“It’s all a bunch of bullshit. We’re all going to die in horrible fucking ways.”
She continued to back up to the door. “The basilisks?—”
“That will never happen, Allegra. Theapricumwill change, and if it’s in our direction, we’re fucked.” The light would transfer to another root bulb and illuminate our area, and if that was the case, the Knives would find us. “We’re fucked, no matter what.”
3
HANNE
When I woke up, they were serving food—breakfast or dinner, I wasn’t sure.
I thanked the cook who ladled the stew into my bowl constructed of leaves then sat at one of the tables by myself. I should just return to my cabin so I could be alone, but I wanted to make an effort to integrate with these people.
But they stared at me like they didn’t even want me to try.
I noticed that a lot of the women were pregnant, their stomachs distended through their clothing. Some of them were really far along in their pregnancy, and others seemed months behind.
I kept my head down most of the time, because whenever I looked up, there was one man in particular who stared at me and didn’t stop. His presence was intimidating and vulgar, and he continued to stare me down like he didn’t care how uncomfortable it made me. I wanted to meet the stare with hostility, but then he might interpret that as an invitation.
I chose to look down at my food, which had a couple pieces of fish and some vegetables, not much. This was all we had forthe next eight hours. When I was the princess of Baccara, my breakfast alone was a feast, with eggs and breakfast sausage and scones and freshly baked bread, always more than I could ever eat.
Now, I had a stew that was mostly water and no substance.
The table shook when someone joined me—the man who had been staring.
I gave a slight jump before I lifted my gaze.
His stare continued, piercing my face like he was desperate to look at me up close. “Never seen eyes like that.”
“Oh…yeah.” I was aware of the uniqueness of my eyes, but I was also used to no one commenting on them. Everyone I encountered knew it was a trait of my royal ancestry, proof of my bloodline.
“We’d have beautiful kids.”
“Excuse me?”
He smiled, and despite the fact that he was decently handsome, it was grotesque. “You think you’re going to eat our food for free? Think you’re going to burn our firewood to stay warm without payment?”
My eyes flicked past him, seeing everyone at the table watching us but not intervening. The only person I recognized there was Caius, but he didn’t make any move to come to my rescue.
I was all on my own. “Are you threatening me?”
“No.” He continued to smile. “But isn’t your intention to be one of us?”
This was my reality now. I had no other choice but to make this place home. “I mean, yes, but?—”
“Most of the women are pregnant. Did you notice that?”
“Yes.”
“We’re trying to repopulate, and we need women for that. And I really like your eyes.” His eyes roamed down to my chest, its shape mostly hidden under my clothes. “And everything else.”
So, it was a threat. I had to be careful how I rebuffed him. If I didn’t handle it right, I could make everyone hate me even more than they already did. “Ijustgot here.”
“And you want to stay, right?”
“Don’t threaten a woman if you want her to have your baby. Just some advice.”
He smirked like this very serious topic was some kind of joke. “You’re quick.” He snapped his fingers. “I like that too.”
