now.” Flynn slung his arm over Tobias’s shoulders. “Your game changes today, from lone man to team player. And I must say, you’ve chosen a fine team to align yourself with.”
Tobias shook Flynn’s arm away. “There are teams?”
“Have you been paying no attention?”
“I’ve been trying not to die.”
Sighing, Flynn gestured toward the other end of the room. “Over there. You see Beau, Neil, and Caesar. They’re a team, yes? Inseparable. Practically stroking one another’s cocks. Then there’s Antaeus, Drake, and Kaleo. True definition of Beasts—vile and unrefined.” His eyes flitted to Enzo. “No offense, of course.”
Tobias nodded, offering Pippa a handful of grapes. Again she shook her head, and he popped the grapes into his mouth. “And what of the rest? Are they a team as well?”
“They’re the solitary players. Outliers, if you will.” Flynn pointed at the Bear, who sat on one of the benches picking crumbs from his wiry beard. “Bjorne’s far too dumb for strategy, though he doesn’t seem to need it regardless.”
“The man can take a hit without flinching,” Zander said. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Flynn gestured toward the Brave, a burly man with fair skin burned pink by the sun and a head and beard full of red hair. “Then there’s Garrick. He’s a soldier of The Savior’s army. Thinks the title gives him an upper hand, since he already serves The Savior. A pretentious cock, that one,” Flynn grumbled to himself. “Last is Altair, that damn Physician.” He laughed, glancing over the man’s golden-brown skin and black ringlets. “No one likes the portly shit. Doesn’t know when to shut up.”
Tobias frowned. “Aren’t you full of kind words. I can only imagine what you’ve thought of me.”
“Reclusive. Cantankerous. Sour.” Flynn flashed a smug smile. “I still think all those things, but I like you anyway.”
Shaking his head, Tobias turned to Pippa, who stared at the floor. He tore off a chunk of cheese and offered it to her.
Flynn slapped the cheese out of his hand. “For God’s sake, she doesn’t want anything!”
Tobias dipped his chin, trying to meet Pippa’s gaze, only to find her eyes brimming with tears. “Pippa? Is something wrong?”
Her lip quivered. “He made me do it. I didn’t want to. But he made me.”
“Made you do what?”
A thunk sounded at the other end of the sanctuary, and the group spun around just as Garrick crumpled to the floor. Caesar was the next to drop, followed by Beau and Neil, and then Altair staggered into the wall before sliding into a pile.
“What the…?” Raphael muttered.
Tobias’s eyes panned to Pippa, who was meek and cowering, then traveled to the plate of half-eaten food in front of him. “Oh God.”
“Bloody hell,” Flynn spat.
“Again?” Zander gaped in horror. “Have they poisoned us again?”
“I don’t think it’s...”
Poison—but Tobias didn’t speak the word aloud. A fog fell over him, and his world turned to darkness as his back hit the floor.
***
Tick. Tick. Tick.
Tobias’s senses returned slowly. The sound was the first thing that registered, louder with each passing second until it was directly in his ear.
Tick. Tick. Tick.
He opened his eyes and winced. Light flooded his vision, and he squinted, attempting to discern the world around him: white light peppered with beige and brown masses. A white room—a white room filled with something. He took in a deep breath, his chest rising slowly—and then it stopped, pinching against a thick band.
He was restricted.
Bound.
Leather straps stretched across his chest, arms, and legs, pinning him to a wooden chair. He tried to examine himself, but his head wouldn’t budge, held in place by a belt fastened across his forehead.
His vision finally cleared, revealing the room around him—the white walls and floor, the wooden chairs arranged in a circle, and the men sitting in them, waking from their deep sleep. Each was tied down with the same black straps, had the same small, silver plate pressed to their chests, but the most notable feature they shared was the metronome placed just beside their ear.
Tick. Tick. Tick.
“What is this?” Caesar hissed. “What the fuck is going on?”
Panic swept the room. Altair sat across from Tobias, gaping, while Orion and Garrick struggled in their restraints along either side of him.
“Oh my God.” Altair’s gaze darted across the room. “Oh my God.”