Page 93 of Xantera
Sunday? What does that have to do with…
I know as soon as I catch sight of the gleam in his eyes. Sunday is the day every couple in Xantera is required to “keep their spark alive.” A glittering phrase to cover up how crude and disgusting the Guardians’ control is.
“Do you know why we chose that particular system, Saskia?” Arad asks with a tilt of his head.
“Because you’re a bunch of creeps?” I dare answer.
Again, his fists tighten for a breath of a moment before loosening again.
“On the contrary, it took years of patience and experimentation. Let the humans fuck whenever they want, and they start to develop feelings for each other—whether it be love or hatred. That seems to be the only thing humans fight about anymore—love and attention. Or lack of it. Some would want to go at it every day, while others would fight about the frequency. And then there would be passion and discord, and all the little lines…” He raises his hands, walking his fingers over an open palm. “…that we’ve so carefully built would crumble.” He smashes his fist into his hand.
Sweat trickles down the back of my neck as I try not to breathe or trigger him in any way. Because the truth is, the Third Guardian looks like he’s on the brink of madness as he steps even closer and I lean back.
“But… don’t let the humans fuck at all,” he continues, pupils zigzagging wildly over my face, “and their animalistic nature starts to come out. They hear whispers from the family-making couples about how good it is and wonder why they have to wait for that primal urge. They all decide they want to fight for theirrights.” He shakes his head with a humorless laugh. “So once a week was ideal. Give the couple their own bedrooms and one shared room, order them to rip each other’s clothes off for one day, and everyone is content.”
“No,” I whisper back immediately. “Not everyone is content, or else you wouldn’t have to pick out the rebels from the crowd, would you?” I watch the pale marble of his face actuallyflushwith a mottled pink in anger, but I don’t stop. “Forcing people to be together or not be together—regardless of the frequency—is an assault to our humanity and our choice.”
Arad laughs at that—actually throws up his head and laughs at my ceiling, his fangs protruding.
“Saskia, my dear, when will you learn that you don’tdeservea choice? I let you waltz around this palace and deny me my pleasurebecause I think it’s fun to play games with you, but I could just as easily lock you up and let you wither away into a skeleton after I suck every last drop of blood from your body. Because you’ve been a little too defiant now, haven’t you? Like you know more than you actually should—more than possible.”
He pivots and throws open the topmost drawer of my dresser. Flinging my undergarments over his shoulder, I watch in horrified silence. He moves on to the next two drawers, pulling out my clothes and shaking each folded piece of fabric before letting it fall to the ground.
Then he turns back around and sets his sights on me.
Tears spring to my eyes as he leans ever closer and glances down at my chest. I bite the inside of my cheek to keep from screaming.
Or maybe Ishouldscream. Maybe, somewhere over the Wall, Lucan will hear me.
But there’s nothing he would be able to do, anyway.
“Take off your dress,” Arad says quietly.
The tears flow down my cheeks freely now.
“Please,” I whisper to him. “Don’t make me do this.”
“I SAID TAKE OFF YOUR DRESS NOW.”
I flinch at the spit that flies from his mouth and sizzles when it makes contact with my skin. Each droplet is burning hot, fiery like poison—vampire venom. Something inside me stirs, raising its head at the sensation, but I don’t have time to think about it. Arad has no patience left.
He lunges forward and rips my dress by the hem, sending it to tattered pieces on the ground and leaving me standing before him in my undergarments. His frantic gaze roves over my entire body, every curve and dip, until his expression retreats back into polite contemplation.
With a fist to his mouth, he clears his throat.
Andbacks away.
“My apologies. I thought you might be hiding something underneath there.” With horror, I think about the necklace stashedunderneath my mattress merely a few inches away. If I had put it on my thigh before I’d snuck into the servant corridors, Arad would have found it just now…
Instead, he swipes a finger along my cheek, collecting a tear.
“You will forgive me for that little outburst, won’t you, Saskia? It’s just that I have lost something very important to me, and I need to explore every avenue in order to find it.”
When I don’t reply, he clears his throat.
“Youwillforgive me for that,won’t you, Saskia?”
Every ounce of me begs my mouth to spit back in his face. But if I want to survive tonight, I have a feeling I need to be more patient than him. Get him to leave for now so that I can plan my revenge.
