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“You know why we’ve come,” a deep but smooth voice cracked through the air, coming from Asshole One, or A-One for short, the onyx-eyed monster. The other women in the lineup with me curled their shoulders to make themselves appear smaller. Gina, a pretty brunette standing two girls up from me, was so pale I was sure she would vomit at any moment. I pitied her, but there was nothing I could do. She just had to hope she wouldn’t be chosen.
“Where’s your leader?” A-One demanded, but by the way A-Four was back to glaring at Chief Shaasi, I was guessing they already knew. I’d heard the monsters lived much longer lives than humans. Was it possible these were the same monsters who had come for the collection years before? Had Chief Shaasi met them ten years ago? Had they taken Cara? I clenched my hands into fists at my sides.
Every gaze from my lineup turned toward Chief Shaasi, and the old woman stepped forward with a calm expression on her face. Despite her cool exterior, her thin frame seemed frail in comparison to the towering, muscular monsters glaring down at her.
“I am,” Chief Shaasi said, and I admired the fact her voice didn’t quaver.
“Are these the best you have to offer?” A-One’s voice was harsh.
A-Three, the hooded monster with blue eyes, let out a low chuckle.
“Th-These are the most beautiful young women of our village,” said Chief Shaasi, a slight stutter in her voice as she blinked in surprise. Her gaze went to Lana and then back to the onyx-eyed monster.
A-One’s lip curled in disgust. “We came all the way here for this?”
Further up, Lana let out a small gasp and hung her head, a stray black strand falling over her face. Her hands were clasped together, and she fidgeted nervously.
My pity for her changed to anger as I turned my attention back to A-One.Who the hell do these monsters think they are? If Lana’s not good enough for them, there’s no chance I’ll be chosen.I shifted my leg again, reminding myself of the dagger I’d hidden. If the monsters didn’t honor the agreement and decided to slaughter the lot of us, I was at least going to try to take one of the fuckers down with me.
My gaze flicked over the four monsters in turn as I wondered whether I’d have a chance against any of them with my measly blade. If, by some miracle, the villagers and I managed to overpower these monsters, I could even still go into the mouth of Procus and try to find Cara. Would the cave still take me to their home if the monsters weren’t with me?Should I sever one of their heads to bring along just in case?I grimaced.Gross, Raine. Just, gross.
As my thoughts ran away with me, I didn’t notice the onyx-eyed monster start strolling along our lineup until he stopped in front of a girl named Bri, with chestnut-colored hair that reached past her waist, and a petite body. His voice was cold when he said, “You. Stand over there.”
Oh, fuck.
Bri’s legs wobbled as she obeyed and went to stand near the other monsters. She was cringing, as if being near them was physically hurting her. I stared at her face, which was growing paler with each passing moment. Someone had been chosen. Bri was going to die. My nails bit into my palms, and my heart pounded.
A-One continued walking along our line, his long black coat almost dragging along the ground and his clawed hands folded behind him. He sneered as he scrutinized the next few people in the line until he stopped in front of Nora, a beautiful girl around twenty years old with almond-shaped brown eyes and shoulder-length black hair. “Step forward. You are chosen,” A-One commanded.
Horror cut through me. Nora had five younger sisters, each of whom would miss her dearly. We’d been best friends once. Years ago, before Cara had been taken. I’d enjoyed having dinners with her and her sisters. The way she’d always made time to play with her youngest sibling was adorable. Losing her would destroy them. But Nora didn’t hesitate. Stepping forward, she kept her chin up despite the fear that radiated from her. I knew it was fear for her family rather than for herself.
I hated this. Ihatedthe monsters.
A-One continued to stride down the line, sometimes turning his head to stare back at the other monsters as if asking their opinion, to which they would answer with nods or shakes of their heads. By the time he neared my end of the line, ten villagers had already been chosen. Gina was the eleventh. That she hadn’t vomited on the onyx-eyed monster when he’d stopped before her was a credit to her.
I watched as Gina went to stand near Lana and the other chosen. Lana had been selected earlier, and her legs shook as she stood there. For a moment, I thought Lana might collapse, but she remained standing. Clearly, she’d come to her senses and realized being tortured to death was not worth proving she was indeed one of the most beautiful in the village—even if she was ugly by monster standards.
I’d meant to keep my thoughts contained, but a giggle of hysterical laughter slipped from me. The idea that our village’s most beautiful woman was uglier than a monster was just so ridiculous I couldn’t help myself. I thought about all the effort we’d gone to in order to make ourselves presentable, only to be told we were insufficient. Though I guessed if all monsters looked like these four, perhaps we were uglier in comparison to their race. Realizing my mistake, I slapped my hand over my mouth.Fuck. Too late.Four sets of glowing eyes fixated on me.
A-One sidestepped from where he’d been looking down at a cowering Tanee, and he stopped in front of me. He leaned down, and the scents of cedarwood, ash, and spice filled my senses.
“Is there something you wish to say, human?” he articulated, emphasizing the wordhuman. His top lip curled up to reveal a set of pointed white fangs.
“No,” I managed weakly, my heart thudding so hard it was like a drumbeat in my ears.
“Oh, don’t be shy now,” the monster coaxed, his unnerving onyx-colored eyes never leaving my face.
Sweat pooled between my breasts, and I shifted under his gaze. This was my only chance to be chosen. My one chance to find Cara.Fuck, please don’t eat me. Or maybe that wouldn’t be so bad? Wait, what?Heat flooded my cheeks as my brain scrambled to hold on to a coherent thought with the absurdly sexy but undeniably dangerous monster looming over me. I was clearly losing my mind.
“I just—” I began. A small voice inside me screamed at me to run. To hike up my dress and hightail it the fuck out of there, but I couldn’t. The Katakin would just catch me, and if they didn’t, my father and I would be banished from the island and would die out at sea anyway.You want to be chosen, remember?
I tried to calm my racing pulse and racked my brain for something to say that wouldn’t anger the monster enough that he would cut me down. Something that might make me more alluring.What do monsters want to hear? Flattery? Insults?I swallowed as the monster’s stare became impatient.Fuck it, the truth it is.“Erm, it’s funny,” I blurted.
In the span of a heartbeat, A-One’s hand shot out, his long fingers curling around my neck and squeezing. The clack of claws sounded, but they didn’t pierce my flesh. “Funny?” The monster’s voice was lethal, and he raised a questioning dark brow.
Pain traveled down my neck, and any bravery I’d had dissolved instantly. I realized it then. I was going to die. The understanding was swift, but hell, if I was going out, I figured I might as well dish out some hard truths while I was at it.
I bared my teeth in a half smile, half choked grimace. “Yeah, fun-ny. It’s funny you’re sneering at us for being ugly, and yet you’re the fucking monsters.”
