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“So what then? What’s the purpose of all of this?”
He shrugs, brushing his lips against my birthmark before whispering in my ear. “To have a little fun, of course, and to show you that no matter what you think,weare in control. Always. That show of defiance you just performed has done nothing but bind you to us further. You’ll never be free of us.”
“I hate you!”
“Hate me or don’t. This is how it is. If you choose the elixir that shuts down your mind, you will be taken to Thirteen’s room and allowed to sleep it off. No one will touch you, not even us. Not tonight, anyway.”
“And if I choose the other?” I ask, blinking back my tears, refusing to give him the satisfaction of knowing how terrified I am.
“Then we will deliver you to theRoom of Fantasiesalongside the other Numbers. You will watch everything that happens there, but your body will remain useless, unfeeling. You’ll be a living breathingcorpse, for want of a better word. You’ll just have to hope that no one oversteps the mark because you sure as fuck won’t be able to get away if they do.”
I look from him to the two tiny bottles, wishing I’d run sooner. I’m sosostupid.
“I choose B,” I say quickly, not wanting to think too hard about it.
Jakub drops the bottle labelled B back into his pocket, then pops the cork out of bottle A and smiles. “Then you’ll drink A,” he says with an evil grin.
“Wait, no!” I protest, but before I’m able to fight him off, Leon and Konrad step out of the shadows.
“Good evening, Zero. You danced beautifully tonight,” Konrad says, pressing a gentle kiss against my temple, before wrapping his arms around me whilst Leon grips my jaw and pinches my nose, cutting off my air supply.
I try to shake off Leon’s hold, but he just grips me tighter, his green eyes sharp and unyielding. “This is your punishment, take it like the good little puppet that you are.”
In my head I’m screaming every obscenity I can think of so that I can hold my breath for as long as possible. Of course I’m only delaying the inevitable.
It’s useless.
No matter how much I want to keep my mouth shut, the instinct to survive takes over, and the second I open my mouth, gasping for air, Jakub tips the elixir onto my tongue and Leon forces my jaw shut.
“Now be a good little puppet and swallow it down,Nought,” Leon demands as he tips my head back. All I can do is swallow so I don’t choke.
Within seconds my limbs lose all sensation, but my mind...
My mind stays intact.
