I was bought. Like property, like cattle, like a slave. Maz Rose bought me and Liv and all of the supposed orphans in her care and then brought us up to be assassins. Killers.
A scream ripped from my throat as the anger bled out of me. I’d never been this mad, this hurt, this shocked in my entire life. Maz Rose, my mother, my grandmother, my mentor, my everything. She bought me, conditioned me to think I was fighting evil in God’s name, and lied to me. My chest tightened as I struggled to suck in enough air. I couldn’t breathe. I rolled down my car window, sticking my head out of it as dizziness washed over me. I just wanted to breathe.
Sterling. Dead.
Maz. Lied.
Me. Not human.
Slave.
Fey.
My mind spun and I felt like I was going to pass out. I had no more purpose. I had no money. I wasn’t even a damn human. The depression of all of these thoughts weighed down on me until it felt like I was buried alive. Nothing felt real anymore, nothing but Liv and Luka. Those were the only two people in my life who hadn’t lied to me.
‘Getting weird vibes from you. You okay?’Luka’s voice bombarded my mind and I swallowed hard.
‘Yeah. Be back soon.’This crap show was something you told someone in person. I couldn’t deal with Luka right now.
I wiped my cheeks, rolling my window back up with shaky hands.
My gaze flicked across the street to my bank. I had to know if what Sterling said was true. Had Maz taken all my money? If she took mine, had she taken Liv’s too? How? How could she do that? I never put her on my account.
My hands shook as I opened my car door, leaving it in the church parking lot as I jogged across the road, dodging honking cars. I clutched my ID and bank card tightly as my heart hammered in my chest. All the hunters used this credit union. Maz said we had a guy on the inside and they gave us perks like zero monthly account fees and free retirement account set up and management. Now I was wondering if this guy on the inside watched our money and reported to her.
I had about seventy-eight thousand dollars in my checking account last time I looked, and double that in savings. Not to mention the ROTH IRA I’d opened. I had averaged twenty grand a month in hunter bounties over the past five years and had my eye on an eventual early retirement. If it was gone … if there was nothing left…
“Hello, how can I help you?” the nice-looking blond woman asked from behind the counter. I never came in here, I did all my banking online, but without a smart phone I was going to have to go old school.
I handed her my card and ID. “Can you tell me my account balance please? For both checking and savings.” My voice cracked. I was so clearly on the edge of a nervous breakdown.
She gave me a long look, probably taking in my red-rimmed eyes and messy hair.
Taking my card and ID, she nodded, starting to type away at her computer.
“Pin please.” She indicated a keypad that sat on the counter. I put in my four digit pin and then held my breath.
Her eyebrows knitted together. “Miss Rose, you closed your accounts yesterday.” She frowned. “Your balances are zero.”
No.
A sob ripped from my throat and the woman stepped backward a pace. “Are you … okay?”
“Where did the money go? Did I come in and take it out in cash? Did I transfer it? Where is it!?” I growled, slamming my fist on the counter.
The woman’s blue eyes widened to saucers and she looked over her shoulder to a male teller. “It was wired, transferred to your other bank account, I presume?” She ended the sentence on a question, likeWhy does this chick not know where her money is?
I didn’t need to ask about the IRA. It was gone too, and so would all of Liv’s money. My entire life savings … gone. Maybe that was for the best. Maybe I didn’t want this lying blood money anyway.
“Can I … help you with anything else?” She pushed my cards back to me.
“No.” I grabbed them and turned, storming out of the bank, feeling completely and utterly hopeless. Now I was jobless, homeless, and broke. I had nothing, no purpose. Except … Luka. Luka needed me. He needed to become king, and he needed me to help him do that. Liv and I needed a place to hide out while I figured out my next move. Maybe going with him into Magic City wouldn’t be that bad after all. At least Luka never lied to me. Suddenly that kiss with him felt like the only real thing in my entire life.
* * *
I drovelike a bat out of hell back to Luka’s apartment, and parked my car two blocks away. I jogged the rest of the way, peering over my shoulder the entire time to make sure I wasn’t being followed.
I took the steps up to his floor three at a time. All the while I had the papers from Sterling clutched in my hand and I couldn’t stop the looping thought in my head:
