She looks like she’s going to cry again. Please don’t, please don’t. She takes a breath to stop the tears, and I let out a quiet breath of relief. I’m not good with tears.
“It’s my mom,” she tells me in a voice barely louder than a whisper. “She’s sick. She’s always been sick, and she’s going to keep being sick for the rest of her life. Last year, her Parkinson’s got worse. Way worse. She can barely see anymore, and her flare-ups never end so she can hardly move. Her medicine alone costs so much I had to take three jobs just to pay for it, and I couldn’t make enough to pay for a caretaker for her. She fell last month.”
“Oh, no.”
The girl nods and bites her trembling lip. “I wasn’t there. She was alone on the floor for ten hours, and I wasn’t there. She didn’t break anything, but the bruises and the shock to her system made her symptoms so bad she couldn’t get out of bed for days. I needed a nurse for her.”
Fuck. That’s awful. But there had to be some other solution than this. I open my mouth to say something, but before I can get a word out, the dark-haired girl raises a hand to cut me off.
“I know, I know, there are programs in place to help with things like that, and I’ve been looking into those for months and months already. I had my mom on a bunch of waiting lists and things. I called my brother for help, but he loves money more than anything else and isn’t going to ‘waste’ his on her. He’s a dick, honestly. But it gets worse.”
“I can’t imagine how, but go on.”
She almost smiles at that, her hazel eyes glassy with unshed tears. “The cost of her medicine went up. So did rent, at the same time. I was already working three jobs and barely had enough money to scrape by before that happened. I sold everything I ever owned that had any kind of value, except the things my mom needs to be comfortable. We were about to get evicted. I begged my landlord for more time—I even offered to sleep with him if he could cut us a break. He took the offer and then denied any memory of a deal, so even after all that, I was still going to get evicted.”
I narrow my eyes, my jaw clenching. Vampires aren’t the only monsters in this godforsaken city. “What a fucking prick.”
“Right? But the end of the month got closer and closer, and I needed like ten thousand dollars in my hand. I could only think of three ways to do it in that timeframe. Since I don’t know how to hook a high-roller and I can’t push drugs without talking the customer out of the sale, that left vampires.”
“You didn’t sell yourself for ten thousand, did you?” I ask, barely managing to keep my voice to a low hiss as I drop my head a little, catching her gaze.
That’s not nearly enough. Her mom’ll be in the same position next month, and this girl will still be down here.
She shakes her head. “No. I sold myself for my mom’s health, well-being, and financial security until the day of her natural death, plus funeral costs. I couldn’t put a number on that and neither could the vampires, not with how unstable the economy is. So the deal is a fluid one. She’ll have four nurses who rotate shifts, so she’ll never be alone. She’ll have food and medicine and drivers to take her to and from her appointments. She’ll have rent and utilities covered, along with anything else she could possibly want or need.”
“That seems like a generous offer,” I say slowly. “How do you know they’ll hold up their end?”
She smiles sadly. “I don’t. That’s why, when I negotiated all of this before the auction, I insisted on monthly updates. I’m allowed to talk on the phone with her whenever I want, as long as I don’t tell her what I’m really doing. If I’m good, and if I bond with a vampire who allows it, I might even get to visit her someday.”
I squeeze her hand clumsily, trying to comfort her even as fury boils inside me. She hasn’t done anything wrong. She’s been forced into this, just like Nathan was, but she’s even more innocent than he is. She’s done everything right, trying to help her mom and keep a fucking roof over their heads. How could she have ended up here? The whole fucking system is rigged.
“I had no idea,” I mutter. “I’m sorry.”
She breathes deeply, clearly trying to pull herself together and put on a brave face. “It’s okay. Mom’s taken care of, and that’s what matters. I did it, and I did it without resorting to crime. Which I would have done, if I’d known how to profit off of it, but I’m just not good at breaking rules.”
No, it’s not fucking okay. None of this is goddamn okay.
I turn my head away before I go off on a tangent that will give me away if Anastasyia overhears. I need a distraction or something. My heart is beating way too fast.
As if in response to my silent prayer, the vampire matron claps her hands together, drawing my attention.
“Okay, girls! Straighten up, get smiles on those faces, and clear your minds. It’s dinner time.”
As she speaks, she pushes a wide set of doors open, revealing a massive banquet hall. Chandeliers drip from the ceiling, scattering light to reflect off the excessive amount of crystal glassware on the tables. Blood red roses cluster in centerpieces and wreaths, with petals scattered around like this is some kind of boudoir photo shoot. Pink and red satin chairs reflect their colors on the gold-vein marble floor, set close to ornate tables topped with delicate black cloth.
The tables are all arranged around a huge dance floor which spirals off to kiss the edge of a raised stage, where musicians are busily setting up classical instruments. I can’t tell if they’re human or vampire from this distance. I’m not sure it matters. To my left is a long, formal-looking table on a slightly raised platform. All the chairs at that table are set up on one side of it, so whoever sits there will get an uninterrupted view of the whole hall. The chair in the center looks like a throne. The rest of them are red velvet.
There’s gold clinging to things wherever I look.
It’s opulent. It’s extravagant. It’s a disgusting pit of animal violence dressed up to look civilized. More than civilized. Elite.
Jesus fucking Christ. It’s getting harder and harder to keep my fury in check. I hate every bit of this palace, but I think this dining hall just became my least favorite room in the whole place. Honestly, I almost would’ve rathered a bare room with filth on the floor and bloodstains on the wall. At least that would’ve been an accurate reflection of what this place is.
Anastasyia leads us to a table—it’s right in the middle, out in the open, practically an invitation for attack—and tells us to sit. Then she positions herself at the head of our table and gives us all a once-over, her expression serious.
“Okay, girls, before the vampires get here, I need to give you a few reminders. First, any vampire is permitted to drink from you, for now. The bonding ceremony is in three weeks, and the rules change after that. If nobody chooses to bond with you, you will remain general tributes until either your contract expires or you die, whichever comes first.”
I want to ask her how many people are actually allowed to finish out their contracts, but I don’t think I could phrase it the right way. I’m aching to blow my own cover and rally the tributes to storm the castle, but I know better. More than half of these girls are listening raptly, their eyes full of stars and their hearts beating fast. They’re into this. Really into it.