Page 83 of Dark Reign

Soon, I’d be able to breathe again.

An aide held up three fingers from offstage, and Julian nodded.

“Looks like we’ve got time for three more questions,” he announced with an easy smile, searching for another to call on.

My fingers, still linked with his, were squeezed gently and the feel of it sent my heart fluttering. I wasn’t sure if it was because I’d been bitten, or because I’d been with him for a few days now, but … I was definitely softening toward him.

Whether I liked it or not.

“In the back,” Julian called out as a tall, thin man nearly ran to the front of the room. He’d made quite a fuss to get Julian’s attention.

“Pleasure to meet you, Your Highness,” he greeted, stepping to the mic as he pushed chin-length strands of brown hair behind his ears. “Name’s Jon Carlisle.”

Julian replied only with a nod, gesturing for the man to proceed.

“If you don’t mind, I have exactly three questions,” Jon shared while flipping the pages of a small notebook. “You made it clear that’s all there’s time for, so, if it’s fine with you, I’d like a chance to ask each of them.”

Julian’s brow tensed, but he never faltered. “That sounds reasonable enough.”

The man smiled and glanced up from the sheet he found and, for reasons I couldn’t name, a chill crept up my spine.

“Thank you,” he uttered politely, passing a red stare my way before continuing. “Your Highness, it’s rumored that you purchased your Doll from Madam Amelia. Is this a fact?” he asked. “Or another of those pesky rumors?”

Julian’s initial silence made my temperature spike, certain it had brought an undeniable twinge of redness to my cheeks. With most of his answers today coming with confident ease, seeing him stall now left me to gather he hadn’t prepared for this particular question.

“I … yes, that’s true,” he finally replied. Again, my fingers were squeezed in his, and without thinking twice about it, I clutched him tighter, too.

“Uh-huh,” Jon exhaled. “You see, I find that quite interesting. Once I heard your claim, I decided to visit Madam Amelia myself, thinking she’d like to give an account, and as I’m sure you can guess, she painted a very different picture,” he stated. “In fact, she has no recollection whatsoever of any Doll being sold to you, or anyothermonarch. Other men of status, yes, but … not you.”

I thought I felt my heart stop inside my chest.

“There’s an explanation for that,” Julian clarified once he gathered himself. “I thought it best not to visit the Madam myself, sending a member of the staff in my stead. Were we to show Madam Amelia a photo of the man who actually carried out the transaction, you would have gotten a very different response.”

Jon nodded slowly, keeping a narrow glare fixed on Julian.

“Hmm … I’ll have to take you up on that suggestion.”

My throat felt tight when I swallowed, but Julian didn’t move.

“Next, I thought we might address that your Doll was reported to be void of a brand,” Jon stated next. “Seeing as how all donors are branded at birth, I find it quite strange she’s somehow managed to slip through the cracks.” He paused, his eyes burning a hole through Julian. “This didn’t alarm you? Didn’t make you question where she’d come from?”

Instinct told me to run for the nearest exit and pray that by some small miracle I made it out alive. With the questions Jon was asking, this could only end one way.

Badly.

The polite smile had faded from Julian’s face the moment he realized Jon’s hidden agenda. When he spoke again, there was no missing the undertones of fury beneath the words.

“Corina was born at Helbridge,” Julian blurted. I wasn’t sure he’d prepared for this question, or if he was simply quick on his feet.

Helbridge was an infamous harvesting camp that had been closed down nearly a decade ago, after an investigation into alleged‘unethical’practices. It was discovered that Ianite caretakers, unhappy with their wages, had taken to the practice of selling babies on the noir circuit to the highest bidder. Mostly powerful, ill-meaning men in the other quadrants who intended to raise the children as personal slaves. The idea was to acquire them, mold them into whoever, and whatever they wanted them to be.

Only … the auctions were nothing like what the Ianites believed. Instead, these sales were held to buy the children’s freedom. Those powerful Ianites were closet sympathizers in desperate need of some way to clear their guilty consciences. Meanwhile, most of the donors they saved had been set free through the very system of which I was a part.

Oh, the heads that would roll if they all knew the truth.

Jon leveled a wicked glare on Julian that made my skin crawl. “So … your story is that this woman,” he began, gesturing toward me, “was recovered from Helbridge and somehow, miraculously landed in your arms.”

Julian’s jaw tensed and it was clear his ability to hide his growing disdain for our final inquisitor was wavering.

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