Impure

by Kenna Bardot

  "I'm Benet," the shiftier of the two males said, sticking out a hand for me to shake. I clasped it in mine, a polite smile on my face.

  "Mireyah."

  "I'm Aria." The pretty girl with the sun-kissed skin grinned. "That's Florence."

  The brunette waved at me. "Isn't it exciting?"

  "Quite," I said back. Of all the words, I would not have used exciting.

  "Titus," the last introduced himself, and he didn't much bother beyond that.

  I glanced around the train cabin again, disoriented because I'd never seen a train so empty. Logically, I knew normal train operations halted during every Collection when they transported humans to Godsvail. But seeing it and knowing it were two very different things.

  "We just have to pick up a boy in the night lands," Florence inserted, bright green eyes shining with excitement. "And then we'll be on our way."

  I wished I could do justice to her excitement. I wanted nothing more than to share the sentiment. Instead, I couldn't shake the feeling that I was on my way to something that would be terrible news for me. Impressively, I'd yet to show my hatred of the Gods in front of my fellow Collected.

  I'd let them have their moment of joy.

  I knew the Descendants would crush it soon enough.

  ✽✽✽

  The first glimpses I had of Godsvail were through the copse of trees that surrounded the train tracks. It was nothing but a hint of a castle, a speck of a building lost to the wilderness of the vale below us. When the train pulled up to the hangar, the sight of the sleek helicopter took my breath away.

  It was something people like me, poor people left to starve in the brutal North never saw. The sheer, impressive and expensive machinery like it. The guard who escorted us on the train journey stayed behind, handing us over to the pilot of the copter who looked even more stern.

  "Everybody on," he grunted, turning and helping Florence in first. Once we were all in, the doors closed, and we all had the sense to grab the headsets waiting for us as we took our seats.

  Even with them on, the noise of the blades starting up above our heads was deafening. Aria tucked her face into Benet, letting his chest muffle some noise. I narrowed my eyes on them, fixated on how someone could be so intimate with a stranger they hadn't known before that day.

  But then the realization struck me.

  Our bodies weren't our own.

  Not in Godsvail where we lived to serve and where sex wasn't intimacy.

  How could it be when Gods treated humans like toys?

  "Up we go," the pilot said, his voice sounding clear through the headset.

  As the helicopter rose into the sky, my stomach dropped out from under me, and I grabbed onto the seat.

  Titus chuckled, glancing at me in a way that made my stomach turn. "What's wrong, Northerner? Never flown before?"

  I glared back at him, refusing to dignify him with an answer. Everyone crowded to the windows to watch the helicopter approach Godsvail. Nestled into the trees, the turrets and towers of the massive building seemed to encompass the entire valley, somehow built into the land itself.

  I glanced back toward the cliff side, realizing that the helicopter journey was entirely necessary to access the Academy. There were parts of the cliffs that could be passed through, but the walls and entrances looked to be locked down.

  For humans, it meant no chance of escape.

  It meant never being free again, except for the few who won the Challenge and became Sylfes.

  The helicopter landed in a clearing just outside the Academy, the blades of grass whipping about from the force of the wind until they slowed as the blades came to a stop. The pilot hopped out quickly, opening the door and practically shoving us out.

  When another human stepped out of the building, he smiled in greeting. "Welcome to Godsvail." He paused, evidently a dramatic type. "This will be your home for the foreseeable future at least, so come with me. I've been tasked with giving you a tour." He turned without another word, stepping up to what was obviously a side door. There was none of the grandeur that I expected the Gods would require when they came to Godsvail from Mt. Demiorgo.

  Just a simple door for humans to walk through.

  "This is the entrance to the kitchens," he said. "I believe it is where you will begin working, Aria. Your records showed you worked in a restaurant."

  "Yes," she agreed happily. "I was a server."

  "The Descendants most often have their attendants serve them, should they have one, but kitchen staff see to those who do not. After the tour, one of the older servants will speak with you all about your duties and such, where you need to report. At any rate, shall we continue on?"

  We followed him out of the kitchens and passed the large dining room where some humans toiled away. Descendants were scattered about the room, casually lounging about. They weren't as tall as I'd expected of the Gods as a girl, they never were. They were taller than most humans, yes, but not in a way that meant the sun would blind you if you tried to look at their face. Walking by the dining room, a group of five Descendants emerged from the door.

  "Human," a voice grated, icy timbers in it that any Northerner would pick up on.

  We knew ice.

  "Yes, Sir Charolais?" our guide asked, bowing his head respectfully. My eyes met the shock of white staring back at me, surrounded by mocha skin and a shoulder length mane of wavy white hair. His head tilted thoughtfully, and the way Benet elbowed me in the side finally made me drop my gaze to the floor.

  "What have we here?" another voice asked, the group moving closer with deathly silent footfalls that I wouldn't have known approached if I hadn't been staring at the floor.

  "The newly Collected," our guide answered. "I've been asked to give them a tour of the property-"

  "I don't care," the Descendant, Charolais, said coldly. The guide shut up immediately, stilling beside me.

  "Well, you're a disappointing lot, aren't you?" one of the males said with a chuckle. "Not a spine between you."

  "Except this one," the cold voice said, close by. Too close, uncomfortably so.

  A hand grasped my chin harshly, titling until I came face to face with a different Descendant. His massive hand squeezed my jaw tightly, as golden eyes stared down into mine.

  "Hmm," he hummed thoughtfully. "She's pretty for a human."

  "All that blond hair. Almost white. But warmer," another whispered, stepping up beside me. Silver eyes fixed on mine, trapped in a face that was an identical copy of the one who gripped my face.

  "I need to see what's underneath all these clothes." Another Descendant stepped up, his hand touching the hint of skin showing at the collar of my jacket. When it dipped down, popping the top button open, my control snapped. I slapped his hand away, eyes darting to the side when Aria gasped beside me. One of the Descendants had his hands buried in her hair, but his violet eyes were intent on my hand where it had frozen in place after my dismissal of his friends.

  I clenched my jaw, turning my eyes back to glare at the red-eyed devil in front of me. "I didn't take off my clothes for the Gods themselves. I'll not do it for a child who has yet to prove himself," I spat, ignoring the way the violet-eyed male retracted his hand from Aria's hair as his body pivoted toward me. Menace laced every movement, and not for the first time I cursed my foolish mouth. But I'd determined long ago that I'd not let them change me.

  Not even if it meant death.

  "My Lord," Aria whispered, drawing the attention of the violet Descendant to her. "Perhaps I can be of some assistance instead?"

  "No," he grunted, and those violet eyes crashed into mine like waves against the shore in the cruelest of storms. He stepped toward me - one step that made any remaining muscles in my body lock to solid stone.

  The red-eyed one held up a hand, his lips curving into an arrogant smirk. They were all stunning, in that unique way that only the Gods and their Descendants could ever manage. Flawless skin, impeccable bone structure, and bodies sculpted from stone
.

  But the red-eyed one? He was an Adonis - lust given flesh.

  "Do you know what I am, pet?"

  As if there could be any doubt. Golden hair interwoven with red specks, golden skin, and those trademark red eyes that seemed to see every desire in a person's head. "Svadeni."

  Aria practically purred next to me, and Benet took my hand in his, squeezing as if to warn me to shut my fucking mouth while I still had the ability.

  "And what is Svadeni House?" The Descendant smirked, his white-haired friend observing us with a casual interest that felt bad.

  Very bad.

  "Seduction," I whispered.

  "I could make you take off your clothes. Make you get on your knees and apologize for daring to slap my hand away."

  Another squeeze of my hand. Another opportunity to fade into obscurity. Another chance I ignored. "You could," I admitted, "but you won't," I added.

  "So sure of yourself?" he asked, stepping into my space again and trailing a finger over my cheekbone.

  "What would be the point? If you wanted someone to service you willingly, you would toy with Aria or Florence or any of the countless other sheep who will follow you to their deaths or your dicks. Instead, you stand there and torment me, because you do not want me willing."

  "Mireyah," Titus warned, kicking the back of my heel.

  "Let her dig her grave," Florence whispered, not subtly.

  "You call yourself seduction like it's something pretty and pleasant. It does not matter what name you give to a monster. At the end of the day, it is still just a monster hiding what really ails it."

  "And tell me, human, what ails me?" the white-haired Charolais inserted, crossing his arms over his chest and looking thoroughly amused.

  "The same as all the rest. Boredom. How frighteningly disappointing it must be to have an eternity of mind-numbing boredom to look forward to?"

  The slight smile left his face, replaced with narrowed, all-seeing white eyes. "That was a mistake, pet," the red-eyed chuckled. "Calling him out on his boredom. You'd have been better off pretending to be as stupid as all the rest."

  "I'd have been better off in my village, fighting back frostbite daily. The Gods stripped me of that luxury."

  Charolais led them to step back, the red-eyed remaining to linger. "Hollis!" Charolais called. "Let them get settled in. We can torment her after you fuck something."

  Hollis turned his attention back to me with a smirk. "I'll see you around, pet."

  "I'm not your pet!" I called to his back.

  Turning to grin at me, he walked backwards with strong, sure steps that only a Descendant or God could manage without looking. "Not yet." With that ominous warning, he turned and followed his friends to go torment someone else.

  "You shouldn't provoke them. They could hurt you," Benet said. "Just let them have what they want and be done with it."

  "They could be Gods one day. Their attention should honor you," Florence whispered, shyly stroking the skin of her arm where the silver-eyed twin had touched her.

  I looked her up and down. "And how is that working for you?" She winced, her lips curling into a frown.

  "Shall we continue with the tour, then?" our guide asked, breaking the tension between us.

  Point made, I nodded.

  While I didn't want their attention, there could be no doubt that I had it for the moment. Maybe Florence should rethink her strategy.

  Chapter 4

  Mireyah

  The rest of the tour wound down in uncomfortable silence. They gave us our assignments. The boys would work maintenance, and Florence and I would be in cleaning duty. As our guide had already mentioned, Aria would have kitchen duty.

  The guide showed Florence and I into a huge room that housed cleaning supplies - mops, brooms, big bottles of cleaner and disinfectant. It smelled almost like a hospital.

  In the room waiting for us, was a short middle-aged woman with a lot of frown lines. When we entered, she nodded and dismissed our guide. As the silence filled the room, I could feel the way she made her judgment.

  "Florence Garcia and Mireyah Bolstad?" she asked, finally breaking the uncomfortable silence.

  We both nodded, and I could see Florence still rubbing that spot on her arm the Descendant from earlier had touched. I barely resisted rolling my eyes. I figured I had to make an impression that wasn't altogether bad for this angry woman who had yet to say why we were there.

  "Well, I hope the two of you won't end up being disappointments. I hope you both understand what a big honor it is to even breathe the air here in Godsvail." Florence shot me a quick look, but I ignored her. The older woman caught it and tilted her head. "Yes, Miss…?”

  "Garcia, ma'am," Florence supplied helpfully.

  "Miss Garcia, then. Was there something you wished to say?" The older woman looked at her expectantly, and I turned my head to give her a bland look.

  I was almost hoping that she would say something - prove that she wasn't the spineless, servile idiot I had already pegged her as being.

  She bowed her head and shook it. "No, ma'am. Nothing."

  "Okay then. Before I continue lecturing, let me introduce myself. I am Odele Rushe, and I am the head of the Cleaning Branch here at Godsvail. How lucky for me I get to meet at least 85% of all new females who are Collected." Her tone was dry, sarcastic. How scarred and bitter she seemed.

  I had a feeling I headed towards such a path.

  "I've been serving here at Godsvail for over twenty years, at this position in particular for twelve. I expect you to stick to your duties, do them well and behave in a way that brings honor to your families along with pleasure and comfort to the Descendants we are honor-bound to serve." She pursed her lips and gave us both another up and down look before nodding.

  She turned towards a rough door which she opened to reveal a closet filled with brown cloth. She pulled out two bundles - one from the top and the other from nearer the middle and walked back to us.

  She thrust one bundle towards me, which I took from her gingerly. She gave the other to Florence with just as much grace.

  "Uniforms. Cleaning staff always have to wear their brown uniforms daily and especially when wandering around Godsvail. It gives everyone else the opportunity to know from which branch you are in so it's easy to know what duties they expect you to perform."

  "Now, you will get paid," she continued, naming a yearly figure that was more than I could have earned back in Wintercairn and beside me, Florence started crying. Truth be told, I felt just as overwhelmed. "You get one day off a year. You may not spend it in your original village, but you can be supervised and go outside Godsvail. As for money, you can send up to three-quarters of what you earn to your family, should you wish?"

  "Yes," I spoke up without a second's hesitation. "I'd like my family to get three-quarters of my pay. There might as well be something positive from my imprisonment here."

  "Miss... Bolstad, correct?" She looked down at the clipboard she held in her hands as she drawled in a bored voice.

  I nodded but met her disapproving eyes. I refused to be cowed.

  "We will send the money to your family and with it comes the honor that one of theirs is serving at Godsvail. I see now why Miss Garcia reacted in the way she did. I will make myself clear. To both of you. I run a tight ship, and I expect those under me to fall in line or be punished. You would not like it were I to be mad. Ask any of the other cleaning staff you will surely soon meet."

  A knock sounded on the door and Odele treated us with her first smile. It gave me a hint why she'd been Collected as it showed off a beauty the bitterness and anger had marred. "That would be one of them. Just in time. Enter!"

  The door opened and a pretty-looking girl dressed in the same brown outfit Florence and I held in our hands entered.

  "Svane, perfect timing! I was just finishing up with the new girls. Would you be so kind as to show them their rooms? Miss Garcia," she said, gesturing to Florence, "shall get the room we just
prepared. You're in luck! Miss Bolstad will be your roommate."

  "Very well." She gave us a smile and beckoned us out. "Follow me, please."

  She first showed Florence to her room, and we left her to settle in after they gave her an assignment. I followed Svane down another hallway before we reached what was to be our room.

  "Make yourself at home. I've the right side." She pointed to the lived-in side, and I nodded, before going to the left.

  "I'm so excited I'm finally getting a roommate. I never expected one, really!" She sat on the edge of her bed and gave me a bright, hopeful look.

  "Oh?" I dropped onto my bed, finding it harder than what I was used to but not altogether unpleasant. "Why is that? How long have you been here?"

  She looked down at her hands, which were worrying the hem of the short skirt of her uniform. "Well, all my life."

  "Oh! You were born here?" I glanced at her wrist, finally noticing that she had no wire around her wrist as I had in mine.

  "That's right. I work under my mom, which isn't very fun, but being born here means I've barely seen much of the outside world. That and I'm stuck here until I die. I figured my mother would never give me a Collected as a roommate as she's scared it will make me discontented and envious. Me? I'm perfectly happy being here. I was born here after all so it is my home. However, I am curious. Can you tell me about it? About your home? Everything you've seen?"

  I held up a hand but laughed. She had the same curiosity as Serenity did whenever we talked about a subject she was unfamiliar with. I felt the pang in my chest. "Wait, wait. Odele is your mother?"

  "Yep, that's right." She nodded with more enthusiasm than I felt should be normal given the fact that the woman we'd just met was bound to be an unpleasant boss. One had to wonder how much worse it would be to have her as a parent.