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Her face is gaunt with shadows under her eyes and cheekbones, but she has clear blue eyes the color of the ocean and full lips. Her red hair is wavy and thick and a delicate smattering of freckles cover her nose and cheeks. The purple collar around her neck says she is slave Number Eleven.
“What is your name?” I ask quietly.
She sniffles, her shoulders shaking with shuddering breaths from all of the crying. “Maddie.”
The guard nearest to us clears his throat and narrows his eyes at me.
We aren’t supposed to give our names, though I suspect he is only giving me a warning because they would rather I diffuse the situation than lose out on a woman who will clearly go for a hefty price.
“Okay,” I say, grabbing her around the waist. “We’re going to stand up, all right?”
She nods and stands on shaky legs like a newborn giraffe. I have to wrap an arm around her back to keep her standing.
The guards step back as we stand, and I look to them for permission, hoping I can lead her out of the room. They look at one another, and then slowly slip back to their posts, clearly grateful they don’t have to deal with it.
“Let’s just walk it off,” I say.
We make it to the doors before Maddie starts to cry again. She sags against my side and shakes her head. “He is so horrible.”
“Who?”
“The man,” she says, gesturing over her shoulder. “The man in the fox mask. He is horrible.”
“What did he say?” I already know the man is disgusting. I gathered that from his obvious enjoyment at Maddie’s breakdown. But having further proof he is a pig would be nice.
“He just told me—” she hesitates, a shiver running through her. “He told me what he wanted to do with me. Later.”
This girl isn’t going to make it.
That is the first thought that enters my mind. If I get out of here and she is sold, she won’t make it. She’ll be dead within a month.
I walk Maddie into the hallway, which stretches in both directions and is entirely empty now. I have no idea where the other guests are.
“There is no way to make any of this easier,” I say, choosing to turn right in hopes it will lead us back to the group. The last thing I want to do is be caught by a guard wandering in a prohibited part of the inn. “It is a horrible situation for us all, but if you freak out like that again, they’ll kill you.”
Maddie flinches, and I squeeze her shoulders tighter.
“I don’t want to scare you, but that is the reality. The best thing you can do right now is try to find someone here who isn’t horrible. Keep as much distance from the man in the fox mask as you can. My gut tells me that he gets off on your fear. Be confident and try to catch the eye of someone else. Someone who isn’t as horrible.”
“How?” she breathes. “Everyone here is horrible.”
“That’s true,” I admit with a humorless chuckle. “But cling to the least horrible man you can find. You are beautiful, and if you play your cards right, you might end up with someone who isn’t so bad.”
The words feel like acid in my mouth, and I nearly choke on them.
Every person here is horrible except for Luka. But I have to give Maddie some hope. Without it, she’ll be killed like the runt of the litter. She won’t survive the week.
Maddie begins to cry again, and I run my hand down her back as I peek in every door we pass, hoping to find the group.
Luka is probably livid at me for separating myself from him and drawing the attention of the guards and the other guests, but I can’t think about that now. Not when I don’t even know where I am.
From the outside, the inn looks averaged-sized, but inside, the hallways are like a maze of identical doorways. I stop and try to listen for the other guests, but I can’t hear anything.
Then, we turn a corner and run headfirst into Luka.
I bounce off his chest and stumble back with Maddie, but Luka doesn’t move. He is like a brick wall, and he leers down at both of us, his eyes narrowed.
“The rest of the party is that way,” he says to Maddie, pointing over his shoulder. “Third door on the right.”
