Fearless Beings

Chapter 1

Cassandra's POV:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Gosh, Mia, we're so badass," I say, nudging her. She puts a finger to her lips, signaling me to shut up, which is probably a good idea, considering Madele isn't so far away from us.

As if on cue, the devil-incarnate turns around and raises a brow, "I hope you're done, Mia?"

For a second, I forget what she's talking about and frown. Fortunately, Mia finds her tongue and nods. "All done, ma'am."

Madele gives us a satisfied a smile. "Including the boy?"

Mia's fingers twitch by her side. "If by said boy you mean your son, then yeah," she spits sweetly even I flinch.

Madele ignores Mia's attitude and spins on her heels, strutting a little as she walks.

"Bitch," Mia muttered under her breath.

We walk for a minute or so more, before Madele ushers us into a sleek black limousine. She greets the driver and tells us to help ourselves with the refreshments.

I gawk.

But really, I shouldn't have been expecting anything less, considering she's the founder of an organization that practically plans human death.

I toss my blonde hair over my shoulder, a habit I picked from Mia. Seriously, no wonder her hair has so much volume, she's always brushing or toying with it.

I reach out and take a glass full of clear-looking liquid. Definitely water. It's the only thing that doesn't look suspicious. The other drinks vary in colors, I think I even spotted a pink one.

Before I can lift the cup to my lips and take a sip, Madele covers the brim of the glass. "Oh, no. This is vodka."

I give Mia a sideway look, to which she responds with a shrug. "What?"

"It's alcohol," she says, as if that explains it.

"What?" I know I sound dumb, but the foreign words coming out of Madele's mouth sound even dumber to my ears.

She laughs a little, probably at my expense. "It's a flammable liquid and is intoxicating when consumed."

"You mean, flammable liquids are consumable?"

"No, not always at least, but alcohol is different. It intoxicates, like a drug."

"A drug..." I ponder over the word for a moment. I read it somewhere, I know I did. Probably in some dictionary. "It's not available at home, is it?"

Madele shakes her head. "No, we don't produce it."

I don't question her further and instead sink back into the leather seats. Mia has been exceptionally quiet, I want to reach out and comfort her, but I know it's next to impossible when Madele is sitting right in front of us.

The space inside the vehicle is more suffocating than it should be, considering how vast it actually is. However, Madele's ever presence is tight and heavy and tension-filled, especially with the way her eyes seem to be flickering from Mia to me and then back to Mia again, who refuses to meet her gaze and is determined to burn holes through the limousine's floor using only her eyes.

But I know better. It's either the glares or the tears.

•••

My heart doesn't start to accelerate with adrenaline until we step out of the limousine and Mia's scowl turns into a terrifying, menacing smile.