Following a restless night, Harper's eyes fluttered open at the sound of laughter the next morning. Her eyes swept the room before settling on Libby, who was laughing with another woman who appeared to be younger than them. She'd seen the young woman with the amazing blue eyes and jet black hair pulled back into a bun around The Casa.
Rea. Finally, she remembered the young lady's name. She sat up to let them know she was already awake. Libby smiled sweetly at her. Harper, good morning. Did you sleep well?"
"Yeah. How about you?" she asked, though what she actually wanted to know was why they had already gotten out of bed.
Rea, the girl in front of Libby, turned to her and said, "As a sitter, we normally get up before morning breaks."
"I didn't have any nightmares last night, so I think I got a good night's rest." Libby gave a cheerful smile. "And what Rea means is that we typically have to rise an hour earlier than our champion in order to prepare for their day."
"Oh! Should we go ahead and start preparing for them now? What should we do?" Harper started to panic. They'd been here for months, and without realizing it, she'd grown slowly accustomed to her life as a slave that it had gotten to the point that she had to remind herself of her life outside Velaris and Nebiru.
She would never, under any circumstances, accept this life. She was determined to return to her own world no matter what.
"Relax. We still have time," Libby assured her gently.
"She's totally right. Enough time to catch up." Rea gave a nod. "You have a lovely face. It's not surprising that two champions are squabbling over you."
Harper smiled, a flush immediately adorning her features. And she was well aware of the championships to which Rea was referring. "Are you a sitter as well?" she asked Rea. Alex and Lucas were the last things she wanted to talk about.
"No! I'm a body slave to Gillen. Though I truly wish I could one day be a sitter for a handsome fighter. When Gillen deems that I am sufficiently experienced and skilled to meet their demands, I'm sure he will assign me my first champion. You know..." Rea's eyes glowed with delight at the thought.
Libby sighed, her eyes turning sad. "Rea, there's a lot more to meeting their demands than you realize. Believe me when I say that you do not want to be a sitter."
"I know what you mean, Libby. I was not born yesterday. I'm already old enough－"
"You're just nineteen."
"Like I said, I'm already old enough. And I'm aware that, in addition to ensuring that their basic needs are met, we also satisfy their physical needs." Rea smiled, lifting her right hand up to her face and playfully chewing the tip of her index finger.
"Girl, you're horny as hell, aren't you?"
"I've never been with a man before. So, I guess you could say that I'm a little horny all the time?"
Harper and Libby burst out laughing at the same time. They couldn't decide whether they found Rea's situation pathetic or amusing.
"Why are you laughing?" Rea pouted. "I've noticed how intently the fighters look at both of you. Is it bad to want that?"
Harper shook her head in surprise at Rea's candor, while a big smile remained on her lips.
"And guess what, Mikael is said to have the fattest cock among all the experienced champions, according to other slaves."
"What?" Harper gasped in shock.
"And according to his sitter, Makani is a pleaser who likes his women on top." Rea winked. "While Rocco…well, let's just say he's a savage in bed."
Harper and Libby laughed, shaking their heads in disbelief, at the gossip Rea had gathered about the champs from their sitters.
"You surely devote a great deal of time to listening to those sitters."
"Well, you've been Lucas' sitter for a few weeks now. Have you already fucked him, Libby? What's his cock like?" As soon as Rea posed the question, Libby almost choked on her saliva. She swallowed nervously and cleared her throat.
"Are you okay, Libby?" Harper asked.
She nodded abruptly. "Yeah. You have to forgive Rea. She's simply naturally inappropriate and insensitive."
Rea glowed with a sly grin. "Why? You’re his sitter, aren’t you?"
Libby nodded, her blush intensifying. "Yes, I'm his sitter." She suddenly looked tensed.
While Harper took notice, Rea swiftly dismissed Libby's reaction and returned her gaze to her. "I've heard you and Lucas have something going on. But it doesn't bother you if they fucked, does it? I mean, he's a champion. They're not permitted to fuck anyone here except their sitters."
Harper took a deep breath and opened her mouth to say something. "I－uh－I－I...um..." she stammered, clearly not knowing what to say or how to respond to Rea's question.
"Stop it, Rea, you're making Harper uncomfortable now," Libby bitterly remarked when she had finally recovered. "And, to answer your question, no."
“Are you sure?”
"Yes! Listen up, the cocks of those champions are already used to the Velarisian socialites."
"Velarisian socialites?" Harper had never heard the term before, and she was intrigued as to what Libby meant.
"Rich women in Velaris. Think about the Kardashians in our world. Women from the upper classes of Velarisian society are quite similar to them, with the only distinction being that the high Velarisian women are wealthier, wilder, and deadlier," Libby explained.
"And the champions…"
Rea smiled, her eyes sparkling with a glint of mischief. "You don't know? Apart from fighting for Gillen as his champions, they also fuck his friends."
"What?!"
Lilly gave a soft nod. "For the most part, Gillen rents them out to the affluent Velarisian women in his social circle. Or, in fact, everyone who could afford it."
"What the hell? Really?" Harper couldn't believe her ears.
"Those pitiful women usually bid on the champion following their bout. If they won, they'd probably be booked by one of those trashy high Velarisian women," Rea said nonchalantly. "Your vampire friend is extremely fortunate. Because female champions are uncommon in Velaris, she is unlikely to receive any bids from prominent Velarisian men anytime soon. But, hey, Lucas just won his first bout in the arena."
Libby nodded, her blush deepening at the mere mention of him. "That's right."
"That's simply...unacceptable,” Harper exclaimed. “First, Gillen takes our freedom, and then－"
"Oh! I saw Liv and Kara a few weeks ago," Rea interjected, more intrigued than shocked by the abhorrent reality of Gillen's treatment of his fighters. "Do you think they've made a bid for Lucas and Alex? According to what I've heard, both of them are quite popular right now among those high women."
"Well, Lucas…" Libby began quietly. "I think I saw him." Her voice was tentative and low.
"What do you mean you think you saw him?" Haper asked, a tight expression on her face.
Libby licked her dry lips and said, "I think I saw him coming out of the room where Liv was staying the other night."
"Are you positive, Libby?"
Slowly, she nodded. "But we don't know for sure if anything happened."
"I'm pretty confident something happened," Rea carelessly asserted. "Otherwise, why would he meet Liv? And I've heard that she and her friend, Kara, pay a lot of money to Gillen. They're his favorite guests. Anyway, I've got to get going, ladies. Gillen will be up soon."
Harper jumped out of bed and stretched as soon as Rea walked out the door, shrugging off the morning chit-chat and moaning with pleasure at the delicious pop in her bones. If she were to be completely honest, hearing Lucas come out of Liv's room bothered her a little.
"Well, I guess that's enough catching up."
"Are you okay, Harper?" Libby asked, seeing a slight shift in her demeanor.
"Yeah. Look, Lucas and I are... we aren't... together," she said, tying her thick brown hair into a ponytail and flashing a brief smile. "I'll go check on Francine." She slipped on her tunic and walked out of their quarter. Again, the last thing she wanted to talk about was Lucas and Alex and their so-called love triangle.
When she arrived at Francine's room, she saw that it was already empty. She hurriedly made her way into the common hall, where breakfast was already underway. As soon as she spotted Francine, she rushed up to her champion.
"I'm sorry, I'm late," Harper apologized as she sat across from the vampiress, noticing a bowl of soup in front of her.
Francine snarled, "You don't really work for me. I don't need a babysitter. I'm quite capable of looking after myself."
"Francine, I understand we can't really be friends—though I'd love to."
"We aren't friends. We are not enemies. We're nothing to one another."
Harper lowered her gaze and pursed her lips. If only she could convince Francine to put their personal issues aside and focus on the planning of their escape.
"I'm getting very sick of this place," Francine commented afterwards. "And this tasteless cold soup," she said as she dipped her spoon into the soup and then poured it back into the bowl with a disgusted expression. "I have to get out of here."
There was a moment of stillness between them as they both looked around at everyone in the room. Harper's heart raced in her chest the moment she noticed Lucas and Alex sitting at opposite tables in the far corners of the hall.
Francine also spotted them, as well as Gillen's guards, who kept a wary eye on everyone. She peered at Harper, then at the muddy water in her dish.
"We will," Harper promised. Francine took another glance at her. "We just need to work together."
"I suppose you're right. And we don't have to be friends to do that." Francine filled her spoon with the soup again, then poured it back into the bowl. “Tell Libby to meet with us tonight. Let’s plan our escape.”
"Thank you," Harper said simply, after a brief pause.