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I felt a warm cloth touch my forehead. My aching eyes slowly opened. It was bright, so I quickly closed them. I tried again, but my eyes failed to stay open for a bit longer.
“Open your eyes, Gwen. Please,” Nina softly begged. I concentrated on keeping my eyes open, which made Nina squeak.
“Oh, thank goodness! You just got dumped in here two days ago. You’ve been unresponsive for a week before then,” Nina cried.
“Unresponsive?” I croaked out.
“Don’t try to talk,” Nina urged. “Anastacia, can you please bring me a glass of water?” I could barely make out anything in front of me, which utterly sucked. But the fog in my brain was more troubling. What was wrong with me?
“What did they do to me?” I asked in English.
“I don’t know,” Nina said. “Now I’m going to help you sit up.”
“Okay,” I said. Nina placed her arm under my back and I slowly sat up. She pressed a glass to my lips and I drank greedily as someone sat on my bed. I could barely make out Anastacia.
“Hi, honey. Do you know what happened?” she demanded of me.
“Foggy,” I replied when Nina pulled the glass away from me.
“What do you mean by foggy?” Molly asked.
“It’s like I can’t think,” I explained before draining the glass of water. Nina placed the glass on the dresser beside my bed and smiled at me.
“What have I missed?” I rasped out.
“Nothing much. Sometimes David comes here to give us updates. We have to participate in some stupid auction that also gives rich people a chance to bet on us,” Molly explained.
“I have no idea why anyone who isn’t looking for a bride would go to this thing. I mean, hello, Lord Peirc is money hungry. He is making us compete against one another, and allowing the spectators to bet on the matches,” Amy added. I made a surprised noise that made Molly scoff.
“Shocked? I have no idea why you would be,” Molly commented.
“It gets better. The lords bid on the winners, while the commoners bid on the losers,” Anastacia interjected, which cleared the fog. Everything rushed back to me and I quickly touched my neck, and discovered that the choker was gone. I was relieved that my position may have been taken from me. It wasn’t like I wanted to work with Lady Valera, who was skilled at manipulation.
“They made me drink some kind of tea that breaks down the Hyndroyl crystal,” I revealed. “It was horrible! I...” I stopped speaking, the horror of suffering the agony of the Hyndroyl crystal being destroyed giving way to a memory. “The pain was so bad that I escaped into someone’s mind. I... I’m sorry, guys, I can’t rig the auction. I don’t have my abilities anymore.”
“Why?” Karen cried. Her voice brought tears to my eyes. The last time I laid eyes on her, she had been asleep. I had to knock her out since the loss of her mother sent her spiraling. As my vision cleared, despair nearly drowned me. I could no longer control any of our futures. This was now a hopeless situation.
“It’s okay,” Nina softly said. “We’ll figure something out. It will all work out.”
“How?” Karen demanded. “Gwen was our last hope.” Karen’s words nearly shattered me because the words were true. I had been the only one capable of securing my sisters a happy future.
“Wait,” Nina cheered. “We forgot to show you what we realized!” Nina jogged to the closet and pulled out a silk jumpsuit and tossed it to Molly, who got to her feet. She stripped out of her nightgown and tossed it on the floor. Amy tsked and quickly picked up the nightgown.
“Molly, these are valuable. We don’t know when we’ll get new clothes,” she lectured. Molly rolled her eyes and glanced at Anastacia.
“Well? I’m too lazy to walk,” Molly insisted.
“What?” Anastacia asked, baffled.
“She wants the knife,” Amy clarified.
“Oh. Why didn’t you just say that?” Anastacia wondered.
“Molly is rude, we all know that,” Karen griped, which made Molly shoot Karen a one-fingered salute. Judging by the way Karen smirked, I could tell that it was all in good fun. If only Father could see how his cruelty had bonded the group.
“Whatever, just get on with this,” Amy urged. Molly quickly sliced her palm. Her hand began to glow, and then she raised her palm, and her eyes twinkled.
“How is that possible?” I asked as Molly held her palm up to my face. I saw the blood, but the skin was unbroken.
“How?” I questioned the group.
“We’re thinking that Jade has some kind of enchantment gift,” Amy explained.
“That’s impossible! I never heard of anything like that!” I exclaimed. Then again, the strange light that I could wield had also been rare. What if the newest batch of crystals gave us powerful gifts? Thinking of the Hyndroyl crystal reminded me of what Christian said. “You don’t need stolen magic.” What did Christian mean by stolen magic? Maybe he meant that my father had snatched a few crystals from the lab. I wouldn’t have put it past him. I shoved the conversation with Christian from my mind when I recalled that I didn’t have my choker.
“What happened to my choker?” I asked, hoping that the duty had been passed on to someone else.
“I took it from your neck after you were brought here,” Molly answered, which made my stomach twist.
“So I’m really stuck here for five years,” I told myself, wishing that my assumption had been correct. I wished that I hadn’t ingratiated myself with my father. Then maybe I wouldn’t have been in the position to serve the monster.
“Why didn’t you tell us that you were chosen as lady-in-waiting?” Anastacia wondered.
“Because Dad said that it was our little secret,” I responded. “By then my mother was still with us.”
“I’m sorry about that,” Karen softly said. “I told Mom not to choose, but then she pointed out that if she refused to choose, then one of the other mothers would choose her.”
“I get it,” I said. “The harem is every woman for herself. I’m not mad at your mother, Karen. And I’m sorry I couldn’t stop it. It happened so fast. Before I could do anything, I...” A tear trickled down my sister’s cheek, and she brushed it away. “We have to concentrate on surviving the bidding war. Once we find useful husbands, we could either get the hell off this stupid planet, or live happy lives away from Father.”
“Gwen, would you like something to eat?” Nina asked. Before I could respond to her, the door flew open and Lia barged in. Molly, who still had the knife, hefted it as she stared at our oldest sister.
“Is there something you want?” Molly demanded.
“I could mentally control you, Molly. But I’m not going to waste any energy on you.” Molly rolled her eyes and plopped down on the bed beside Karen.
“You’re here for me?” I asked, dread making my stomach twist.
“I am. So hurry up,” Lia ordered.
“Give me a minute,” I said. Lia leaned against the wall and crossed her arms. I quickly got out of bed and entered the bathroom. I brushed my teeth and washed my face.
“I thought that you would want to borrow this,” Nina said as she entered the room. I smiled gratefully when she handed me a blue jumpsuit.
“Thank you , Nina, I really appreciate it,” I said.
“No problem. Be careful. Lady Valera is more dangerous than Father. I don’t want to see you hurt, Gwen,” she warned.
“I’ll be careful, Nina, I promise.” Nina nodded and left me alone. I quickly changed into the jumpsuit and exited the bathroom. Lia rose a brow, obviously not expecting my choice of outfit. Molly handed me my black flats and I slipped them on.
“Where is your choker?” Lia demanded. Nina fetched the choker out of her dresser drawer and handed it to me. I took the necklace from my sister and eyed it for a second. When I received this necklace, I had been thrilled to be given the honor. It was funny how a few weeks could change someone’s perspective.
“Just put it on,” Lia huffed, and I obeyed the cruel woman.