That’s it. Don’t let them see you weak, Aurora.
“Get out, Rice!” Taliesin’s voice cracks like a whip from the doorway. He hasn’t moved an inch, but his eyes are promising a slow death.
Rice doesn’t flinch. He spits at my feet, then turns his glare on Taliesin. “The men won’t follow a Boss who picks an Elite over his own kind, Bevan. Not when we’re the ones paying the price.”
He stalks out, but the tension in the room remains high. For all my bravado, I hate this. Hate it so much.
My captor, Taliesin Bevan, is the only thing keeping these people from tearing me apart.
So far.
When I’m dressed again, I turn around.
Taliesin beckons me out. I go meekly. I hate myself for it, but I’m so fucking exhausted, meek is all I have left.
Outside the shower block, he stops abruptly and looks me over, his eyes traveling from my damp hair down to the battered sneakers I was given to wear. His jaw is a hard line of tension, a muscle leaping in his cheek. “Don’t get too comfortable, Aurora. As of tomorrow, you’ve got work to do.”
Work? “What does that mean?”
He grabs my arm, his grip firm, and leads me back down the corridor. “You have to pay the debt for what you did to Gleb. Every afternoon during rec, you’re going to the Guild’s territory.”
Wait, what?
My stomach drops. A cold spike of panic pierces through the humid heat of the hallway.
“What are you talking about?” I whisper.
He sighs, like I’m being particularly annoying, which I’m not. I just need some fucking clarification on what he just said, because I must have heard wrong. “You have to spend some yard-time serving the Guild, Dimitry in particular.”
My heart stops. The tiny spark of gratitude I felt in the showers vanishes, replaced by a cold, sharp hatred. “Are you fucking kidding me?” My voice is too high and shrieky for my liking but I can’t seem to calm down. “You’re sending me to them? To be their slave?”
The eyes of other inmates turn to us. I hate that they’re all watching. Taliesin looks around at the dozen or so Diggers in the corridor.
“She is being lent out to the Guild to serve them,” he announces. “She’ll be at their beck and call until Gleb is out of the sickbay.” Laughter echoes around the tunnel. I feel sick and humiliated.
“You gonna put on a show for the Guild, shake those fancy titties?” Someone calls out.
My cheeks burn. I will not do that.
I will not.
“Nah, she’ll be fetching water, scrubbing boots—shit like that, grunt work,” Taliesin says, quite casually to the assembled group. “You have to trust I’ve a reason for taking her. A reason that will benefit usall.” Then he looks down at me with a sneer that doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “But don’t think for a second she’s getting a free ride on our dime.”
“Fucking A, boss,” a voice behind me yells.
Bile rises in my throat. So this asshole Bevan, who I thought was looking out for me, is just like every other fucking male.
Not to be trusted.
“Can’t wait to watch, boss.”
Laughter pushes at me from all directions.
Taliesin grabs my arm. “That’s enough, back to work.”
“You utter bastard,” I snap as he drags me along. My heart fumbles, the slightly painfulwump-pppit does from time to time. “You’re just feeding me to the wolves despite all your big talk of being anti-rape. You fucking weak dick.” Spitting out curse words isn’t helping my panic at all, but it’s the only thing I’ve got. “You’re just like my father. Pimping me out. Giving me no choice.” My voice is trembling, raw with rage.
“Calm the fuck down. It’s the only deal Dimitry would take,” he replies in a low voice. “Believe me, it could be worse. And I’m sending two of Jensen’s crew to watch your back.”
