Page 19 of Red King
Maggie puts her hand up. “I asked. A year is a very long time. What if we want to…um…date?” She smiles.
“No intimate relations with a direct superior,” Thorn says. “No dating any of the candidates. We hand-picked fifty males in the hopes that all thirty Tributes end up settling on the island. You may date outside of that pool. Otherwise, there will be no restrictions made. If it interferes with your job, there will be recourse.”
“Great.” Maggie smiles from ear to ear, as do all the females, barring Paisley, whose expression remains impassive.
Another male puts his hand up. He’s younger than most of the others.
“Yes, Carter,” Thorn says.
“What about us? Can we date, too? The men.”
Steel steps forward and clears his throat. “If I may?” he asks Thorn, who nods. “It’s my job to keep you safe while you are on Mistveil Island.” He snorts. “If you so much as look at a Tribute in the wrong way, I can’t guarantee your safety. You’ll be dead for sure if you go anywhere near a shifter female. In short, you’d be taking your life in your hands. I wouldn’t do it.”
The human males pale as Steel speaks. All except the older doctor, who puts his hands in his pockets, looking bored.
“Um…I’m sure you’re exaggerating.” Carter laughs, but the sound doesn’t hold much humor.
“I’m not joking. We’re part beast. We have an animal side that is quick to come to the fore. We’re highly possessive. If you encroach on another male’s territory – or what he considers to be his territory – you might not make it out alive. In fact, I can almost guarantee it.”
Carter swallows thickly. “Jeez…” He shakes his head. “I don’t like the sound of that. I mean, it’s hardly fair. It should be equal rights.” He looks over at the females. “They can date, so why can’t we?”
“It should be equal rights, but it isn’t, by virtue of our situation. We have too many males and not enough females to go around. Competition is fierce. You can’t and will never win against a shifter male, so take my advice and stay away.” Steel folds his arms over his chest. “While we’re on the subject, fights can break out between candidates vying for the same human female. Get out of the way. Run! If two males see red, you don’t want to be caught in the crossfire. Is that understood?”
There are a few muttered yesses. Most of the humans look terrified. I can’t blame them.
“I suppose that’s part of why we are here,” Paisley says. “I hope I don’t have to patch up any Tributes.”
The doctor sucks in a breath and nods. “That would be unfortunate.”
“We will do everything in our power to prevent that from happening,” I tell the humans, but my focus is on Paisley. “I assure you.”
“There’s something else we need to discuss,” Thorn says. “Something of importance. It’s a secret you need to keep.”
I step forward. I don’t need him to speak for me. “The secret is mine. I need your help to keep it.” I look at each of them in the eye.
7
Paisley
“So that’s it. That’s all they get,” I say, putting the items in the drawer and closing it with far too much gusto.
“That’s all they get what?” Dr. du Pont says, looking at me from over his glasses. He has a clipboard in his hand.
“The Tributes arrive and are shown around by Marcel and Cathy. Now, they’ve been left to panic about their situation. They’re pretty much in the dark.” We were there when the poor women arrived two hours ago, looking sad and defeated. I was right; a couple of them were furious, too.
“They will get more information at the demonstration. What more do they need to know at this stage?” He shrugs. “I mean, they know about the shifters and why they are here.”
“Yep, that’s true. They also know they have to stay for three months and that they won’t be forced into anything, but that’s it. They’re clueless about the details. They’ve been left stewing. Left to fill in the blanks for themselves, which is dangerous. We could be looking at mass panic.”
“You’re overreacting.” Dr. du Pont chuckles quietly. “There are worse things than living in a beautiful, fully furnished apartment. Worse things than getting your meals for free and being paid to go on a few dates. They were told they’re safe and that nothing further is expected of them.” He shrugs and makes a face like it’s no big deal.
“It isn’t enough.” I shake my head. “These shifters are clueless. Now they want to go through with the demonstration. Why didn’t they listen to me?”
“It’s not just a demonstration. There is a talk first.” He rubs his chin. “Or was it after? What’s the big deal? They will have seen dragons on the flight here, as we did. I’m not afraid of them. You heard Marcel; they’re sentient and intelligent in their dragon forms. The demonstration is to prove it. Once they see that the dragons and the men themselves are not as dangerous as they think, they’ll calm right down. It looks like these dragons have money. Some of these women don’t come from the best situations. Staying on the island and marrying one of the dragon men could be a win for them.”
A win.
I don’t know.
