should be more concerned about who’s actually behind the murders rather than wasting time accusing me,” I snap back, trying to hold my ground.

Anthura steps back, her expression shifting slightly, as if I’ve struck a nerve. “Don’t forget who has the power here,” she warns, her tone chillingly calm. “You might want to keep your head down and your mouth shut if you don’t want to become the next target.”

I watch her walk away into the darkness and then the safety of the outside of the Earthery.

Then, just like that, I’m back in the labyrinth. Only now I have to contend with a murderer picking off contestants.

It doesn’t take long for the thought of murderers to be overtaken by crippling thirst. I didn’t drink yesterday and went to bed with a sore throat. Now the sore throat is back with a vengeance, and added to it is a monster of a headache. I need water. Just like the gnawing hunger yesterday, this feels urgent. I’ve not had any liquid for weeks, but in here, I know I need it.

So, murderers aside, my first job is to find a source of water. If I’m right, and judging by my thick head, I am dehydrated, then there must be water in here unless they want us to die of thirst.

I listen out for the sound of running water. I hear the sound of someone or something running. It sounds close, but distance is so relative here. I could be standing right next to someone in real life and not know it. I follow the sound anyway. The sound grows louder as I approach, my heart pounding in my chest. I can't tell if it's from fear or anticipation. Maybe both. The darkness seems to close in around me, suffocating and endless. Suddenly, my foot catches on something and I stumble, barely catching myself before I face-plant into the hard ground. I reach down, my fingers brushing against what feels like a small metal pipe. I follow it, hand over hand, until I reach a spigot. I twist the handle and water gushes out, splashing over my hands and face. I cup my palms, drinking greedily. It tastes metallic and stale, but in that moment, it's the sweetest thing I've ever had.

As I drink, I hear the sound of running footsteps again, closer this time. I freeze, water dripping down my chin. It’s getting nearer, and panic grips me. I can’t decide whether the person coming around the corner will be a friend, a murderer, or one of the many creatures I expect to find down here. It’s only when it’s too late that I remember I have no friends down here—only the distant voices of my allies upstairs, watching this nightmare unfold on the big screen.

I let out a sigh of relief when Tate rounds the corner. She isn’t my friend, but she’s no monster, and she can’t be the murderer either; she wasn’t with us in Purgatory. In a funny way, she’s the only person I can really trust in here.

I hold back, waiting for her to say something. The games have pitted us against each other and being trapped in this nightmare changes people. When she sees me, she smiles—a genuine smile that momentarily eases my tension. It widens further when she spots the water gushing freely behind me.

“Oh, thank goodness.” She takes a step closer, then notices my hesitance. “May I?” she points to the tap.

I hesitate, unsure if I can trust her. Juliette hates her, but to be honest, I’ve never had a problem with her. I step aside, moving from the tap so she can drink.

“Did you get a visit from Anthura this morning?” she asks after taking her fill.

“I did,” I reply, my eyes narrowing.

“Do you know who it is?” she presses, wiping water from her mouth with the back of her hand.

I hesitate, weighing my options. “No, not yet. But the games leaders must be freaked out enough to send Anthura in. They’ll have hidden cameras all over the place in here and if the murderer managed to kill three people without being shown on the cameras, then we’re dealing with someone much cleverer than I.”

Tate nods, her expression serious. “It’s not just the deaths. The games are becoming more chaotic, and people are getting desperate. I heard whispers of alliances forming, but I don’t trust anyone. Not anymore.”

“Neither do I,” I admit, glancing around to ensure we’re still alone. “It’s every contestant for themselves in here.”

She looks down for a minute, then raises her eyes to mine. “Maybe we could form an alliance?”

It would be nice to have someone to watch my back and it would help to stick together if we came up against anyone who wanted us dead, but the truth is, I don’t know her and even if I did trust her, she’s wearing a skintight dress and high heels. She wouldn’t outrun a murderous sloth.

I shake my head. “I can’t. I’m sorry. The second the leadership team sees us forming a partnership, they’ll put more danger in our way to split us up. It’s probably safer staying apart. Besides, Anthura really is out to get me. She’s hated me since the second I got to Hell.”

“Any particular reason?”

I shake my head. “It’s a long story and I really hope I can tell it to you some time, but you will be much safer staying away from me.”

She nods her head sadly. “I understand. Thanks for the water, anyway.” She begins to walk away, then turns. “I was always told to keep turning left in a maze, so that’s what I’m doing. You can do the same if you want, but if you don’t want to, if you go down the path I just came from, there’s a kind of clearing with some food on a plinth. I ate some of it, but there was plenty when I left.”

Regret nags at me long after Tate disappears down the path. Maybe I should have taken her offer to form an alliance. She didn’t have to tell me about the food. Trust is hard to come by here, but her gesture feels genuine. Still, I shake off the second-guessing. Trusting too easily can be deadly in these games.

As I walk, my stomach growls louder, a hollow ache building with each step. I ate last night, but that chocolate cake barely touched my hunger, and now it's growing impossible to ignore. The more I walk, the more ravenous I feel, like a pit in my stomach widening with every breath. Something about it feels wrong. Too intense, too fast. My thoughts snap to the water. They must have put something in it to mess with my hunger. Cursing Hades for inventing these stupid games and George for no doubt coming up with the water trick, I follow Tate’s directions. I walk in a straight line for about an hour when I come upon the clearing she talked about.

Just like she said, in the center is a plinth with food on it. I move closer and my stomach tightens.

A grilled cheese sandwich with chili sauce. Of course. These games love to toy with me. I’ve been craving that exact sandwich for weeks, ever since Jenny and I used to devour them back in the day. Driven by hunger, I step forward, only to stumble over something. After dusting myself off, I glance down and see a crossbow, already loaded. My first instinct is to ignore it, but with a murderer on the loose and me still unarmed, I grab it and inspect it closely.

Suddenly, a sound makes me freeze. From the other side of the clearing, Felix emerges, another crossbow in his hand. The second he sees me, he raises it, aiming directly at me.

“Snowflake,” he says, voice cold.

“Felix,” I reply cautiously, not lowering my own weapon.

His eyes flick toward the grilled cheese, and even from here, I can hear his stomach rumble.

The tension in the air thickens as we stand there, crossbows raised, staring at each other across the clearing. The absurdity of the moment isn’t lost on me—two people armed to the teeth, ready to kill over a grilled cheese sandwich. Yet, I can't deny how the scent of it fills the clearing, teasing my already starved senses, making my mouth water in anticipation. My stomach churns angrily, but I can't afford to lose focus. Felix looks just as hungry, his eyes flicking from me to the sandwich with barely concealed desperation.

“Let’s be smart about this,” I say, trying to keep my voice steady. “It’s a sandwich, Felix. There’s no need to go down this path.”

His eyes narrow, his grip tightening on the crossbow. “Maybe not, but it’s survival now, Snowflake. And that sandwich is all that’s between us and starvation.”

“We don’t have to kill each other over food.” My heart hammers in my chest, but I keep my weapon raised. “We could share.”

A bitter laugh escapes him. “Share? You think they’ll let us do that? They’re watching. We both know how this works.”

He’s right, of course. This is exactly what the games are designed for—pushing us to desperation, making us turn on each other. I glance at the grilled cheese, the temptation gnawing at me, but the idea of killing Felix for it is unthinkable. We’ve both come too far for that.

"I'm not going to shoot you," I finally say, lowering my crossbow with slow, deliberate movements. My fingers tremble as I release the weapon, laying it carefully on the ground between us. “If you want the sandwich, take it.”

The ache in my stomach is relentless, a gnawing, primal hunger that feels like it’s clawing at my insides. I want nothing more than to devour that sandwich, but it’s not worth losing everything over. Pain is familiar to me—I’ve endured far worse in Hell.

I glance up at Felix, searching his eyes for any sign of humanity. Instead, I find something darker, something unhinged. There’s a madness in his gaze, a wild glint that makes my blood run cold. Anthura’s words echo in my head. Wasn’t Felix the first person I suspected when she told me there was a murderer among us?

My heart sinks. I’ve made a terrible mistake.

I squeeze my eyes shut and hold my breath, bracing for the worst.

I hear the arrow’s deadly whistle before I feel the impact.