| |
––––––––
I FIGURED MAER WHISLER was prone to recklessness, but this was insane.
Escaping Sanlow? Ha!
No one knew what was beyond its perimeter. Desert? Forest? Were there more vampires or humans? It was impossible to know. Nothing got past the ten-foot-tall stone wall, whose only entrance and exit was in an unknown location.
I never thought of the outside world. Sloan and I had been born in Sanlow, would live here, and would die here. Why get worked up when nothing could be done about it? Every human knew there was no such thing as escape from the time they could retain memories.
Not to mention the horror stories of those who tried—and no one had tried to escape in decades.
Was Maer going to be the one crazy enough to try and break that streak?
She was right; our birth covens were the last thing from utopia. But being sold off to Rhidian was less than ideal. We both preferred familiarity and everything we earned thanks to our professions.
“It’s still better than starting over in Rhidian. We might become Bleeders, and I’d rather die,” Maer had said.
She was right. If it was a choice between escape and becoming a personal feedbag, then I would choose the former. But it was still choosing the lesser of two evils.
“We could easily get caught,” I told Maer, making myself an instant hypocrite by negating my agreement to escape with her.
“Then let’s not,” she said irritably, trying to slip her hands out of the manacles. It was obvious that we could get out of them, but it would still take, as she said, some grease to accomplish the task.
It was too dark to see her face; she was a mere silhouette in the dark. A starless, moonless sky, not a single torch or streetlamp to illuminate our surroundings. It was unsettling not to recognize a single thing. Maybe if it was daytime, I could figure it out. But the bottom line was that we were far from our covens.
It was too dark to see the brands on our wrists—the coven sigils. The scarred flesh was an identifier of who the human belonged to that was received on their tenth birthday, the age that their category was officially decided and they were required to go out into the workforce.
If we entered Rhidian, would we be branded a second time?
“We don’t know how far away the wall is,” I pointed out.
Maer scoffed. “Coward.”
A spark of annoyance jumped in my chest. “Sensible. We can’t just run off and hope we find it.” I paused when she didn’t respond. I listened to her struggle and felt the irritation flicker and die, replaced by sympathy. As it turned out, she didn’t want to be a Bleeder any more than I did. We had something in common. That was what a friendship was based on—
Shut up, Blackwood, I snapped at myself, mentally shaking my head. You were just kidnapped and sold to a coven leader at a black market auction. Now’s not the time to be sociable!
“What’s your escape plan?” I asked, trying to slip my hands free of the iron. No use.
But I wasn’t kidding when I told her they were breakable. Part of a Farmer’s job description was deliveries to various shops, one of which was a blacksmith, who’d taught me basics over the years. There were a few kinds of iron; the strongest became weapons for the arena. The weaker went toward lesser-needed objects like restraining devices.
Or I could just shatter the wood post.
Either way, there needed to be a game plan. I wasn’t about to make a mad dash in whatever direction.
Maer stopped her attempts. “Sneak that way.” She nodded her head in the direction away from the distant commotion at our backs. It was too dark even to see how far the streets went. “And run when we need to. Keep going until we see the wall. Then we climb over.”
I tried to keep the exasperation out of my sigh. “Very detailed.”
“Well, I don’t have much to work with, do I?”
Maer was rightfully furious, but I knew it was masking her panic. With her back to me during the auction, I hadn’t been able to see her face, but she had been visibly shaking, and her voice had been small and terrified. The desire to protect her in any way I could was innate. Taking her waist to steady her fear-weakened legs was the only thing I could manage. I had to admit that it was for my own sake, too. She kept me rooted to sensibility—thinking before acting, gauging the situation, weighing my options...
The only one that wasn’t unobtainable was just to let come what may.
But Maer wouldn’t allow that.
I opened my mouth when there was movement from the alley we’d been dragged through. I pushed Maer behind me, ignoring her noise of protest as an unfamiliar vampire stalked toward us. He wasn’t wearing the colors of the covens to show where his loyalties were.
“Not thinking of fleeing like rats, are we?” he sneered, his pale green irises glowing. He parted his lips to reveal the tips of his fangs. Adrenaline shot through my veins. Was he going to attack us while no one was around to stop him? “Just wait here. Auction’s almost done.”
Maer took a handful of my shirt. The gesture was clear: Time’s running out.
It was out. The vampire didn’t leave; he stalked across the street and sat on one of the benches to become a dark shadow. Even from twenty feet away, I could see his eyes. It was a terrifying sight.
Maer groaned in rage. “You blew it.”
I whirled on her. “Your plan is terrible—”
“Oh!” The vampire’s voice rang out. I glanced toward it just as he appeared a foot away from us. Maer yelped. I cursed their superspeed ability. “I forgot this. Now you can see each other’s fear. You both reek of it.”
Fire sparked to life, throwing orange light across the vampire’s ghostly face—his fanged grin as he used the flint to ignite the wick on the candle in the lantern he’d brought. He set it on the next fencepost and crept back to the bench, laughing to himself under his breath.
I bent my head slightly to look down at Maer. She was half a foot shorter than me; she had to look up slightly.
Firelight danced on her face and in the reflection of her widened eyes. She looked exhausted and alive at the same time, stretched to her limit but defiant enough to pretend she wasn’t.
I couldn’t help myself; I broke out into a grin.
Maer was very pretty.
I swore there was wonder in her expression, as much as I felt for her, but it was gone in an instant, replaced by a fierce scowl. “Why in Death’s name are you smiling, you idiot?”
“Is that affection I hear in your voice?” I asked.
“Absolutely not!”
“Prove it by asking about my health.”
Maer stared at me with incredulity. “That doesn’t make any sense.”
“Then make fun of my outfit,” I suggested.
The corner of her lips quirked, and she eyed the ornamental red garment Agana had sent. It wasn’t nearly as revealing as Sloan’s, but it was certainly over the top.
“It did cross the line past elegant,” she admitted with amusement. “It could do without the bone necklace.”
“Thank the stars it’s not an actual necklace.” The garish decoration was a chain strung with tiny bones from one jacket lapel to the other.
“What, you’re not fond of bleached bones on your skin?” Maer asked with a raised brow.
“Believe it or not, no.”
“Funny enough, I feel the same.” Maer was fighting a smile now, and I had the feeling that she was fond of dark, deadpan humor. If the conversation involved snubbing vampires, then she was more than happy to play along.
Then it faded as she looked me up and down thoughtfully. Mine faded, too, slowly, sensing a sudden tenderness fill the space between us. When she met my eyes again, she asked softly, “How’s your chest?”
“Sore, but fine,” I said just as quietly. “It’s not your fault I dropped the log.”
She quirked a brief smirk. “Didn’t think so.”
I mirrored it. “Sloan was just scared for me. She’s protective even though she’s younger.”
Maer glanced away. “Must be nice to have family who cares about you. Do you think she’s looking for you right now?”
My heart ached in sudden sympathy. It was immediately clear that she had no close family members. But I didn’t pry. “Probably.”
“She’s part of the reason you’re stalling, isn’t it?” There was an unexpected hint of bitterness in Maer’s tone.
When I said I wanted to escape with you, I meant only if Sloan came, too. But I didn’t speak those words. Maer would probably find a way to knock the lantern on me and set my garment on fire. “Yes,” was all I said.
Maer swallowed hard as she looked out at the stretch of dark landscape. Then she inhaled deeply; on the exhale, she turned to me with red-rimmed eyes—she’d been holding back tears. “So. What do you think happened?”
I was so taken aback by the vulnerable action—rarely did a woman want anyone to see them cry; it was a sign of great trust to expose emotion like that—that I didn’t process her question. She tilted her head, waiting. Then, her words wriggled through the fog in my brain.
I shook my head. “Sorry. Lost in thought. Um, I’m not really sure.”
Maer’s softness suddenly went scythe-sharp. Her eyes narrowed, and she took a step back. “Liar,” she hissed.
I was a terrible liar. Sloan accused me of poor lying skills multiple times. “You’re too honorable and honest,” she’d told me.
“And terrible at keeping secrets,” I had pointed out, the truth of it making her laugh and roll her eyes.
But Maer wasn’t inclined to joke around anymore. Did she have some sixth sense that allowed her to sense that my “um” gave away that I was withholding information?
“I told you I don’t have time for secret-keepers,” she continued. “What do you know, Koen? Who kidnapped us and why?”
Ciel’s words replayed in my head again. “Would you like to join her coven? Maer is your desire. I’ll see you around. Keep my offer in mind.”
And then Aeros’s odd appearance. I had asked him what he wanted with me. “Many things” was his answer.
I’d made the connection the moment Aeros appeared on the rooftop. My heart had sank to my feet, and terror had taken its place in my chest. He and Ciel had plotted together—and I’d fallen right into their selfish traps.
Ciel didn’t like Maer and she knew I liked her. I was the key to getting Maer out of whatever picture Ciel didn’t want her in. But she didn’t want me to actually be in Moros. She wanted me out of the picture, too.
What better way to do that than to sell us off?
Aeros had shown himself to me that night to survey the prize Ciel offered.
“I have better things to do than chat up a haughty Gladiator who thinks a little circle can protect him,” the Rhidian leader had mused.
Stupid, I hissed at myself. That was just a ruse.
Aeros would be foolish to turn down the opportunity to gain the two best fighters for himself.
I could never tell Maer. There was no telling what she would do.
Although the first possibility was to take out her rage and betrayal on me.
“I don’t know who kidnapped us,” I told her. That was the truth. No one was wearing coven colors. It was impossible to tell who they belonged to.
Maer’s eyes narrowed further. “Fine. Whoever it was, why did they do it?”
I opened my mouth to lie, but our guard vampire appeared beside us and snapped, “Enough of this petty squabbling. It’s time to go to your new home.”
