Читать книгу Pawn - Aimee Carter - Страница 9

II

Auction

“Is there something you need?” said Nina briskly to the men.

I pressed my back against the wall and frantically searched for a way out. I could escape through the back door, but there was a chance they’d brought others. Besides, the fence was too high to jump without Benjy giving me a boost, and I’d have to go around the front way anyway.

I was trapped.

“Ma’am, I’m Colonel Jeremiah Sampson. I’m looking for Kitty Doe,” said the official, and I forced myself to take a deep breath. Panicking wouldn’t help. There had to be somewhere I could hide.

My gaze fell on the cabinet underneath the sink, and I hurried toward it. It would be tight, but there was a chance they wouldn’t look there. I slipped inside and closed the door seconds before three sets of footsteps entered the kitchen.

“I’m sorry, but she isn’t here,” said Nina. “May I ask what this is regarding?”

“Government business,” said the Shield, and he didn’t need to elaborate. Nina and I both knew what that meant: a bullet with my name on it. But why was the official in the strange uniform there? Surely the Shield from the market was more than capable of pulling the trigger himself.

The footsteps grew nearer, and I held my breath, keeping as still as I could. My back pressed up against a pipe, and I had to curl into a ball to avoid hitting the sink above me. The chemical scent of cleaner burned my nose, and my heart pounded against my rib cage, trying to get in every last beat it could before it stopped.

The footsteps paused in front of the sink, and I winced at the rush of water when someone turned on the faucet.

“I’m happy to tell her you dropped by when she comes home,” said Nina, her voice distorted from the water, but nearby. She was in front of the sink, blocking the cabinet. Did she know where I was hiding?

“Do you mind if we look around?” said Sampson.

Nina shut off the water. “Since when do you people ask permission?”

Another shuffle of footsteps, this time from the other side of the kitchen. “Nina? What’s going on?”

Benjy. My body went numb, and I groped around for some kind of weapon to use. If they touched him, if they even so much as looked at him the wrong way—

“These men would like to know where Kitty is,” said Nina tartly.

“Couldn’t say,” said Benjy, and his footsteps grew louder as he neared the sink. I heard a light slap of skin against skin. He must have gone for the biscuits. “We got separated.”

“Turn around,” said the Shield, and for one awful moment I thought he was going to arrest Benjy. He couldn’t, though—Benjy was still underage.

“Still as blank as it was an hour ago,” said Benjy. His neck. The Shield was checking his rank. “She’s not stupid enough to come back here, so if you want to find her, I’d recommend waiting at the train station. Or possibly the clubs,” he added. “She’s considering that, as well.”

I opened and shut my mouth, horrified. Did he really hate the idea so much that he was willing to risk me being killed over it?

“Very well,” said Sampson. “Thank you for your cooperation. If you don’t mind, we will have a look around before leaving.”

“By all means,” said Nina. The men’s footsteps echoed out of the kitchen and down the hall, and above me I heard Nina mutter, “Politest bastard I’ve ever met. Is she back there?”

Benjy must’ve shook his head, and she sighed. “Then let’s hope she manages to get out of here before they see her.”

I didn’t announce my presence while the men searched, in case something was going on that I couldn’t see. Occasionally I heard the low murmur of them speaking in another room, and I froze whenever they sounded like they were coming back, but they never searched the kitchen. “Rotten, uppity nuisances,” said Nina after the front door opened and shut, and I knew the coast was clear. “Promise me that when you’re marked, you won’t turn into one of those VIs that thinks he’s better than the rest of us.”

“You mean there’s another kind?” I said.

I pushed open the cabinet. Benjy stumbled backward, and Nina dropped her spatula on the floor.

“You were in there the whole time?” said Benjy, and I nodded. “How did you fit?”

“I’m flexible,” I said. “I need to get out of here before they come back. Tabs said she’d be here by the time the kids got home.”

I gave Nina a kiss on the cheek and headed into one of the two large rooms filled with bunk beds that the forty of us shared. Benjy stormed after me, but I resolutely stared straight ahead.

“Kitty— Kitty. You had this planned before today?” He took me by the elbow, and I spun around to face him.

“Yes,” I said hotly, wrenching my arm away from him. “Because unlike you, we don’t all have superbrains to fall back on.” I hurried to my bunk, where my half-empty duffel bag sat waiting for me. I thought I’d be taking it into a better part of the city that evening, not Denver, and certainly not the club where Tabs lived. But I’d planned for the worst, thinking that when she arrived to pick me up, I’d tell her that I wouldn’t be going with her after all. Not this.

“Fine,” he called, disappearing into the boys’ bunk. Half a minute later, he appeared in the doorway holding his backpack. “I’m coming with you.”

I shoved my shirt into my bag. “What are you going to do in a club, Benjy?”

“We’re not going to the club,” he said. “We’re running away.”

“No, we’re not. I’m not going to let you do that to yourself.”

“I already told you. If you only earned a III, there’s no hope for me.” He grabbed a sweatshirt I’d borrowed from him and stuffed it into his backpack. “You’re just as clever as me and you know it.”

“No, I’m not,” I said, my face burning as I struggled not to cry. I hadn’t cried in years, not since Tabs had gone underground and we hadn’t heard a word from her for six months. By the time she’d finally waltzed back into our lives, I’d convinced myself she was dead in a ditch somewhere. “Either way, you can read.”

Before today, I’d managed to get by all right. Benjy had attempted to teach me to read for years, and while I could recite the alphabet, words didn’t make sense to me. We’d been seven when Benjy had taken pity on me after our teacher had mocked me for not being able to spell my own name. He’d been there ever since, shielding me again and again. He even had two kinds of handwriting: his own and the handwriting he used on my homework when he wrote down the answers I gave him. But this wasn’t something that Benjy could protect me from, no matter how hard he tried.

“Come here,” he said, and I walked into his open arms. He ran his fingers through my hair and stood there silently, and I refused to let myself cry. It wouldn’t solve anything, and the last thing I wanted was to let Benjy see how upset I really was. As long as I pretended to be strong enough to take this, I would have a way to keep him from doing something stupid.

“You can’t go with me. I’ll be okay,” I said, my voice muffled by his shirt. I wished I could believe my own words.

“I would rather have you and no mark than a VI and lose you,” he said. “I don’t care if it means we’ll be hunted. I won’t let you go.”

I took a shaky breath. “Please don’t do that to me. Don’t make me be the reason your life is ruined. You won’t lose me, I promise. I’ll come see you every day, and when you turn seventeen, you can take your test, and then we’ll both be okay.”

“You’re my girlfriend,” he said roughly. “I don’t want those pigs touching you.”

“I’m not exactly happy with the idea, either,” I said, rubbing his back. “But I won’t let Nina risk the kids by hiding me, and I’m not going to Denver.”

“Can’t you see if they’ll place you in a position here?” said Benjy.

“I already asked when I got my assignment. They said—they said Extras from D.C. who score low always get placed in other cities. The Heights are too crowded, and we don’t have any family holding us here.”

“Yes, you do,” he said. “You have me.”

I swallowed hard. “They don’t care. They said I’m lucky I wasn’t sent Elsewhere when I was little, and I should take what I can get. I’m not going, Benjy. I know you think it’ll be better, but it can’t be. Not without you, okay? And Tabs is my only option.”

He slipped his hand underneath my shirt and traced an invisible pattern around my navel. “There has to be another way.”

“If you can think of something, I’m all ears.”

He kissed me, his lips warm against mine as he gently nudged me backward onto the bed. “Maybe, before you go...”

I sat down on the edge of my bunk, but I set my hand against his chest, holding him at a distance. “I’m sorry,” I said softly. “Tabs said they’ll take better care of me if we’ve never...” I trailed off.

“I should be your first,” said Benjy, sitting beside me and lacing his fingers in mine.

“And you will be.”

“No, I won’t. Not if you go with Tabs.”

I shook my head. “They won’t count. They will never count. It’s just you, and it will always be just you, okay? You’ll be the first I love and the only one that ever matters.”

He rested his forehead against mine and squeezed his eyes shut. “If something happens to you—”

“That’s what the club’s there for,” I said. “To protect me.”

“They didn’t do a very good job with Tabs.”

“Tabs does extra stuff on the side,” I lied. “I’ll be okay. It’s one month, and then it’ll be over, and it’ll be me and you for the rest of our lives, okay? Maybe no one will even want me.”

Benjy gave me a look, his eyes rimmed with red. “If they don’t want you, they’re crazy.”

I kissed him again, this time chastely. “Just forget about this part and think about what it’ll be like when you get your VI, okay?”

“I can’t,” he said, his voice breaking. “It isn’t fair to me, Kitty, and it isn’t fair to you. I love you, and nothing will ever change that, but I can’t sit here and do nothing while they—while they—” He shook his head, and the cords in his neck strained. “I can’t.”

“Then don’t,” I said, my chest tightening. “If it’ll make it better—”

“Nothing is going to make this better. You have no idea what you’re getting into.”

“I know,” I whispered. “But I have to. And by the time it’s over, we’ll have enough saved up to get out of here. Go anywhere we want. You’ll have your pick of assignments, and we’ll never have to worry about any of this again. Until then...” My mouth went dry, and I tightened my grip on his hand. “Until then, I think we should break up.”

Benjy stiffened beside me, but he didn’t say a word. He didn’t have to.

“You’re right,” I said. “You deserve better than this. Better than having me as a girlfriend. Better than having me ruin your life. So—let’s not anymore. Not until it’s over. When you’re a VI, if you still want me...”

“I’ll always want you,” he said, and he looked at me, his face red and his eyes filled with tears. “I will always want you no matter what rank I am, no matter what rank you are, and no matter what you have to do to survive.”

I brought his hand up to my lips and kissed his knuckles. “Then when you’re a VI, you can choose me. But you deserve to have that choice in the first place. So—so I’m giving it to you.”

“By breaking up with me.” It wasn’t a question, but I nodded anyway.

“Until you’re ranked. And then you can choose what kind of life you want. One of us should.”

His shoulders slumped, and he leaned toward me. “Kitty...”

The sharp rap of knuckles against the front door made us both jump. They were back.

Benjy and I exchanged a look. Without a word, he went to shove a chair underneath the doorknob while I grabbed my duffel bag and climbed a bunk to reach the nearest window. If I was lucky, they wouldn’t have the whole place surrounded. If I wasn’t—

“Tabs!” Nina’s greeting echoed through the thin walls. I relaxed and jumped from the bed, landing with a thud.

“It’s her,” I said, trying to reach around Benjy for the door. “I have to go.”

He didn’t move. I tried again, and he still didn’t budge.

“Please, Benjy—this is the only way,” I said. “It’s only a month, and then everything will be better.”

“You don’t know that for sure,” he muttered, his arms crossed tightly over his chest.

“No, but I know that whatever happens, it’ll be better than going to Denver and losing you forever. Please.”

I set my hand on his and watched him, silently begging him to move. I didn’t want this. If I’d had my way, I would be a IV, and everything would be okay. But I’d failed a single test—the only test that ever mattered—and now I had to face the consequences. And because Benjy loved me, he did, too.

At first he didn’t respond. After a few seconds, however, he gave in and hugged me.

“Come see me tomorrow,” he said. “Wait for me outside the school, and we’ll go to the beach. We’ll swim and watch the sunset and forget this ever happened. Promise me.”

I nodded. If I didn’t, he would try to track me down anyway, and Tabs with her big mouth would probably be more than happy to tell him exactly where I was. “I will. I love you.”

Finally he stepped aside. I gave him a lingering kiss and touched his clenched jaw, and before he could say goodbye, I was gone.

* * *

The night air was cool on my bare skin, and I followed Tabs through an alleyway full of overflowing trash cans and leering men. Now that I was marked, I could leave home after dark, and there was a sense of tension that unnerved me.

Shields patrolled the streets, scanning every face that passed. I kept my eyes glued to the ground and my hair in my face as I followed Tabs, who balanced precariously on stiletto heels that made her bare legs look longer, all the way up to the few inches of skirt she’d squeezed into. I was dressed similarly, but because I was half a foot shorter, the skirt covered me to midthigh. She wore red lipstick and charcoal around her eyes that made them stand out, but I’d refused when she’d tried to do mine. Her dark hair was curled, and it was so long that it nearly touched her skirt. I’d run a comb through mine, but that was it.

“Is this typical at night?” I said quietly as we passed another Shield who kept his hand on his gun holster. “So many Shields and all?”

“Sometimes,” she said with a shrug. “People drink too much and get rowdy. It gets really bad on the weekends.”

“Today’s Tuesday.”

“Whatever.” She eyed me. “You and Benjy didn’t do it last night as some sort of screwed-up goodbye, did you?”

I shook my head. “I broke up with him.”

“Good. It’s easier when you don’t have an angry boyfriend getting in the way.” She stopped at a door and knocked four times. In the moment that passed, she must have seen the look on my face, because she pulled me into a quick hug. “It’ll be fine, Kitty. It’s scary your first time, but there’s really nothing to it at all. You’re not actually afraid he won’t forgive you, are you? Because he will. He’s Benjy.”

The door opened before I could answer, revealing a man with a pointy chin. His eyes took in the curves Tabs was flaunting, and when he focused on me, it was all I could do not to glare.

“’Lo, Tabs. Who’s your friend?”

“Fresh meat.” She flashed him a flirty smile. “Going to let us in? Marion’s expecting us.”

He glanced over our shoulders, undoubtedly to check for Shields, and then stepped aside. Tabs took me by the elbow as we entered a narrow hallway, and the door slammed shut behind us. “Welcome to the Red Star Inn,” said the man, and he grinned to reveal a missing tooth. I averted my eyes as Tabs pulled me past him.

As a IV, Tabs must have been given a perfectly ordinary assignment and the chance to live a normal life. Tabs was anything but normal, though, and instead she’d chosen this.

There was no audition for this job. Anyone brave enough to risk it could find a place at one of the clubs scattered around the city, and even though it was highly illegal, everyone knew that the VIs who made up the governing body of society frequented these places. No matter how many laws were written forbidding it, it was a reliable lifestyle, at least until you grew too old to be wanted. I didn’t know what happened then, but at that moment all I cared about was staying in the Heights until Benjy turned seventeen.

Tabs introduced me to Marion, a graceful woman who must have done this at some point, but had been successful enough to start her own club. She directed me to a cramped dressing room and gestured for me to take a seat.

“A III, hmm?” She riffled through the rack of clothes pushed against a wall. “Bet you wish it was a VI.”

“I’m not exactly VI material,” I muttered. “A IV would’ve been nice, though.”

“We all want to be something we’re not, don’t we?” She pulled a purple outfit off the rack and showed it to me. I wrinkled my nose. A bikini had more fabric. Marion replaced it. “There’s no point in fighting who you are. You can only survive it. We all have our place in the world, and grumbling about it won’t get you anything but a one-way ticket Elsewhere. Coming here, though—that’ll change your life. Aha!”

She handed me a sleeveless white dress. I held it up to my body, and the hemline reached my knees. Marion beamed.

“Perfect. The auction starts soon. Tabs explained how you’ll get a percentage of the profits and a room above the club?”

“Yeah. And I only have to—to be with men I choose, right?”

“Other than whoever buys you tonight, yes. But if you plan on making any money at this, I wouldn’t be so picky if I were you.” Marion eyed me. “Tabs said you’re a virgin?”

I nodded, struggling to keep a neutral expression as my face grew hot. She either didn’t notice or didn’t care.

“Good. That’s worth a small fortune these days. Get ready. I’ll be back for you when it starts.”

Marion left, and once we were alone, Tabs squeezed my hand. “She’s wrong, you know. You’re better than a III. She doesn’t want you to change your mind, that’s all.”

“I don’t exactly have much of a choice,” I said. “But she’s right anyway. I’m a III, and nothing’s going to change that.” And all I could do was try to survive it.

“It doesn’t matter anyway,” said Tabs. “You’re not a III down here. You’re the gorgeous and desirable Kitty, and you’re in control of your own life now.”

I would never be gorgeous or desirable, not like Tabs, but I nodded anyway. “Does it hurt?”

“Not nearly as much as losing Benjy forever would,” she said. “Don’t worry about any of it, okay? You’ll be fine. I’ll pick you up tomorrow morning, and you can tell me all about it then.”

Tabs kissed my cheek, and I couldn’t look her in the eye. For her, this was about liberation. All I wanted was to buy myself an extra month, and I didn’t enjoy feeling like I was lying to her. Benjy was my freedom, not this.

“Are you really getting a cut of my profits on the side?” I said, and Tabs stopped in the doorway.

“Who told you that?”

“Nina.”

She sighed dramatically. “I’m doing this so you can stay here with me and Benjy, not because I need the money. I make plenty on my own, and you will, too. But if it’ll make you feel better, I’ll give you my share.”

“No, that’s fine,” I said, staring at my ragged fingernails. “I just wanted to know. Thanks, though—for helping me, I mean.”

She flashed me a dazzling smile. “Anytime. Love you,” she said as she flounced back into the hallway.

“Love you, too,” I mumbled before she closed the door.

I sat on the stool and stared at my face in the mirror, trying to imagine the men who would bid on me. According to Tabs, most of the people who frequented these kinds of places weren’t especially attractive, but that wasn’t what I was worried about. Tomorrow, when I met Benjy in front of school, what would he say? Would he even touch me anymore? Would he look at me the same way? Or would I be different—too different for him to love anymore, at least the way he loved me now?

And was losing him really worth it?

Yes, I decided. Benjy deserved better than this. He deserved better than me. But if by some miracle he still wanted me when this was over, then I would be here for him. I wasn’t going to leave him, or Tabs, or Nina, no matter what it cost me.

In a month, Benjy would choose what life he wanted and if I would be in it. But this—right here, right now—this was my choice to make sure I’d still be here when he did.

The wait was torture. There were no clocks or televisions in the room, and by the time Marion came to get me, I had bitten my ragged nails so short that they bled. She took one look at my hands and dragged me to a bathroom across the hall.

“You’ll have to stop that before you ruin your hands. Completely unattractive,” she said as she ran a trickle of cold water over my fingertips. I hissed at the pain, but she didn’t let go until they were clean. “There we go. Now c’mon, they’re waiting.”

Taking me by the arm, Marion led me down the narrow corridor until we reached a velvet curtain. Behind it I could hear the buzz of conversation and laughter, and warm light spilled out from underneath.

“You don’t have to say anything,” she said. “I’ll handle the bidding, and after it’s over, I’ll escort you to the room. It’s simple.”

There was nothing simple about any of this. As I wiped my sweaty palms on my dress, all I could think of was Benjy. He might hate me for this. He might never look at me the same way. But this would give him a chance at a real future, and it was worth it.

When I stepped through the curtain, the crowd quieted, and a hundred pairs of eyes focused on me. Marion nudged me forward onto the small stage, and above us, a blinding light warmed my skin.

“Good evening, my loves,” she said, and the sea of people in front of me clapped and hooted. “You’ve all been waiting so patiently for this very special moment, and as promised, one of you lucky gentlemen will be richly rewarded. For those of you who are interested—and don’t be coy, we know you all are—tonight’s bidding will start at one thousand gold pieces.”

The air whooshed out of my lungs. One thousand gold pieces was more than I would have made in ten years as a III. There was nothing about me that made one night in my bed worth that much money. Maybe I was right—maybe no one would want to bid for me. Maybe this would be a bust, and I’d have to go back to the group home, or Tabs’s place, and I’d get to apologize to Benjy and—

“One thousand gold pieces!” a booming voice from the back of the room called, and I closed my eyes, fighting the urge to be sick.

Over the next few minutes, the bids steadily climbed into absurdly high amounts, and eventually it came down to two men: a mustached whale in the front near the stage, and another who was too far back to see. By then the sum was astronomical, and when the number hit thirty thousand gold pieces, the mustached bidder in the front backed down, leaving my fate to the man whose face I couldn’t see.

Wild applause filled the club, and Marion took me by the arm again, trembling with excitement as she led me through the curtain. “No one has ever outbid Minister Bradley before,” she said, stunned. “Thirty thousand—I’ve never—can you believe—and for you, of all people—”

For me, of all people. I wanted to be offended, but she was right. “How much of that is mine?” I said, my voice shaking.

“Half. I’ve never had a girl make that much her first year, let alone her first night.” She stopped in the hallway and faced me, her nose an inch from mine. “You will treat the winner with the respect that kind of money deserves, do you understand me? You will give him whatever he wants, and you will make sure you do it with a smile on your face. He paid for something special, and you will give him something special.”

I nodded, my mouth dry. The full impact of what this meant hadn’t hit me until now, and my insides clenched uncomfortably as I followed her upstairs. This was really happening, and there was no backing out now.

Marion escorted me to a luxurious bedroom with a four-poster bed so wide there was barely enough space to walk beside it. Just like the dressing room, there were no windows, and the only door was the one she closed behind me. Once again I had to wait.

I sat on the edge of the bed and drew my knees to my chin, and I tried to pretend I was somewhere else. At home with Benjy, curled up underneath a quilt as he read to me. Sitting in front of him at school as he tossed me drawings, our way of passing notes. Even walking through the rancid sewers, so long as he was with me and I wasn’t in this room, waiting for a stranger to do whatever he wanted to me.

I took a deep breath and tried to calm my racing heart. It would be all right. Tabs did this all the time, and she was fine. Countless girls did. And for a hell of a lot less than fifteen thousand gold pieces, too. With that kind of money, I didn’t have to stay here. In the morning, I could pack my things, take the money, and run. Find a room to rent and stay there until Benjy was ranked. After seventeen years of never having a say in my own life, I’d finally be the one in control. I would put a smile on my face and pretend that I was having the best night of my life if that’s what it took to make that happen.

The door opened, and my breath caught in my throat.

The Shield from the market stood in the hallway, flanked by a pair of men wearing the same black-and-silver uniform from before. One was a stranger, but the other I recognized from the group home. Sampson.

Instead of saying anything, the Shield stepped inside the tiny room and bent down, looking me straight in the eye. I stared back at him, refusing to smile or wink or any other cutesy gesture Tabs might do to get out of this situation. Several seconds passed before he straightened and nodded to the men behind him. “It’s her.”

One of them mumbled a few words into his cuff, and the Shield from the market gestured for me to stay put. Had he been the one to buy me? How could he have possibly afforded me on a Shield’s salary?

Instead of taking a seat next to me, however, he stood by the door, facing me but not looking at me. The urge to ask what he was waiting for bubbled up inside me, but the words caught in my throat. It was obvious what he was doing; he was making sure I didn’t escape.

This time there was a clock in the room, and over forty minutes passed before I heard a shuffle in the hallway. The men outside the door saluted in crisp unison, and they stepped aside. A tall man in a black overcoat entered the room.

I froze.

“Hello,” he said with a voice that everyone in the country would recognize. “What’s your name?”

I clutched my dress so tightly that the fabric began to rip. “Kitty,” I croaked.

The corners of his dark eyes crinkled in amusement. He removed his hat, revealing a high forehead, bushy eyebrows, and dark hair that was graying at the temples. If I’d had any doubts before, now I was positive.

Prime Minister Daxton Hart. The position was supposed to be temporary, but when the elections came every four years, there was only one name on the ballot.

“Kitty,” he said, as if he was testing out my name. “Is that short for something?”

“Yeah,” I said. “It’s short for ‘my mother was insane and had a thing for cats.’”

Silence filled the room, and the Shield stared at me as if he couldn’t believe I’d talked back to the prime minister. My mouth went dry, but I held my ground and refused to flinch.

A few seconds passed, and to my surprise, Daxton laughed. “I like you. You have spunk. Though with a name like Kitty Doe, we both know you never knew your parents.”

My cheeks grew warm. “If you already knew my name, then why did you ask for it in the first place?”

He shrugged. “Courtesy, my dear. Though I daresay you will not ask for mine. May I?” He gestured to my neck, and while the thought of anyone touching me made my skin crawl, I nodded. It was the least he would do tonight.

He brushed his fingers against the ridges and frowned. “A III,” he said gravely. “And a fresh one at that. You must not be very happy.”

“My choices in life have now been reduced to cleaning sewers or whoring myself out to strangers. It isn’t exactly what I had in mind.”

“What did you have in mind?” he said.

“None of your business.”

The guards shifted uneasily, but Daxton sighed. “You’re right, it isn’t. Such a pity. I do like you.”

He drummed his fingers against his elbow, and we stared at each other. I refused to be the first to look away.

“Tell you what, Kitty,” he said, and he leaned in closer to me. “How would you like to be a VII?”

I blinked, and for a second I was positive I’d misheard him. Only the Harts were granted VIIs. Not even the twelve Ministers of the Union were ranked so high.

“I’m a III,” I said, as if that settled it, because it did. No one changed rank. No one. Everyone took the test, and everyone was marked accordingly. There was no special treatment, no taking it over again. Everyone had the same shot as everyone else. The only exceptions were the Harts, who didn’t take the test at all. “I’m already marked.”

“Yes, I can see that.” Daxton straightened and adjusted his overcoat. “I will only offer this once, and I need your answer immediately. If you say yes, you will leave with me tonight, and your mark will be replaced.”

“And if I say no?” I said.

“I think we both know what happens then.” Daxton checked his gold watch. “My offer is good for the next thirty seconds.”

I stared at him openly, but his eyes were focused on the time. His finger tapped the watch face as each second ticked by, and with every tap, my throat seemed to close up a little more.

A VII. A real VII from the prime minister himself. Wealth, power, and prestige, endless resources and beautiful things, never again having to worry about being arrested and sent Elsewhere—

Benjy.

What would happen to him? What would he do when he found out I’d disappeared? I couldn’t leave him. A VII was worth a lot, but it wasn’t worth losing one of the few people in my life who really mattered.

“Do I get to stay in D.C.?” I blurted, and Daxton gave me his trademark benevolent smile.

“I don’t see why you wouldn’t,” he said. “We have many homes across the country, but the one in Somerset is by far the most lavish.”

Somerset. That was on the opposite end of the District of Columbia, where the Vs and VIs lived. I wouldn’t have to live in a club. I wouldn’t have to work in the sewers. I wouldn’t even have to leave the city. I’d get to see Benjy whenever I wanted, and when he got his VI—

What would he say when he saw a fresh VII on the back of my neck? A VII would guarantee me riches beyond imagining, things that would make the perfumes and fruits and silks that were sold in the markets look like worthless trinkets instead of the treasures they were. A mark that meant we wouldn’t have to break the law to stay together.

So what if I had to be the prime minister’s mistress? He probably had dozens of them. He’d grow tired of me eventually, and then I’d be free to be with Benjy. And I would still be a VII.

Not a III, not a IV, but a VII.

“What’s the catch?”

His lower eyelid twitched, but his expression didn’t change. “Your time is almost up.”

Whatever the catch was, it was worth thirty thousand gold pieces and a VII. I was stupid for hesitating.

“Five,” he said, counting down. “Four, three, two—”

“Yes.” I couldn’t get the word out fast enough. I pictured Benjy’s face when he found out we could stay together, and I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from grinning.

A VII. A real VII.

Daxton’s lips twisted into a strange hybrid of a smirk and a smile. “I cannot tell you how pleased I am to hear that. There is a car waiting. Shall we?”

He offered me his hand, and his skin was smooth and cool against my damp palm. When we stepped out of the room, half a dozen guards surrounded us, and all of them eyed me. I hunched my shoulders in an attempt to make myself as small as possible.

“What’s the catch?” I said again.

“Why on earth do you assume there’s a catch?” said Daxton, and I didn’t answer. Of course there was a catch. No one changed ranks, ever.

I rushed to keep up with his long strides, and the guards were so close behind us that I couldn’t stop and take a breath. Daxton ushered me down a narrow flight of stairs and through a series of dank hallways, and finally I spotted the exit into the alleyway. Butterflies fluttered in my stomach. How was I supposed to let Benjy know I was safe? Daxton had to let me send word. Or did he expect me to cut all ties with my old life completely?

No. I wasn’t going to abandon Benjy, no matter what he offered me.

To my left a door opened. Tabs poked her head out in time to see the prime minister walking beside me, and her mouth dropped open. “Kitty?”

Relief rushed through me. “Let Benjy know I’m okay,” I said. “Go tonight if you can and tell him—”

“Nothing to see here,” said a guard behind us. He stepped in front of Tabs, blocking her view, and Daxton marched me past her.

“Let me— Tabs! Tell him!” I called, but she didn’t respond.

“Come on,” said Daxton, and he pushed me into the alleyway. I shivered. The temperature had dropped several degrees, and my flimsy white dress didn’t provide much protection from the cold. Daxton removed his overcoat, still warm from his body, and draped it over my shoulders.

“Thanks,” I said. How many times had he done this before? How many mistresses had he bought and enticed with a VII? The thought of sleeping with him made me sick to my stomach, but there was nothing I wouldn’t have done to change my III. Benjy would hate it, but he had to understand. This way, I wouldn’t be putting him in danger. This way, he wouldn’t have to spend his life hiding me. This way, I wouldn’t be forcing him to risk his life just so we could be together.

We turned into another alleyway, where a sleek black car waited for us. It stretched the length of three normal-sized cars, and I had to fight to keep my mouth from dropping open. I’d never seen such a big one up close before. Only Vs and above were allowed to own a car, and one this big must have been made especially for the Harts.

Daxton noticed me staring, and he chuckled. I pulled myself together and stood as straight as I could. I might never have been in a car before, but that didn’t give him the right to laugh at me.

A guard opened the door, and Daxton gestured for me to go first. I was halfway inside when I heard it.

Bang.

My heart leaped into my throat. “What was that?”

“Nothing to worry your pretty little head about,” said Daxton, and another pair of hands pushed me into the seat. I struggled to see, but Daxton slid in next to me, blocking my view, and the car door slammed shut. “It’s a long trip to our destination, so I hope you don’t mind that I’ve taken the liberty of making arrangements to ensure that your stomach doesn’t get the best of you.” He winked. “Leather seats. You understand.”

I didn’t understand, since Somerset couldn’t have been more than twenty miles away, but I didn’t care, either. I craned my neck so I could see around him and into the alleyway.

Through the weak light, I made out two men leaving the club, dragging the body of a girl behind them. We were too far away for me to see her face, but her long dark hair was unmistakable.

“Tabs?” I choked. “What—”

“Shh,” murmured Daxton, brushing my hair aside. Before I could push him away, a needle pricked my neck, and everything went black.