Page 70 of Vicious King

I gingerly held it in both hands, afraid I’d accidentally drop it. “The hair is beautiful,” I said, admiring the glossy locks. “It almost looks real.”

Tobias smiled. “It is real. You don’t think a society like ours would skimp on the details and use synthetic hair, do you?”

“I suppose not.”

“It’s Anna’s hair. She donated a few locks of it for this very purpose. The face was carved to look just like her, too, and the body…” He trailed off for a second and reached across, running his fingers over the pretty porcelain face before trailing down to the carved décolletage. “It’s made from bone china. Do you know how they make that?”

“With bone ash?”

Tobias smiled. “That’s right.”

My skin prickled. The way he was smiling at me, the gleam in his eyes… something felt all kinds of wrong with this picture.

My stomach lurched as his previous words echoed in my head. Anna’s hair. All the power was immediately drained from my limbs, replaced by unadulterated terror. I clenched my fists and swallowed hard, forcing myself to hold it together.

I had a good idea of what was coming next, but I willed Tobias not to say it yet, just so I could have a few more precious seconds of unknowing. Part of me wanted to turn around and flee from the room, so I’d never have to hear it at all.

He cleared his throat. “This china was made from Anna’s bones,” he said smoothly, taking the doll away from me. That was probably a good thing, because I was about to drop it out of sheer shock. “Aside from the original dolls belonging to Mary Galbraith, all the others are the same. Made from the bone ashes of each hostess.”

My whole body was jelly. Something inside me was crumbling, collapsing, like a building being destroyed by dynamite.

I should’ve known.

Pain and pity bloomed in me as I cast my eyes back over the rest of the doll collection. They were all ghosts, twisted remnants of the women they used to be before their lives were torn away by the awful men of Crown and Dagger.

I was next.

“Why?” was all I could get out.

Tobias chuckled. “Let’s just say the Artemis Festival isn’t exactly what it appears to be on the surface. We spread rumors amongst the women that being chosen for the hostess duty is a great honor and will bestow many privileges upon them, including a chance to leave with just one master. It’s a lie, but it’s a great way to make them behave. And the expression on the chosen women’s faces when they discover what’s really happening—far too late, of course—is one of the funniest things you can possibly imagine. Like your face right now.”

“So what’s really happening?” I asked in a low voice.

“Remember, it’s a hunting festival,” he said patiently. “We pick the girl who’s proved to be the biggest thorn in our side over the last six months, and on the final day of the festival, the third-level members hunt her in the woods. Afterwards, her remains are used to create a mini version of her. A trophy that we can all view at any time, whenever we want to recall the thrill of that particular hunt.”

Sickness swirled in my belly as dizziness overcame me.

This must be what Elias was so frantic to tell me earlier. He must’ve made it to the third level of the society today (he had the new black robes, after all) and he’d subsequently found out about their darkest tradition.

So that was why he mouthed ‘I’ll save you’ at me in the hallway earlier. It wasn’t like he could’ve said it out loud in front of Tobias, or else he wouldn’t stand a chance at helping me.

That meant he was telling the truth all along. He really did return my twisted feelings. He really did care for me, and he really did want to get me the hell out of here, before the other third-level men could kill me.

I should have believed him the other night. I should have let him help me.

Now it might be too late.

“Why me?” I asked, tilting my head up to face Tobias. If this man was going to kill me, he could at least have the guts to look me in the eyes.

“As I’ve already explained, we pick the girl who’s been the biggest thorn in our side. You stabbed me in the fucking neck, Tatum. What did you think would happen with that kind of behavior?”

“So this has been planned for months,” I said in a hollow voice. “It wasn’t really voted in last week.”

He twisted his lips. “Not exactly. There were other factors which led to me and the other men overwhelmingly choosing you. The biggest one being your pregnancy.”

Time instantly seemed to freeze. My mouth dropped open. “What?”

“The doctor who saw you after your little escape attempt two weeks ago didn’t really diagnose you with a bug,” he said. His voice was like ice. “The blood tests showed that you’re pregnant. According to the doctor, you’re probably around five weeks along, judging by the amount of HCG.”

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