In the hall is yet again another auction. Does this just happen every night? Is this normal for these people? That hardly seems fair when there are ordinary citizens working every day for their next meal.
If one should have to do it, shouldn’t they all?
I sit down opposite Marcus who is already sitting and waiting, his eyes meeting mine for only a second before looking down at the phone in his hands. Why does everyone seem to have one of those? The Academy said they were dangerous, that they cause sickness so we cannot touch them. Why would they willingly submit themselves to sickness?
“Still running from me, I see.” Cayden’s deep chuckle fills my senses as he sits down beside me, his arm going over the back of my chair automatically as his brown eyes find mine.
“You wore this the first night we met.”
“I did.” I can’t tell if he’s trying to distract me or only talking, so I don’t break.
Cayden smirks, his hand reaching out to gently caress my cheek. His thumb follows the line of my cheekbone as his eyes stay glued to mine, waiting for a reaction.
“I like the red better.”
“I’ll let the Overseer know you have a preference.”
He laughs and his scar moves with his eyebrows, his dimples showing on both sides of his cheeks. They’re not horrible to look at. Nope, no. I’m not supposed to feel for him. Bad Darlia.
“I knew you would find a way to keep seeing me. You can’t stay away, can you, darling?” His eyes crinkle, making the golden flecks more noticeable in this lighting. I can’t do this, I need to be further away from him.
“It wasn’t to keep seeing you, it was to keep myself alive.”
“Tomato, toh-ma-to, darling. Either way, you’re here with me.”
Something inside me snaps at his careless behaviour. How could he pretend to care about us, about the girls in The Academy, calm me from a breakdown only just a minute ago, then sit here and flirt with me as if my life isn’t constantly on the line now because of him?
“Cayden, this isn’t funny. My life is on the line now more than ever. We had seven girls disappear overnight, and the only thought on my mind is how many will be gone by the time we get back tonight. Another seven? More? Less? It is my job to protect them, I promised to protect them. But here you sit in your fancy outfits, eating fancy food, and drinking champagne that’s probably older than both of us. How can you sit here and pretend to care about us, when all you do is tease me? How are you helping by flirting!”
The table is blanketed by silence. Even Bella’s jaw drops slightly at the outburst, and I force myself to step away, standing up and walking to the bathroom. Bella goes to follow, but I shake my head, telling her to stay behind and that I need some time alone as I walk to the back of the museum and enter the bathrooms.
The bathrooms here are much like in The Academy; a line of cubicles with a single toilet, then a row of sinks outside of them. The familiarity is oddly comforting. I lean against the sink, my hands on either side, forcing myself to take a breath when the door opens and Cayden walks in, locking the door behind him.
“Get out.” It’s an order, but it’s no use. He stands behind me with his chest pressing against my back as he stares at my reflection in the mirror. It’s the first time I’ve allowed myself to look today, and gods do I look nothing like me.
Brylee has put on thick eyelashes and done a brown eyeshadow with some sort of glitter on the lids of my eyes. My lips thankfully only have some sort of glossy lip product, and my face has been made to look more tanned. I think Brylee called it bronzer one time.
“You think I’m not doing everything I can for you?” Cayden finally speaks. I scoff, but he doesn’t give me a chance to reply before he’s grabbing my jaw gently and forcing me to look at him again in the mirror.
“Do you really think I like seeing you like this? Afraid? On edge? Do you think you would’ve had a panic attack over a few decorations if Lauren wasn’t missing?” There’s an edge to his voice that I’ve never heard before, his usual sarcasm gone and replaced with something harder. Something that sends a chill down my spine.
“Do you really think I want you scared? If I wanted you scared, you would be. There’s no denying you’re good at what you do, but darling, I am better. I don’t say that to offend you, it’s just a fact. You are beautiful, strong, dressed like walking sin, but right now, you’re completely at my mercy. And you know it.”
His lips move down to my ear, his breath warm against the skin. It makes an uneasy feeling rise up in my stomach. No, not unease. This is unlike anything I’ve felt before. I’ve heard of it, but never felt it for myself. Cayden is bringing a lot of new feelings, and I hate it.
I hate how he’s changed everything for me; how I feel, how I act, how I now lie to The Academy about who he is and what he knows. And the worst part is, I don’t know why I’m lying.
“Ask yourself, Darlia. If I’m truly as evil as The Academy tells you I am, why didn’t I try to kill you the second I realised who you were?” His words are a whisper, but the weight of them weighs me down like nothing ever before. Cayden’s right, and he knows it. I can’t stop the flush coming to my cheeks or the breathlessness that follows it.
“Why haven’t you told them I know everything they’re trying to protect? Why haven’t you told them about Marcus?”
The whisper sends a shiver down my spine.
“I told you I would never lie to you. I told you that you needed to ask the right questions. Yet you’ve barely asked me anything. Because you know the questions you want to ask, Who are you? Why does The Academy want me? are not the ones worth asking. You have a beautiful mind, Darlia. Use it.”
His lips connect with my neck for barely a second before he steps back and walks out of the bathroom, leaving me alone and breathless. My skin feels like it’s on fire, leaving me trembling. Just when I feel like I have the upper hand on Cayden Ashford, he goes and swoops it out from right under me, letting me fall to the floor.
I turn on the tap, putting cold water on my face and quickly patting it dry with a paper towel. Thank God waterproof makeup is mandated; otherwise I would’ve been screwed the second I walked through the door.
