Page 7 of Blood Bought

To prove a point, I crossed my arms and clenched my jaw to keep silent. I wouldn’t scream for them, I wouldn’t beg for my life or fall all over myself thanking two random guards for doing exactlynothingthat the bars themselves weren’t doing, and I wouldn’t let fear show on my face even if they could smell it.

But all my thoughts did was make them both chuckle before Sonny spoke up again. “Tell me about yourself, Adalind.”

I gaped at him for a moment, curious why he was asking at all instead of helping himself to the information or simply not caring about who I’d been before this. “That’s a really open-ended question. Can you be more specific?”

“What are your passions?” He moved in closer with slow, deliberate steps. “Besides how much you love Kendall. Your passions for you.”

I’d been a fool to think there was no change in the ambient power when they’d walked in. Just those few steps had my breath catching in my throat and my skin buzzing with it, but I gave his question at least some of my attention. “I... love music, dancing, and reading. Being outdoors and with people I love... I don’t know. I’m only twenty-one, I was stolen before I got to figure that out.”

He stopped walking forward, staring at me intently as he stood so still he looked like a statue, but I was positive he was looking deep into my mind to see for himself. The side of his lips turned up at whatever the hell he saw, then he spun on his heels and left without another word.

Ren glanced at the door he left through and then back at me. “Do you want to know what he saw?”

Curiosity overtook every ounce of defiance I had. “Yes.”

The power that was just swirling around me had dissipated slightly, but Ren had his own. “You, dancing in front of a bonfire in a dress. You seemed lighter, not weighed down with the burdens your father had placed on your shoulders.” He turned his head slightly like he was listening to someone else, then smirked. “We have books, by the way. They’re just reserved for good girls.”

My jaw dropped as that phrase went right through me, eliciting a reaction I wasn’t expecting. “And what exactly do bad girls get?”

He held his hands out and looked around my cell. “This for now. But we aren’t known for our patience, are we?”

I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. “With all due respect, if you wanted me to be a good girl, you should’ve at least given me a fucking blanket and maybe not waited three days to feed me.”

“You didn’t ask for a blanket. Ask.”

“Oh, because I haven’t been told repeatedly to stop asking questions or anything,” I deadpanned, but the cold really was getting to me. I held up a hand to buy myself a second and took a deep breath, meditating a little until I was in a place where I could ask my captor for anything at all without throwing up. “Can I please have a blanket?”

“Don’t throw up. It’s one of the worst things about being a human. Yeah, I’ll get you a blanket. Do you want one of Alaris’?”

I blinked. “Is that going to help somehow?”

“You tell me.” He was gone in a flash, returning a moment later with a blanket and a book that looked as if it’d been read a million times. “Here.”

He held them out to me with a smirk that made me hesitant, but beggars couldn’t be choosers. I took them both and quickly wrapped the blanket over my shoulders to feel the warmth and ran a hand down the spine of the book, and as much as I hated to admit it, the scent was somehow already comforting.

“So you do feel cold then,” I whispered. “I always wondered.”

“Not really. They’re comfortable. Take care of the book. It’s his favorite.” Ren backed toward the door like he was leaving but stopped shy of reaching it. “Oh, don’t tell anyone who gave those to you. Not everyone gets books.”

“Wait!” I rushed out, hugging the book to my chest like it was precious. “You know him, then? Alaris?”

To my surprise, he moved away from the door. “Everyone knows him, but yes. Why?”

“I just—” I blushed — “What’s he like? How... how bad will things be?”

Ren huffed, crossing his arms as he leaned against the wall furthest from me. “Is that why you’re scared? You think things will be bad for you if he decides to keep you? Even your mother lived a good life, believe it or not, and she was Brander’s. Alaris is nothing like his father.”

That didn’t exactly make me feel better, but I nodded, knowing lying was useless. “Yes. It’s already not great, but I’m not stupid. I know it could get worse.”

“It can, and there’s a real possibility you’ll never be sweet enough for him.” He looked me up and down. “Maybe he’ll let me have you.”

I tugged that blanket around me a little tighter, and as much as I hated the thought of being taken by anyone, at least Ren was attractive and didn’t seem like a complete asshole. I had no idea what I’d be getting into with Alaris. “His father mentioned he had a sweet tooth. I don’t understand what that means.”

“You think I’m attractive?” He was moving closer to me again, making breathing more difficult by the second. “You’re attractive, too.Soattractive he might look past his... sweet tooth. All it means is he likes his food willing. Consent makes your blood sweeter. Has anyone ever told you not to show your food the knife before you slay it for a meal?”

“No,” I blurted, unable to stop myself from wondering what the fuck the ‘knife’ would look like if being locked up and starved wasn’t it. “So what, that’s it? I’ll stay here until I either consent to him or he gets tired of waiting and gives me to someone else?”

Ren shrugged. “No clue. Want me to call him over?”

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