Eve
I clenched my jaw so tightly, I was sure I would chip a tooth. But I kept my expression indifferent as the video began to play.
I knew this meeting was going to be challenging, but they were already pulling this—less than five minutes in? I would be foolish to say I was completely surprised, but even expecting their worst had done nothing to staunch the wave of dread that washed over me.
"Deep breaths, dear," Rhea's voice wove through my mind, reminding me that I was not completely alone. A fact that they, themselves, did not know.
I had not been at the mock execution. And for a long time, I had been grateful for that—grateful that I had not witnessed my own death. Especially when it meant that somebody else, someone who looked like me, had died in my place.
The footage was crisp and clear as it began, of course, with a speech from my father. I kept my eyes on the screen as he preached about the evil that would be vanquished that day.
