Bella is waiting for me outside my bunk room dressed in a similar dress, only instead of hers being crimson red like mine, it’s black, like they always are. I don’t make it obvious, but I can’t help the unease that creeps into me at the fact my dress is a different colour. Like they want me to stand out, to be noticed.
We walk out and back towards the Madam’s office where the Commander is waiting, Wolvrin. He stands stoic, but I don’t miss the subtle second glance at my dress, telling me he didn’t know about this, either. Well shit, that’s not great.
“Let’s go.” His voice is cold, like it has to be, as he leads us out the double doors, allowing us brief moments of freedom until the elevator brings us back up to land. The sky is dark this time, small stars flickering in the sky.
Bella and I open the doors to the SUV, stepping inside and sitting down before Wolvrin steps in, sitting in front of us. “Do you understand your mission?” he asks, to which Bella and I nod.
“Observe the target, but do not engage.”
“Be alert,” he warns me, and I nod.
The remaining drive is quiet, the lights of the upper end of the city filling the windows while the lesser Zones are dark for mandatory curfew, leaving only a few mandatory lights on, and the lights on the highway leading to Zone Three and the Elites. We stop outside of another building, one Bella has told me stories of: a museum.
“You will be expected back at 2:00 a.m. And Darlia? Be careful.” I nod, offering what I can muster of a smile as a silent thank you before stepping out, Bella following behind me.
The concrete steps leading up to the building are lined in a red carpet, our heels muffled as we walk up, smiling at the guard at the door before walking in.
Inside is unlike everything I have ever seen before. The ceilings are high, lined with windows to the outside and the moon shining down on the large skeleton in front of us; a dinosaur, according to the information card in front of it. I try to hide my shock, but I can’t. It’s beautiful.
Behind the skeleton is a row of different pieces of history, women in clothes made of flax and feathers, men in clothes made of the same material. The more I walk, the more history seems to progress.
“Darlia, please stop gawking," Bella whispers in my ear, handing me a glass of champagne that I take and sip. I force myself to breathe, to blend in, despite the fact I want to spend the entire night finding out every detail about every display and forget all about the target.
I step out into an open hall where the main crowd has gathered and find Cayden sat down with a new person whom I’m assuming is his accomplice. Giving a signal to Bella, I walk to the back of the hall, leaning against the wall, sipping on the drink in my hand and watching as the event begins.
It’s an auction of rare items you can hardly find in the new world; luxuries like chocolate bars made from real cocoa, a set of professional paints and paintbrushes that apparently are special considering the gasps from the crowd. But what grabs my attention is the book placed on the stage. The book looks old and worn, but it is a book, no less.
What surprises me more is when I see Cayden raise his hand to bid on it. What would he want with a book? The bid starts at $20,000, but quickly rises to over $150,000. I’m not sure of the significance of the amount, but judging by the gasps that fill the room, it’s definitely a lot.
“Sold, number 12, Cayden Ashford.” Ashford, his last name is Ashford.
Cayden stands and smiles just like all the other buyers before him did, before his eyes connect with mine. His gaze instantly softens, looking me up and down, raising a brow at my dress before sitting back down and whispering something to the man sitting with him, who nods.
It’s somebody new tonight, a man with dark hair.
The first round of the auction ends as the items are removed from the stage, and the first round of meals is delivered. Cayden pulls out the free chair beside him and looks at me, gesturing for me to take it. I look at Bella who follows me, and we sit down.
“Cayden.”
“Darlia! Darling, how nice to see you.” There’s something about how he says the words, his tone unfamiliarly warm and…honest? Like he truly is glad to see me despite the fact he knows I’ve been sent to spy on him. For a moment it takes me back. I try to read his expression, but it gives nothing away.
“I see you brought a new friend. I’m Cayden, it’s lovely to meet you.”
He offers out his hand to Bella who shakes it, offering a smile but not her name, keeping her guard up. Thank god one of us still has a brain cell left. For some reason, Cayden makes me feel relaxed in a way I have never felt before, and I hate it.
“I was just telling Marcus how I had missed your presence tonight, and here you are, right behind me. You’re a sneaky thing, aren’t you, darling? I suppose it is your job, though, isn’t it?”
Marcus. The accomplice is named Marcus. I stare at him, confused. Why is he pretending we are friends?
“You called me weak, and now you miss me?”
Before he can respond, our plates are delivered to the table and I stare down at the dish. Fish in some sort of batter, with fries and a side salad.
My stomach betrays me by rumbling at the sight. I catch the smell, and suddenly don’t care about the man beside me; all I care about is trying the food in front of me. Picking up the knife and fork, I cut off a piece and bite into it, an uninvited moan leaving my lips at the taste.
This is the best thing I’ve ever had in my life.
“Try it with the sauce, love,” Cayden whispers to me. My guard unbearably low as I listen, dipping a piece into the sauce and taking a bite, and fuck, it just got better.
