Page 81 of Pretty Savage: Defy

The man who kidnapped me and the woman preparing to welcome me into The Order should have nothing in common. Yet they’ve both looked at me and seen the same possibility.

That I could help end it.

Are they right?

Rebecca returns to the brazier and draws out the iron. Sparks rise toward the ceiling as the brand emerges from the coals, glowing red-orange. “Do you know the best way to bring down a system?”

I shake my head.

“From the inside.” Rebecca steps closer. I stare at the glowing cross she holds out. She’s not hiding what she wants me to do.

“Most Daughters are never offered a choice,” she says. “The Order treats the mark as inevitable. If a girl resists, they restrain her and do it anyway.”

My stomach turns over at that. Forcing women against their will.

“I won’t do that to you.” Rebecca keeps the iron well away from my body. “You may leave this room. I can buy you time to run, though I can’t promise they won’t find you.”

“If I stay?”

“You accept the mark. You bond with Carrson.” Her expression doesn’t change. “Then you help me tear The Order apart from within.”

Carrson will hate the mark. He’ll hate Rebecca for offering it and himself for being the reason I accepted. But refusing will not erase the violence waiting for him. It will only guarantee that when he enters it, I can’t go with him.

I’ll remain a true outsider.

“You can run,” Rebecca says. “Or you can stay and fight. For yourself. For Carrson. For everyone The Order will hurt if no one stops it.”

The brand burns between us.

“What do you choose?”

Carrson.

The answer comes immediately, but he isn’t the only reason. I choose the right to stand beside him instead of waiting for him to return, until one day he doesn’t. I choose the power to protect us both. I choose the chance to pry open the doors The Order has kept closed and take what they’ve hoarded for themselves. Money. Influence. Knowledge. All of it could help people born without the right name or enough power to make anyone listen.

“I choose Carrson.” I part my robe, revealing the smooth skin over my heart.

Rebecca nods like she knew that would be the answer all along. “So be it.” She presses the hot iron into my flesh, and the world explodes into searing, endless pain.

“Welcome to The Order.”

Chapter twenty

Two Days Until Bonding

Laurel

I’m sliding the last earring into my lobe when Carrson enters my bedroom in an all-black tuxedo. My hand pauses at my ear. The suit turns every hard line of him elegant without making him look any less dangerous. Night has fallen outside the windows, but tall wrought-iron candelabras illuminate the terraces and lawn, hundreds of flames trembling against the darkness. Their golden glow fills the white tents and spills across the grass. From up here, the entire estate looks enchanted, suspended amongst the stars. Music drifts up from below, mingling with the laughter of the guests already gathered.

The ones who will watch me descend the stairs in a few minutes.

The ones who will watch me have sex with Carrson in two days.

Carrson stops inside the doorway. His eyes travel from the jeweled tiara on my head to the red silk spilling around my feet, then slowly return to my face. The intensity of his attention makes my cheeks burn.

“Whoa.” He releases a breath. “You look...wow, Laurel. You look beautiful.”

“Are you sure it’s not too much?” I touch the curls Sam carefully arranged at the back of my head, leaving a few loose tendrils to cascade around my face. “I told Sam I didn’t want to look like royalty.”