Chapter 24

“Please find us,” Cosette whispered as she coated her last pearl in blood and squeezed it through the crack in the cart. It dropped into the snow below. There was nothing more she could drop, so if they had much longer to go still, their trail would end here.

She wrapped her arms around her torso to keep herself in one piece. She was terrified for Oriel. What had happened to him? Where was he?

“He will be all right,” Sarene said with a less-than-confident smile. “Your mate. I’m sure he will be just fine.”

Shaking her head, she wiped a silent tear from her cheek. “He never came back. We had a…fight.” She didn’t know what else to call what had happened between them. “Oriel left, and he never returned. He would never abandon me. Never. Something has happened to him. And I am afraid it was Henry who hurt him.”

Sarene patted her hand, the touch comforting in spite of what was to come for all of them.

For what felt like the hundredth time, she tried to tear the vidry bracelet off her wrist, but it wouldn’t budge. She had tried a dozen different ways to take it off, but it stayed fastened to her wrist.

The cart lurched violently, and the little boy from earlier crawled back over to her and climbed into her lap. She reacted instinctively as she wrapped her arms around him to try and give him as much comfort as possible. The poor thing. He would likely be a servant until he came of age, and then who knew what would come afterward.

When he looked up at her, a pang hit her chest at how young and afraid he looked. Blue eyes widened as he stared at her with uncertainty in his expression. His light-brown hair curled at the nape of his neck and splayed over his forehead. Messy and slightly matted as if he hadn’t bathed in a while.

“What’s your name?” Cosette asked as she smoothed down the side of his wavy hair.

“Leif,” he whispered.

“And how did you get here, Leif?”

He clung tighter to her, his eyes full of fear. “I was hungry. Mama and Papa are gone. I’ve been on the streets awhile.”

“Where did your mama and papa go?”

“They have gone away. They weren’t moving, and the bad people took them away.”

Her heart caught at the meaning. The boy wasn’t quite old enough to truly understand death, and for a vampire on the streets at his young age, it would have been easy to get caught trying to feed.

“Well, Leif,” she replied, feeling braver now with this boy in her arms. “My name is Cosette. I would like to call you my new friend. What do you say? Will you be my friend?”

He nodded and buried his head into her shoulder. It wasn’t long before he fell asleep. Her heart ached for the young boy. To lose one’s parents and then be captured by vampire slavers… He deserved a better start to life than this.

Over the next hour, silence drenched the cart in dread. The churning wheels and occasional snorts of the horses added to the ominous fog in her mind. The road was bumpy, and she didn’t realize just how much her body ached from sitting in such a cramped space until they hit each of those bumps. Everything felt sore from her feet to the throbbing pulse in her head. And to imagine Sarene had spent a couple more days in the cart than she… How awful.

It startled her when the cart jolted to a stop, and only then did her heart start pounding harder than ever. What would happen to them? What would happen to Leif? To Sarene? To the other passengers?

“Don’t let them take me.” Leif sobbed into Cosette’s shoulder, now awake.

“Don’t think about it,” she said in a strangled voice. “Think about your favorite toys instead. What do you like to play with?”

The thought-provoking question helped calm the child. “I don’t have a lot of toys. I like my bird. I can make him fly.”

She wasn’t sure what his bird was, but the mention of it did wonders for his fear. Unfortunately, it did nothing for her own. She was terrified. Even more so when the doors to the cart opened and a burst of cold air rushed inside.

Leif cried into her shoulder again, and she rubbed her hand in large circles on the boy’s back. Tears flowed down her cheeks as well. It turned out she wasn’t as brave as she wished she could be.

Two males appeared, and although they looked like the average human man, they were anything but. Their scents were strongly vampire, even if their features were quite plain. Brown hair. Dull brown eyes. Average build. But Cosette would remember them anywhere.

“Everyone out,” one of them said with an accent she couldn’t place. He flashed a sharp-looking knife, and although he spoke no words about the weapon, the message remained clear—anyone who didn’t follow orders could be seriously injured.

She would never risk Leif getting hurt.

Clutching tighter onto him, she climbed out of the cart and gasped when she nearly dropped him. With her vampire strength drained from her body from the vidry bracelet clamped around her wrist, she found herself much weaker than ever before. She had taken her strength for granted.

However, she took this chance to step on the hem of her skirt, the bottom of it tearing. If Oriel was out there, it was the last thing she could do to help him find her.

“ ’Ere she is, Marcus,” one of the brown-haired males said.

“Ah, our prized jewel.” A third vampire stepped forward, putting a finger under Cosette’s chin and tipping her head up to look at him. “A beaut, this one. We’ve no news from our employer. It seems as if the Covaci vampire didn’t take the bait. She’s to go to the highest bidder, no matter the house.”

Her eyes widened as she realized who Marcus was talking about. She pulled her chin out of the male’s grip, fury giving her the boldness she needed. “What have you done to Oriel?”

The vampire chuckled. “I’ve done nothing to the Covaci male. But I’ve no doubt Henry has had his bout of fun.”

A terrible aching took hold of her heart, and she couldn’t stop the flow of tears from escaping. Those tears turned into sobs, and now she could no longer put on a brave face for Leif, who started to sniffle into her hair. Marcus had all but confirmed something had happened to Oriel. No hope remained that anyone would come to their rescue.

Even worse, no one had come to Oriel’s rescue.

“No tears,” Marcus said as he tipped Cosette’s chin up with his dagger, giving her a good view of the fearsome look in his eyes. A large scar passed through one eye and stretched from his forehead to his cheek. “Tears will make your eyes red. Red eyes will make you less beautiful, which will lower your price. Try it again, and I will hurt the boy.”

Her tears ceased immediately, replaced by morbid fear and, to her surprise, seething anger. If they touched a hair on Leif’s head, she would kill them. All of them. Even if she had to do it with an iron needle. She vowed to avenge Oriel. Maybe not now. But soon.

Pressing the tip of the knife to her back, the three vampires herded them into a building. Ceiling shafts lay haphazardly across the ground at odd angles. The stench of rotted wood suffocated the air. Several holes dotted the floor within the maze of abandonment and neglect, while furniture lay ripped and broken.

As they ventured farther into the building and down a flight of stairs, torches flickered on either side of the hallway until their group found themselves in a small, well-furnished, and well-lit room, hidden as if they didn’t want to make their illegal activities known. Just on the other side of the door, she heard a chorus of voices belonging to a crowd. An excited crowd. A terrifying crowd. She easily imagined the types of people just beyond the door.

A shudder ran through her, and she pressed herself closer to the other women in the group who looked just as afraid.

“The boy will go first,” Marcus said lazily as he flicked the knife in the direction of the door.

“No,” Cosette whispered as she stepped in front of Leif, once again surprised at the courage she found when faced with something absolutely dreadful. “He goes with me. My bidder will also take the boy.”

She couldn’t bear the thought of being separated from Leif and not knowing what fate had befallen him. Even so, she thought for sure Marcus would deny her request.

“Fine,” he said. “You will fetch a high enough price to allow it. The boy stays here in the meantime. He will accompany you when you leave with your bidder.”

He motioned with his head for the two other males to escort the female prisoners out one at a time, which left Cosette last.

Marcus grabbed ahold of her wrist and pulled her roughly toward him, and she flinched when she thought he might strike her. He didn’t. Instead, he smoothed her hair down and wiped something off her chin with his spittle.

She jerked out of his grasp and glared with a fierceness she didn’t feel. Nothing in her life up to this moment held a candle to the fear she felt now. No social gathering. No conversation. Even speaking in front of a thousand people was far preferable to this fate.

Her hands started to tremble. Panic began to set in. Heartache over Oriel nearly consumed her. Fear for herself was almost unbearable. Worry over Leif and Sarene and the other females was enough to put her on the brink of paralysis.

“None of that,” Marcus growled as he smacked her trembling hands, “or the boy gets auctioned off by himself.”

She forced herself to take deep breaths, and by some miracle, her hands ceased their trembling. As long as they held Leif over her head, she would do as they asked.

“But if you get picked up by a brothel, you may want to rethink your demand.”

Marcus laughed as he opened the door leading to the other room and leaned on the doorframe as he watched the proceedings. With his back turned to them, she glanced toward the exit. If she could just get a running start, then perhaps she could escape with Leif. Her father was too far away to hear her cry for help from Ichor Knell, but if she managed to hide until the danger passed, then perhaps they could venture back to Ichor Knell eventually.

As if reading the direction of her thoughts, Marcus said without turning around, “Don’t even think about running. Your bracelet? It takes away your speed as a vampire too. You won’t get three feet without me catching you.”

She wanted to cry.

Leif held her hand, looking up at her with fearful eyes. The poor boy was terrified. His parents were dead. He had been captured by strange men. And he didn’t understand what was about to happen.

“You’ll be just fine,” she said reassuringly as she crouched to his level. “We’re friends now, remember? Friends don’t leave each other behind. You will be coming with me afterward.”

Her words placed a relieved look on his face. “Friends never leave.”

“Never.”

Marcus whistled to get her attention. “Your turn. Look alive.”

She froze. What she wouldn’t give for Oriel’s comforting arms around her shoulders. Why had she taken him for granted during their time together? If she hadn’t been so timid. If she hadn’t been so hesitant. And if she hadn’t turned into a nervous, fluttering mess when he had initiated intimacy the previous night. Now instead of having Oriel as her mate, she would have a stranger. A human.

The thought caused her heart to crumble.

“Remember,” Marcus said, grabbing onto her wrist and pulling her forward. “The boy’s fate is still very much in my hands. Don’t make me change my mind.”

Someone in the other room announced Cosette as the Diamond in the North, and she walked out onto what looked to be a stage, her eyes wide as she took in the dozens of bidders now shouting out their bids before she even reached the center. She would have been alarmed at the amount of coin those bidders were offering—and even the amount it continued to increase to—if she hadn’t been so terrified.

She looked out over the dozens of faces below the stage. Some of those faces belonged to older women with makeup hiding the blemishes on their skin. They must have been madams of their own brothels. Being a part of such an institute was revolting. Anything but a brothel.

She felt like she would either faint or flee as the bids continued, but now they were slowing down as the price became higher. The battle was now between three parties—a madam, a man who looked to be on death’s doorstep, and another man partially hidden in the shadows. The last man relayed his bid to his servant who then shouted it out for him. The older man backed out, and the bidding was now a fight between the shadowed man and the madam.

Despair shrouded her heart in darkness.

For Leif, I must be strong.

The shadowed man stood from where he sat, his chair scraping against the floor. The proceedings quieted. Out of the shadows, she now saw him clearly. He was tall with dark hair, but his dark and unforgiving eyes made her flinch. This was the type of man who would beat her.

And Leif.

No… She would rather go to the brothel than go home with this man. For Leif. He would be safer among a brothel full of women than at the mercy of this horrid man.

He called out his own bid this time, a sum completely outrageous. His eyes bore through hers, and she found herself unable to hold her head up. She stared down at her feet, her heart pounding terribly fast. Without the bracelet clamped around her wrist, she would have transformed into a butterfly long ago. But the vidry rendered her transformation useless.

The madam backed out of the bidding. The man’s smirk sent shivers down her spine.

Please, Ylios and Iqris, she prayed. Please protect me.

But her prayers went unanswered as someone ushered her into another room where Marcus waited with Leif. The small boy ran into her arms, which gave her immense comfort in the face of what was to come.

But she forced herself not to cry. Marcus could still take him away.

Only minutes later, the man who won the bid entered the room, and she lowered her gaze. Petrifying fear rooted her to the spot.

“A boy servant for your taking, Mr. Dahl,” Marcus said as he presented Leif. “Consider it a bonus for your payment.”

Mr. Dahl grunted, followed by a thunk as he set a case full of coins on the table. Her eyes widened. She had never seen so much coin in her life. And unfortunately, in her distraction, she didn’t see Mr. Dahl approach until he grabbed her wrist and pulled her toward him. He lifted her upper lip as if to check for fangs, and then he turned her in a circle to look her over. She wanted to die in her humiliation.

“Unmated?” Mr. Dahl questioned.

“Yes,” Marcus confirmed. “And as was mentioned before her auction, she is a Dragomir. Lucian Dragomir’s daughter, in fact.”

A shudder ran through her when Mr. Dahl touched her hair and then grabbed her chin to inspect either side of her neck—looking for what, she had no idea.

“And am I to expect safety when Lucian realizes his daughter is missing?”

Marcus chuckled. “Absolutely. I do not believe he has any idea of her whereabouts. He would have to search the ends of the world to find her.”

Papa… He will be so worried.

Mr. Dahl nodded as if satisfied. “Then you will find the coin on the table sufficient.” He tugged Cosette forward, and Leif followed behind, still looking frightened but less than he had earlier. Unfortunately, her own body trembled with her terror. Surely, there had to be a way out of this predicament. Escaping from a window or running out in the cold snow in the dead of night. There had to be a means of escape, and it had to happen tonight before…

Before…

A terrified, strangled sob escaped unbidden from her mouth as Mr. Dahl tossed her and Leif roughly into a carriage and sent them on their way. When he didn’t join them but took a separate carriage, she sighed in relief. It seemed as if she would have freedom for a bit longer.

“He’s not very kind, is he?” said another voice in the carriage. Cosette jumped but then whimpered as she threw her arms around Sarene.

“I’m afraid it will only get worse,” Cosette whimpered. “We have to escape before then.”

“I’ve already tried. The carriage is locked from the outside. There are no windows. We are at Mr. Dahl’s mercy, as much as it pains me to say. A man who is so thorough with keeping his mistresses prisoner… His vampire mistresses, mind you… He doesn’t seem like one to make a mistake to allow for escape.”

She hugged her arms to herself as she fought off a wave of panic. And then she started praying harder than ever before. For now, it seemed as if Their Divinities were the only ones who could save them.