Page 41 of Property of Mako
My mouth went dry as realization settled in. “My sister has it too, doesn’t she?”
He nodded. “Indeed. But you were… more accessible. Stepping outside your home to call a friend? A little careless for someone so valuable. Ah, but I forget—you didn’t know.”
My stomach twisted. Accessible. Like I was an item on a freaking grocery list.
“Then why bother with her if you have me to sell?” I asked, forcing my voice not to shake.
Thane’s expression sharpened, amusement curling in his tone. “Oh, my dear, it’s not my auction. I am merely a kindly benefactor. But I assure you, I will be bidding. On you. And on your sister.”
A chill crawled down my spine.
When we reached the landing, he stopped, leaning closer so his words brushed my ear. “Just over twenty-four hours. That’s all the time you have left to imagine where you’ll end up. Perhaps with me. Perhaps with someone far worse.”
When he leaned back, he straightened his expensive suit jacket and grinned wickedly. He left me standing there, frozen.
That afternoon, when the guards that wandered the halls from time to time weren’t watching, I slipped into the library. Found an old book with loose pages I could easily rip out. Took one. With the stub of a pencil I’d swiped from a servant’s pocket yesterday, I wrote four words.
I didn’t know how I’d get it to Lyra. But I’d find a way.
The veil hides everything.
When I was going back to the room I’d been assigned with three other girls, I saw a servant open the window in a small alcove. They leaned out and lit a cigarette.
It was a risk, but I moved quickly before I had time to completely lose my nerve.
“Hey, can I take a drag?” I whispered, causing them to jump. The young man stared at me with wide, frightened eyes. “I won’t say a word. It’s just been so long since I’ve been able to smoke.”
Nervously, he glanced around.
“No one else is in the halls,” I assured him conspiratorially.
“O-Okay, but you have to stick your head completely out the window. If the smoke comes back in, we’re both dead,” he whispered back.
Well, that worked out perfectly. I took the cigarette from him after sticking my head out. I hadn’t been lying. It had been what felt like ages since I’d smoked, along with other things. Those two years ago seemed like a lifetime ago. Little did he know, I certainly wouldn’t be killed for smoking—I was worth too much. Him, on the other hand…
As I leaned further out, I took a drag and rested my other arm on the windowsill. The rush of nicotine hit me, and my head spun for a moment. As I turned back toward him, I held the cigarette up in front of his face to ensure he was looking at me and not my hand. I started to drop the folded paper, praying Lyra or someone besides my captors found it.
“What’s that?” he asked, and my heart dropped.
“Nothing,” I replied, and I fisted the paper and started to step back.
He reached out and grabbed my wrist with the paper as I spun to leave.
Cigarette forgotten, he stubbed it out on the side of the house. “What is it?” he quietly demanded.
Defeated, I opened my hand, and he took it from me and opened it. His mouth flattened as he read it, and I wanted to cry.
“Who is this for?”
“My sister,” I murmured. “Please don’t tell them,” I pleaded.
He looked up and for several heartbeats didn’t say a word. Then he spoke. “That was really stupid. They would’ve found it in their patrols.”
I could only blink at him.
He closed his eyes and appeared as if he was battling within himself. Then he took a deep breath and asked, “Where is she?”
Unable to believe what I thought he was asking, I took a chance. In a voice tempered with astonishment, I burst out, “You’ll get it to her?”
