Page 25 of Darkest Heart

I scoffed. She irritated me, pushing me to the edge of my tolerance. “If you were smart, yes. Clearly, you’re not.”

“People die every day here, even the ones who are obedient, who let you do whatever you want to them. If I’m going to die anyway, then I won’t go down without a fight. Even if it’s futile.”

Challenge threaded through her glare, which didn’t suit her round cheeks, and doe eyes. She didn’t have the features to pull off anger, and it almost looked…cute. I shook away the thought, despising myself for even thinking it. “There are fates worse than death, Elizabeth.”

“I know. This conversation is one of them.”

I let out a tense breath, rolling my shoulders back. She was making me regret ever bringing her up here. “I mean like throwing you into the feeding room and leaving you at the mercy of hundreds of us. You’ll be fucked, fed on, and then killed by the end of the week. Maybe two if you’re lucky. Is that what you want?”

“Will it mean I won’t have to see you?”

I wrapped my fingers around her wrist, squeezing tighter as I pulled her close. “For someone who hates me so much, you were awfully close to kissing me earlier.”

“You’re a man,” she said, attempting to pull my fingers from her. “It’s the only way I could catch you off guard.”

I squeezed tighter, and tears glistened, pausing me. Something about her brought me back to my childhood, to the shred of humanity still unwantedly clinging to my soul. I uncurled my grasp, stepping back. “Don’t you want to live?”

“I’m already dead here,” she replied flatly. “I have nothing to lose.”

“You speak of your mortality. Where’s that good old survival instinct?”

She shrugged, turning her back to me. I thought back to her arrival. She didn’t cry or scream like the others.

“What about your sister?”

Her heart raced, breaths quickening. “Let her go, and I’ll do anything you want.”

“Now, that is a tempting offer.” I licked my lips, running my gaze over her thick thighs, imagining my head between them.

“Then accept it!”

“No,” I replied.

She hesitated, then let out a small breath. “At least tell me, is she being—”

“No,” I answered before she could finish.

She clamped her eyes shut, bringing her hands up to her chest. “Can you keep her safe?”

I leaned against the wardrobe. “I can do anything, love.”

She turned slowly, arching a brow. “Then do it. What do you want in return?”

“You,” I admitted. “To behave and do what you’re told.”

She chewed on the inside of her lip, shuffling her foot against the stone. “Why do you want me, out of everyone here?”

That was a question for the ages. Why did I want her? She was an irritant, but her blood was delicious, like sweet nectar, honey, and liquid ecstasy. “Like I said before, you taste good. You’re also beautiful, outwardly anyway.”

She sucked her bottom lip between her teeth, averting her gaze to the ceiling. “If you get her out of here, I’ll do whatever you want me to.”

A slow grin built around my lips. “I can’t let her go, but I can bring her into the club. Let only one of us feed on her.”

Her stare hardened. “Is she not already?”

“No. She’s a competitor in the tournament.”

Her heart palpitation, the sound echoing into my ears. With a raspy breath, she shook her head. “I heard about that, when that friend of yours,” she spat with venom, “brought me to the main club. You can’t let her compete.” The color drained from her face. Her eyes fixated on me. “Don’t make me beg.”

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