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Should I bypass the Prizes altogether and be on my way and await the punishment that would befall me?
I had removed the possibility the snorlak would claim Harper. I didn’t need to choose her and add to her woes. There was no need to get Harper involved any more than she already was.
I straightened up, tore my eyes from the floor, and stared ahead at the guards’ broad backs. They peeled off in either direction, one left, the other right, and waited on either side of the tunnel as I entered the Prize Pool.
It always had a strange smell, like kiratz rinds left in the sun. Strong, bold, and more than a little dizzying. A candle burned on the right. It gave off a thin tendril of smoke and covered the room with its citrus scent.
The madam, the one they called Lily, swept forward and greeted me with arms held out to either side and bowed low, her head almost skimming the floor.
“Excellent fight,” she said, her eyes and smile not fading for a moment. “Please come to inspect my wares.”
I knew Harper would be standing right there, in her usual spot. I didn’t turn my head to look at her but I could see her out the corner of my eye.
My mouth felt dry. I couldn’t bring myself to glance at her for fear I might lose control of myself again the way I had the day before.
“Would you like Harper again?” Lily said with a twinkle in her eye.
A twinkle. As if she knew something she shouldn’t. Had Harper said something to her? Or the other girls in the Pool that she shouldn’t?
But what could she tell them? She didn’t know anything about this situation.
Or did she?
It was hard, carrying secrets. You always wondered if the person you were keeping them from could somehow pick up on them. I might look at her a certain way or say a word with a certain cadence and it would reveal too much of my hidden meaning.
Maybe I even spoke in my sleep.
Anything could give me away.
Before I knew what I was doing, my eyes slipped over to the dais where the girls stood.
Their faces were bright and alert, their smiles warm and welcoming…
And not one of them was the face I wanted to see.
My eye drifted a little further to one side.
I couldn’t help it.
I couldn’t prevent myself from looking at her.
What was more, I didn’t want to prevent it.
There she stood, wearing a regular sheer dress and a distant smile as if she were far away and thinking on other things.
She was different from the other girls. I couldn’t quite put my finger on what it was but it was undeniable.
“Yes,” I was surprised to find myself saying. “Yes, that would be fine.”
The smile broadened on Harper’s face but there was a tinge to it too that wasn’t altogether welcoming.
She was thinking about us having sex and sleeping together again, and the fear one of my swimmers might take action and get her pregnant.
Lily turned and nodded to Harper, who stepped from the dais and joined me. She took my arm and we turned to leave and return to my cell.
Knock, knock, knock.
Tus stood at the foot of the steps that led up to the research center and—gulp—Krial’s apartment.
