“As a job, Miss Case. I’ll draw up a contract. You’ll agree to ten years of service to me and my House, with a renewal option at the end of the decade. I will employ you, and in so doing will give you credit, housing, and the rights afforded to any human under my charge.”
It was a generous offer. Far more than I expected.
If I could believe he’d go through with it.
I was prepared to bargain for my brother’s freedom, my grandmother’s safety, my property’s protection, and House Brown’s voice.
I had not expected I would be offered anything for me, personally, in the deal.
Certainly not human rights for a monster.
Of course, it wasn’t that much of a bargain. Just this morning I’d had all the freedom I’d wanted. If I refused to sign, I could still run and hide like Neds thought I should.
I looked around the room, at all the shiny, smooth technology and the world power that I knew it controlled. If I left House Gray, he’d find me. He’d have every eye of every human in the world looking for me.
Even people claiming House Brown had been known to work deals on the side with the other, legitimized Houses.
It was a lot to take in. More possibilities and unknowns than I wanted to deal with. I didn’t even know why his brother accused him of being incompetent. Maybe he was incompetent, and throwing my fate in with his was suicide.
“How much time do I have to decide? To decide all of this?”
“Not long.” He exhaled, nodding as if he could hear my thoughts. “It is a lot to weigh and balance. And as you said, you’ve had a very long day. I think a few hours of sleep might be in order for both of us. You can give me your answer in the morning.”
He stood away from the desk, walked around behind it, and pulled out a single sheet of real paper. He glanced at it, then turned it around on the desk.
“Take your time reading through this. If you have questions on the terms, I’d be happy to answer them. I am going to turn all the recording devices back on now, so . . .” He nodded.
I picked up the paper. It was a contract for ten years’ employment and allegiance to House Gray. It appeared to be straightforward, but I wanted sleep and a clear head before I made up my mind.
Oscar did something to make all the portraits in the room seem more lifelike. I guess that meant our conversation was being recorded again.
“I will talk to you in the morning,” Oscar said. “Rest well. Abraham will show you to your room.”
“Thank you,” I said.
Right on cue, Abraham opened the door. “Miss Case. This way.”
I left the room, and Abraham fell into step beside me.
“Are you all right?” he asked.
“Peaches and sunshine.”
“If you’d like to talk?—”
“All I want is a shower and a bed. I am tired and, no matter how we cut it, I’m about to become someone else’s property. It has damaged my cheer.”
“I know this is hard. . . .”
“Do you?” I stopped so I could scowl at him. “Do you know what it’s like to lose everything you have? Everything you love because people are going to die if you don’t surrender?”
“Yes,” he said, a steady darkness in his calm eyes. “I do. I was the first to sign away my rights to end the Uprising. I was the first to shoulder the yoke of being declared nonhuman so others could be free. I know very well that pain.”
“Well, it’s new to me,” I said. “And it hurts like hell.”
“I’m sorry, Matilda.”
“Tell me it gets better. That the years of being someone else’s property makes it easier. That you don’t care about the life you had, the freedom, the happiness.”
