I feel my pulse start to accelerate, blood rushing in my ears. I press my palm to the wall, grounding myself in the cold.
Bam snorts. “She’s not gunna survive man. You said she could barely hold up against your parents. If the dinner didn’t do it, the Hunt will.”
The Hunt.
The event I’ve only ever heard whispers about and somehow have a feeling that’s exactly what I’m doing here. Why my father wanted me to comply.
“I’m not worried,” Julian says. “It’s already decided. Her father signed the papers before she even got here.”
There’s a beat of silence.
“Fucking sick,” Bam says. “They’re really moving fast now. Something must be happening for them to sign before you even claimed her.”
“That’s the whole point,” Julian answers. “Her father wants power. The Board wants legacy. She’s the only one who ticks both boxes. No matter how she acts, she’s going to end up right where they want her.”
My vision starts to tunnel. The cold from the wall leeches up my arm, but my skin is burning.
Bam leans against a column, picks at a hangnail, then flicks it away with a grunt. “So what happens next? You court her for a week, then lock it down?”
Julian’s mouth pulls into a smile I can hear in his voice. “I’m supposed to ‘solidify the alliance’ by the full moon. Claim her at the Hunt and then everything will be done and dusted. Both the Ellis’ and the Marcus’ will hold more power than we’ve seen in almost a century.”
Bam claps his hands before rubbing them together. “You think she’s gonna put up a fight?”
“She’s not a fighter. She’s been caged since birth. It’s just a matter of time before she caves. I mean fuck man, you should have seen how easy it was to have my way with her in the bathroom.”
I dig my nails into the seam of my skirt, hard enough to leave marks. My throat is tight, and every breath is a shallow gasp. I can’t feel my hands.
Julian’s voice turns cold. “The only variable is whether she goes quietly or if I have to make her.”
Bam shrugs, then stretches his neck, the sound of cartilage popping in the quiet hall. “Guess that’s why they picked you.”
Julian’s smile is blinding. “I’ve never failed an assignment.”
They start walking again, boots echoing against the marble, until they stop just on the other side of the pillar. I’m so close I can smell the cigarettes from Bam’s jacket.
There’s a shuffling, then Bam says, “You ever think it’s fucked up? The way they just trade us like dogs?”
Julian’s reply is soft, but it cuts: “You’re here because you like the fight. I’m here because I like to win.”
The silence that follows is louder than any scream.
Bam barks a laugh. “Fucking right, man. Claim her first, then Caius said we’re ready to move onto phase two.”
Julian lowers his voice, but I can still hear it. “She’ll come around. They always do. Fear is a powerful motivator.”
“Or pain,” Bam says, the words so casual it takes me a moment to realize what he means.
A long silence, and then Julian says, “One way or another, she’ll belong to me. That’s how this ends.”
The world tilts. My stomach lurches. Every instinct in me wants to run, but my legs won’t move. I am paralyzed by the understanding that everything I thought about this place, about my future, was a lie. I’m not a student. I’m a transaction.
It just proved everything my father said to me.
There’s the sound of a lighter, a brief sulfuric flick, and smoke wafts over to me. These fucks can truly do whatever the hell they want without consequence. I watch their shadows through the gap in the pillar, stretching over the black-and-white tiles.
“Hey, you wanna grab breakfast?” Bam says, as if the last five minutes of horror didn’t just happen.
“Yeah. Let’s go.”
