by Hart, Stella
No, I was stuck here for the rest of my short life, and in two days, I wouldn’t even exist anymore. I would be snuffed out along with the new life growing inside me, and no one would remember me fondly. No one would miss me. No one out in the real world would even know what happened to me.
I closed my eyes and sagged against the wall, my mind drifting away on a wave of finality.
The universe had dealt my hand.
This was where I belonged.
This was where I would die.
3
Elias
I sat at one of the bars downstairs, right hand clenched around a tumbler of scotch so tightly that my knuckles turned white. It was a wonder the glass didn’t shatter.
Despite all the darkness surrounding the society and its third-level traditions, I still couldn’t fucking believe it in those first few moments when the council told me what they did with the hostesses at their festivals. They tricked all the women into thinking it was some sort of honor, an easy job that would give them privilege after privilege along with a chance to leave this place forever, just to make them behave. Really, it was a death sentence.
As the full weight of their words set in, it started to feel like the whole world was choking me, dark fingers tightening around my throat. Tatum was the hostess this time around. That meant she was marked for death in just two days.
Before I stepped into the chamber in the Catacombs this afternoon, I stupidly thought I’d have time to come up with a solid plan to rescue her from this place. Everything was different once I discovered time wasn’t on my side at all. I had to tell her as soon as possible, had to get her the hell out of here by any means necessary.
I went straight to her after the council let me out, but I was too late. My father made it there at the exact same time, and I couldn’t make a scene without arousing his suspicions. That was the last thing I needed right now, because if that happened, I wouldn’t even stand a chance at rescuing my girl.
And so I had to wait.
It sounded easy, but it wasn’t. My muscles ached for no reason as I sat here at the bar, and my hands shook in a way I couldn’t control. My skin felt cold and clammy, a vein was pulsing in my neck, and my face was probably as beaded as dawn grass. All I could do was try my best to look casual around all these other Crown and Dagger bastards, when really, I was already so wound up that I would probably smash their fucking faces in if they came too close.
I gulped down another mouthful of scotch, closing my eyes as it burned a trail down my throat. There was barely a shred of doubt in my mind about what my father was saying to Tatum right now.
I’d been told that the men of the third level usually waited until the very last minute to tell the festival hostess that she was going to be hunted, but I had a feeling my twisted prick of a father couldn’t resist telling Tatum early. He wanted to make her suffer, make her wait in a state of dread and fear for days on end.
He was nothing but pure fucking evil. Just like the rest of them.
Above me, on the high ceiling, an intricate carving swirled and twisted like a vortex in the ocean. I wanted it to suck me up and break me into nothing. I deserved it, because if anything happened to Tatum, it would be my fault. My father might’ve been the one to negotiate her sale with her parents, but he did it for me. He knew how I felt about her after Ben’s death, and so it was because of me that she was brought here in the first place.
All my fucking fault.
“There you are.” Speak of the devil. Here was my father right now, sliding onto a barstool next to me.
I steeled my jaw. “You’re done talking to Tatum already?” I asked.
Perhaps I was wrong. Perhaps all he spoke to her about was the bullshit hostess duties, and she still wasn’t aware of the danger she was in.
“Yes. She’s back in her room now. I told her all about the hunt, so as you can imagine, she’s not too pleased,” he replied with a chuckle.
Well, there went that idea.
I grimaced and swallowed hard. “I see.”
He frowned. “Are you all right? Your face looks a bit red.”
I tried to smile, but it probably looked more like a snarl. “Just thinking things over,” I said, forcing an airy note into my voice. “It was pretty intense down in the Catacombs earlier. I wasn’t expecting that last bit of information about the hunt. Not at all.”
“You don’t approve?” Dad’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“Of course I do. Like I said, I just didn’t expect it.”
He snorted. “I’m not blind, Elias. I can see something is bothering you. Spit it out.”
I took another sip of my drink, formulating my next words carefully. “Fine. You’re right. To be frank, I’m kinda pissed that I’ll be losing Tatum in the hunt.”
He pursed his lips. “I knew it.”
“Well, what did you expect? She’s my slave. I had no idea the others could take her away from me like this after all my hard work with her.”
He lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “We couldn’t exactly tell you before you reached the third level, could we?” he said. “Besides, there’s a good reason so many of us voted for her over every other woman here. The escape attempts, the way she stabbed me, not to mention what she did to Ben all those years ago… she’s incorrigible. Surely you can see that.” He paused for another beat. “I understand that you feel as if you’ve wasted these last few months training her and carrying out your little plan to make her fall for you, but there’ll always be other girls. I’ll find you another one. A better one.”
There was no one better. No one else in the whole wide world. Tatum wasn’t fucking replaceable. She was mine.
All mine.
“She’s nothing but trash, believe me,” Dad went on, patting me on the back. “Besides, we had to get rid of her after we saw her test results.”
I frowned. “Test results?”
He lifted his brows. “Oh, of course. I didn’t mention this earlier, did I?” He paused, lips quirked up in amusement. “Tatum is pregnant. That’s why she’s been sick lately. Not a bug.”
Time itself seemed to stop as his words registered with me.
My heart was still beating, but it was against a chest that felt hollow. My eyes were still focusing, but the room that was so close suddenly seemed far away. My mind was shutting down, unwilling to comprehend anything for a moment.
“What the fuck did you just say?” I finally said, an edge creeping into my voice.
“She’s pregnant. Her latest Depo shot must’ve failed at some point. So obviously, you can see why our desire to get rid of her is so urgent.”
He chuckled again. My jaw tightened as rage surged through me, and my fingers curled into fists. I felt more animal than human.
I wanted to drag my father to the ground and kill him. He was so fucked up that he actually found amusement in the thought of hunting down and murdering a pregnant woman. One who was pregnant with my child, no less. His own grandchild.
Sick fuck.
I quickly forced a deep breath into my lungs. Flying into a rage and betraying my true feelings wouldn’t help Tatum now. Despite all the shit that was being heaped upon us, I needed to stay calm. I needed to do it for her.
“Why kill her for that?” I asked, trying my best to keep a steady tone. “You got a slave pregnant, and you ended up with me. Am I so disappointing that it would make you do things differently now?”
He shook his head. “That was different. Like I said earlier, Camille came from a decent family. Good stock. Not borderline trailer trash like Tatum. If we let her have your child, you’d be stuck raising it, and it would cause nothing but trouble for us in the future, courtesy of her shitty genes. It’s better that we nip the problem in the bud before it’s too late.”
What a load of bullshit.
“I see,” I said in a low voice.
He frowned. “And before you ask: no, we won’t simply terminate the pregnancy and let her live so that you can continue
owning and training her.”
“Why?”
“We need prey for the hunt. Also, you might not agree with this, but I personally think abortion taints a woman’s mind. Especially if it’s forced, for obvious reasons. And the last thing we need is more insane behavior from that little bitch. So I’m sorry, but she’s our choice for the hunt, as much as you might object.”
Christ. I gritted my teeth. “Right. Does she have any idea she’s pregnant?”
“Yes. I told her a few minutes ago. You should’ve seen her reaction.” He snorted with laughter. “Your little plan to make her fall for you was actually starting to work. Get this: she looked right in my eyes and said that you loved her, and that you’d help her and the baby. The look on her face when I tore down all her ridiculous perceptions and told her you were lying to her all along… it was perfect.”
My chest tightened. “What do you mean?”
He grinned. “I told her about your plan. How you were tricking her into thinking you cared about her and loved her, all so you could destroy her.”
Fuck.
Venom filled my tone. “Why the hell would you tell her that?”
My father looked puzzled. “Why not? It hardly matters now. She’ll be dead soon, so it’s not like you can continue with the plan.”
As he spoke, his fingers curled tightly around a white napkin that sat before him on the bar. I could see his spine snapping in my mind, could feel my fist smashing into his nose, splattering the napkin with blood as I broke his face apart. What an improvement that would be.
“I know, but I wanted to be the one to tell her. To destroy her,” I forced myself to say through gritted teeth. “Now you’ve taken that away from me.”
In reality, all he’d taken away was my progress with Tatum. She needed to trust me and believe that we were on the same side in order for me to help her, but now she might never get there, because my father had ruined our tentative relationship in one fell swoop. That meant rescuing her would be even harder than I initially thought.
Shit.
Dad held his palms up. “You’re right. I should’ve let you do it. But I just couldn’t resist.”
I grunted, too filled with rage to come up with a coherent sentence. “Hm.”
“I’m sorry, for what it’s worth.”
I took another deep, purgative breath. “It’s fine,” I said stiffly.
There was a tense pause. I took another sip of scotch.
“So… that’s all that’s upsetting you? That you’re losing your slave?” my father finally said to break the silence. He was staring directly at me with sharp eyes, as if he were searching my face for any hint that I was unsuitable to this new lifestyle. Any hint that I might actually care about Tatum.
I couldn’t let him see the truth. Couldn’t let him get in my way before I had the chance to save her. Whatever it took, I was getting her the fuck out of here, and only then would I show my hand and rain hellfire on all those who tried to take her from me. All those who wanted to hurt her, including my father. He would be the first to go when I tore down Crown and Dagger’s empire and crumbled it to black dust.
I nodded and pasted on what felt like the hundredth fake smile today. “Yeah, that’s it. But if she’s really pregnant, I guess I’m dodging a bullet, huh? Two birds with one stone and whatnot.”
The words felt revolting on my tongue, but I had to keep up the act.
Dad smiled back at me. “Indeed.” He patted my shoulder. “So on Sunday, you’ll join us in the hunt. It should be… cathartic. You’ll finally be done with Tatum forever.”
“Yeah. I‘ll be there.” I tossed the last of the whiskey down my throat and set the glass down with a clatter. “But I’m already fucking done.”
4
Elias
I waited until my father was too distracted by festival goings-on to check up on what I was doing, and then I headed upstairs. There were two guards posted up outside Tatum’s room: one directly outside the door, and the other right across the hall, twiddling his thumbs with boredom.
Two guards for one door? What the hell did they think she was capable of?
I strode toward them. The one closest to the door stepped forward, blocking my entry. “Sorry. Mr. King said no one can go in except whoever takes her meals to her.”
My brows pulled together. “I am Mr. King,” I said, focusing my laser-like gaze right on his eyes. “And this is my slave, at least for the next two days. I’ll visit her whenever I see fit.”
He faltered. “I… I meant the other….”
“I know what you meant, but if you don’t step aside, you’ll find yourself out on the fucking street without a job. That goes for both of you.” I shot the other guard a warning glance.
I didn’t like to throw my name around and threaten people’s livelihoods, but sometimes it was necessary.
“Yes, sir,” the first guard muttered, stepping aside.
“I need you to do me a favor,” I said before I turned the handle. I pulled some cash out of my pocket and dangled it in front of him. “Make sure no one else comes in here, no matter what. Especially my father. If you can manage that, I’ll quadruple this on my way out.”
The guard’s face brightened. “Yes, sir.”
The second guard frowned and stepped over. “Mark, his father is the Mr. King. The society president,” he said. “You can’t—”
He waved his hand. “It’s fine. I’ll figure it out.”
I smiled thinly. My father was right about one thing in this world. Almost anyone’s loyalty could be bought for the right sum of money. Mark the guard was willing to sell his for only a few hundred dollars. Good to know.
I passed the cash to him. “One more thing. From now on, only one guard will be needed outside this door. She’s a girl, not a fucking demon.”
“Yes, sir.”
I entered the room. The brocade bedspread was rumpled, but there was no sign of Tatum. Frowning, I stepped into the bathroom to find that empty as well. The only other place she could be was the closet.
As I headed to the door, I heard wrenching sobs and heavy breathing. Quietly, I stepped inside to see her crumpled in a ball on the floor. One hand was near her face, the other was resting on her stomach.
She registered my presence and looked up. There was black and brown makeup streaked down her cheeks, and a dab of pinkish-red lipstick had somehow made its way from her mouth to her chin. She looked like a total mess, but she was still the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen.
The second she realized it was me, her face contorted. All sadness and gloom was gone, instantly replaced with rage.
“You,” she said, leaping up. “How dare you come here now?”
“I know what you’re thinking, but I just want to—”
My words were cut off by a hard slap cracking across my left cheek. I winced, more out of surprise than pain. Tatum didn’t even look afraid of my reaction, like she did the first time she raised a hand to me all those months ago.
“Do whatever you want to me. Punish me. I don’t care. They’re going to kill me soon anyway,” she hissed.
I rubbed my smarting cheek. “I deserved that,” I muttered.
“No shit. Now get out!” Fresh tears spilled down her face, and she pushed on my chest. Pain had settled into her blue eyes. She wasn’t just angry. She was brokenhearted. The thought made my stomach curl.
I grabbed her wrists. “No. I need to explain.”
“There’s nothing to explain. I know everything!” She lunged sideways, nearly ripping her arms right out of my grip.
I clamped my hands tighter around her wrists and pushed her back toward a cupboard door. “Look at me. Just look at me. I don’t expect you to believe me, not right now, but I need you to give me one more chance. Okay?”
She didn’t listen. There was an electric energy coming off her as she grew more agitated. She fought me, twisting and kicking and shrieking through clenched teeth, but I held on until she froze stiff, her
wild eyes meeting mine. “Are you going to be the one to do it?” she finally whispered.
“Do what?”
“Kill me,” she said, her voice cracking. “In the hunt.”
“Jesus, of course I’m not going to fucking kill you.”
“So you’d rather let the others do it while you watch?” she said in a flat tone, like she’d already resigned herself to her fate.
I shook my head. “I didn’t even know about the tradition until today. I’m not going to let it happen, I swear.”
Her eyes narrowed with disbelief. “How the hell can you keep lying like that? I told you, I know everything! Your father filled me in a few hours ago.”
“That’s exactly why you have to listen to me. He’s—”
She cut me off again. “No,” she said, her voice soft yet seething. “Don’t you dare try and say he was just making shit up to play us off against each other. He wasn’t lying about any of it. You were lying to me, all along. I know it.”
“Tatum, I didn’t know about the hunt.”
“Bullshit. You knew everything. You were playing me,” she hissed. “I heard the recording, you know. Every word is burned into my brain. I can recite the whole thing for you if you don’t believe me.”
I frowned. “What recording?”
She started to recite what must’ve been a video recording made at one of my third-level interviews; one of the ones where I said all sorts of fucked up shit I didn’t mean, just so they’d let me in.
Fuck. So my father didn’t just record everyone else in his world. He recorded me too, just in case he ever wanted to use what I said against me or anyone else.
I hated him more and more with every passing second.
“You told me you loved me,” Tatum went on, the rage in her eyes giving way to sadness again. Tears spilled out over her cheeks, washing away parts of the smeared makeup.
“I do.”
Her eyes were glazed now. She wasn’t listening to me. “I said I wouldn’t fall for it. I tried so hard not to. And I didn’t, not all the way. Not until today. But then I actually started to believe you. I thought….” She shook her head. “I thought you had to be telling the truth. The way you looked at me earlier…”