The Bleeder at Bianca’s chair stops the blood extraction and says, “Get up, Feeder zero-three-seven.”
She shakes her head, her dark brown eyes wide with fear, and her hand still gripping Julien’s. The colour of her face turns ghostly. A pale white, like the new bedsheets Bleeders give us every couple of months.
Julien stands, moving to shield Bianca, but the Bleeder is quicker. He draws his gun and points it at him. “Get up, Feeder zero-three-seven, or I will remove the reason for your defiance.”
Bleeders are clever, and they know Bianca will comply if they threaten her lover. Most in her position would.
I glance at Jax. He observes through thoughtful eyes.
Most…
Bianca stands up in the chaos. Tears stream down her face, and dark hair tumbles over her shoulders as she follows, battling to keep her sobs in check. They lead herout of the room, and as the doors shut, the Bleeders position themselves to block the exit.
Silence suffocates the room as we donate blood.
When the bloodletting finishes, the Bleeder presses a cotton ball to the puncture wound and tapes it to my sensitive skin.
We leave the bloodbank and walk to the mess. Chatter picks up in the queue for food, a few of the Feeders in front of us talking about the pregnancy.
“She hasn’t had her period in three months,” Laura says to Holly. “Weallknew it.”
The line shuffles forward. Cole is next to me, but he’s staring intently at the food, uninterested in the conversation. Even Jax doesn’t seem to care.
“Is that why they watch us while we shower?” Manni asks Emily. “I’ve been thinking about it since Summer was taken away. Are they keeping tabs on our periods?”
Emily mutters a few choice curses. “Dan and I had sex the other week.”
“Idiot,” Manni hisses.
“Wha—I tell the fucker to pull out!”
“And you trust him?”
“No…He stiffens like a plank and moans when he comes. It’s distracting.”
Manni snorts a laugh. “Stop, we’re about to eat.”
I lean slightly to the side to catch their attention and say, “One day, they’re going to serve us sausage when youspeak of Dan’s dick spasms, and when that day comes, I’ll suffocate you in your sleep.”
We all break out in a much-needed fit of giggles.
I grab my tray and grimace at the loaf of bread, cup of water, and hard-boiled egg. Following Cole, we sit at the table closest to the courtyard.
Manni and Emily join us this time. Nearby, Julien sits alone, his glazed hazel eyes fixed unseeingly on his food.
Emily nudges Manni’s arm and gestures as though she is going to ask Julien if she can have his food if he isn’t going to eat it. Manni snaps her an incredulous look and quickly shoves her bread roll into Emily’s mouth to stop her.
“Where do you think they will take her?” Manni says between bites of her spoils.
“To be sold, likely,” Jax answers casually, not seeming to care if Julien overhears him. “Bleeders have no use for babies, so they’re probably selling her to the Undercity. I’ve heard that nightwalkers take newborns to raise them as children because they can’t have any.”
“That’s disgusting!” Manni’s face turns pale. “That poor baby.”
Jax shrugs. “Shouldn’t have fucked around in here. They are fools for taking the risk, especially after Summer.”
I place my boiled egg on Cole’s tray. “I don’t believe it. If that were the case, they would have taken Cole to the Undercity when we arrived.” Besides, why would they want human children when they can create halflings?
Crumbs scatter over the tray as Jax rips into his bread. “I heard it around the settlement. I never claimed it wastrue.” He pokes his tongue into his cheek and his eyes narrow further.
