Page 80 of Cloak of the Vampire
She came to sit next to me and took my hand in hers. “To keep ourselves civilized, we created harsh laws that are practically set in stone,” she said, squeezing my hand. “Without these laws, we would be utterly barbaric. Rampant. Far more inhuman than we already are.”
CJ crouched before me, dark eyes somber. “The three options given to Luana show just that,” he said quietly. “Because Luana displayed she was of no use to the vampiric Society in any sort of way—and unfortunately, the five-minute Auction performance is all the Lords have to go on to evaluate her abilities—she was given a choice.”
Bowen snorted bitterly at that. “As if it’s actually a choice,” he snarled as his foot jumped up and down on the floor in rising fury. “She could either, one: become a slave at her initial League, two: become a slave at another League, or three: legally break the League System Agreement and become Leagueless.”
I stared at him, dread and shock making my lips part and my breath get stuck in my throat. “You can’t be serious,” I whispered chokingly.
Jada laughed humorlessly. “You know what the worst thing about it is?” she said. “Luana can never participate in an Auction again. She’s stuck as a fuckingslavefor the rest of her existence.”
A cold shudder cascaded through my spine. “This isn’t fair,” I said quietly, my hands shrugging out of her grip and curling on my knees. “All of this just because no one bid on her?”
“It’s not just that, I’m afraid,” CJ said quietly, giving me a terribly sad look. “As I mentioned, I took the Auction again. Funnily enough, even if you are bought, you still have one more chance to participate in the Auction. This is what I did, because I didn’t like the League I was in or my job as a recruitment agent.” His lips curled downward in a sneer. “I didn’t know back then that second-timers’ fates are usually similar to the unbought ones’, even if they’re bought during their second round.”
That was fucked up on so many levels, I started to feel sick. “Does it mean you’re Rag—” I winced. “Our Lord’sslave?”
CJ looked away. “On paper, I am. But our Lord isn’t fond of slaves, so I’m a kitchen assistant instead.”
There was a note of reluctant respect in CJ’s voice. As though Ragnor had spared him a worse fate—which, according to what they were saying, was far more terrible than being on dishwashing duty. But while I didn’t entirely understand what it meant to be aslave—and Isure as fuck hoped I wouldn’t need to understand—it sounded bad enough that I couldn’t help but feel horribly nauseous.
“CJ, Bowen, and I were lucky,” Jada said softly, drawing my eyes to her. Her eyes were full of determination. “Out of all seven Lords, our Lord isn’t just the best leader but the most fair, respected, and strong. So Aileen,” she added in a louder voice, “you’ve got to make our Lord buy you. For your own sake.”
CHAPTER 30
“No,” I said, tossing the canvas aside.
“No,” I hissed an hour later, poking the canvas so hard with the brush that it dented and tore.
“No, no, no,” I snarled as I ripped the hundredth canvas with my nails in a fit of rage.
I panted, sweating after hours upon hours of trying to paint something, anything, and glowered at the utter mess that was the workshop.
I pitched the brush so hard it hit the wall with a blue splash, fell on the stool, and put my head in my paint-covered hands. There were only five days until the Auction. Five fucking days, and I had no concrete act ready.
It felt like the air was pushing down on me, its transparent hands gripping my neck. My heart rate was beyond-the-charts fast with dread, and my entire body trembled in trepidation.
“I can’t do this,” I mumbled, shaking my head as tears welled in my eyes. “I can’t fucking do this—”
The workshop door slammed open, and I jumped to my feet with a gasp, tensing when I saw the familiar redheaded woman stepping inside, her nose scrunched in evident disgust.
It seemed the universe wanted me to feel even shittier, considering Margarita, my elusive mentor, was finally paying me a visit.
“It smells like mildew in here,” she grunted and gave me a disapproving, repulsive look. “What the hell have you been doing here all this time?”
The last thing I wanted was to talk to her, but I knew ignoring her wouldn’t make her go away. “Painting,” I said stiffly.
With her foot, she nudged at one of the tossed canvases. “You’re not doing a very good job,” she commented haughtily, an undertone of satisfaction to her voice.
It made me wonder if Magnus, the other Lieutenant, treated his mentees—Tansy and Zoey, in his case—in the same manner. Something told me he didn’t.
“What do you want?” I cut to the chase. Obviously, she wasn’t here to help me.
She turned to face me fully and gave me an arrogant look. “Well, I just wanted to check up on my poor little mentee,” she said and smirked. “Apparently, I was worried for nothing. You’re doing quite well on your own.”
Anger sparked inside me, but she wasn’t done. Pacing through the room as she studied my disastrous artworks, she said, “I’m truly excited for the Auction now.” She snickered when she eyed one of the torn paintings. “I can’t wait to see what will happen when no one bids on you.”
She was circling me like a shark, I realized, as she returned to face me. “I warned you what would happen if you didn’t know your place, noob,” she murmured silkily, stepping closer to me as her green eyes flashed triumphantly. “You dug your own grave.”
I wanted to hit her. I wanted to spit in her smug little face. I wanted to scream and curse her to hell and back. But I remained silent and still, staring at her with so much hatred that words deserted me.
