“You agree to work for me for three more months no matter what. Lord knows I’ll never succeed in holding you longer than that anyway. I believe you could buy your freedom today, but don’t think for a second you’ll survive navigating that palace without my help.”
My heart leaps. I can’t believe my luck. If Marabella can get me safely into the palace, surely I can challenge Valeska, and once I do that, I won’t have to comply with our deal. I’ll either be dead or gone with Damien. I have nothing to lose.
“Deal,” I say.
She pumps my hand once, twice. “Enjoy the garden, but not too long. You need your rest, sugarplum. For the next three months, your sweetness is mine.”
29
Safe Passage
ELOISE
Marabella slips inside my door a few days later with an enchanted shake in hand. “He’s here.”
“Who’s here?”
“The safe passage I promised you.” Her brows lift as I take the shake. “We have a regular client who has certain privileges in the palace. He’s agreed to escort you inside.”
“Great.” My heart kick-starts into a trot. “I need to change. I can’t go like this.”
Marabella holds up one hand. “There will be time for that. First I need you to sign our agreement. Three months. Then you can go.” She draws the contract out of the inside pocket of her blazer and hands it to me.
I flip through the pages and then look at her in disgust. “This says that you keep one hundred percent of my portion of services rendered to be paid back when the three months are up. You plan to not even pay me the portion I’m owed until the agreement is fulfilled?”
She shrugs. “I need assurance you won’t leave early.”
“What happens if I die?”
Her head tilts in annoyance. “I have no provision for that, but I don’t think you will. The man whose care I’m placing you in is highly reliable.”
I try to focus on the rest of the language, but it’s not like I’m in a place to negotiate. I grab a pen off my desk and sign it. Marabella gives me a broad grin and tucks the contract away.
“Can I get dressed now?” I ask.
“Not yet. You will feed him first.”
I stand, thrusting my fists toward my sides. “I’ve already fed Marcel today. If he takes much more, I’m going to pass out.”
Marabella rolls her eyes. “That’s why I brought you an extra shake.”
I grab the glass off the desk and start sucking it down. They really do help with fatigue and recovery. “What’s in these anyway?”
She waves a hand dismissively. “They’re a concoction of vitamins and herbs developed by our on-site doctor. She goes topside every now and then for ingredients. Whatever’s in it is supposed to increase your red blood cell count.”
I stop drinking and narrow my eyes at her. “Is that healthy? These aren’t going to give me cancer or something, are they?”
“Hasn’t happened yet, and we’ve had people who have worked here for fifty years and counting and have never missed a shake.”
“Fifty years!”
She sighs as if I’m the most exasperating person she’s ever encountered. I finish the shake, deciding that facing Valeska is a more immediate threat than the health of my liver, and hand the glass back to her.
“I’ll send him right in.”
I duck into the bathroom to wash the sticky shake from my hands and freshen up. “Do you even know what you just signed?” Phantom asks, following me into the bathroom.
“I skimmed it,” I say to the fox. “It wasn’t exactly like I had room to negotiate.”
