Page 4 of Their Blood Queen
He doesn’t come to my rescue.
He doesn’t correct my brother’s crass behavior.
Instead, he smooths the contract out onto the table. Then he pulls a short, delicate knife from his pocket and holds it out to me.
“I’m sorry, Scarlett,” my father says, still gripping the tiny blade. “We have all had to sacrifice for this family. Your mother and I have tried to spare you, but we’re out of options. It’s time for you to pull your weight.”
I don’t know where I find the will, but I shakily rise to my feet and tilt up my chin, ignoring my brother, who is now towering over me.
Let him strike me again. Maybe I’ll faint, either due to another slap to the face or from this blasted corset choking the life out of me.
They won’t get their damn signature then.
My cheek stings as I clench my jaw, carefully weighing my words. My skin is pale, so I know the mark must be swelling on my face. Anywhere I go, I’m required to bring a parasol to protect my skin from the sun.
“Wouldn’t want you mistaken for a villager, now would we?” my mother would always say. The sun had a tendency to bring out my freckles hidden underneath my skin.
My father can’t be reasoned with, but he still needs me to willingly sign the document to get his way.
They can’t force me.
Right?
He again glances at his pocket watch still in his grip, and I see the minute hand inch closer to midnight.
The lights flicker for a moment, making us all go silent. We’ve been in the Magic Sector for two years, but we’ve never had the lights go out.
When they stabilize, I take a shaky breath. Maybe I’m imagining things.
“Does Mother know about this?” I ask, mildly impressed that my voice doesn’t hold the tremor I’m hiding underneath the boning of my corset.
“She went into a coma three days ago,” my brother curtly informs me, earning my attention immediately. I jerk my chin up at him as my eyes go round with surprise.
“Why did no one tell me?” I demand.
But it explains why I haven’t been allowed to see her. My father couldn’t afford any hysterics during the past three days, not when he was hosting various families in an attempt to build alliances.
One of those visitors had been Duke Rinhold, and now I know it was no coincidence that I had been in his view. I’d been placed like a shiny new doll in a window, my position just outside of the drawing room in one of the smaller reading nooks.
With a new corset and dress that we couldn’t afford, no less.
Hosting in the Magic Sector requires that all family members don a certain type of attire. For a Lady, such as myself, that attire includes a suffocating corset that makes my boobs practically pop out. I hate that particular article of clothing, but the quiet time with a book almost makes up for it.
Almost.
“You’ve been trying to get a courtship proposal,” I realize with a scathing accusation, now pointing my wrath toward my father.
His jaw flexes, betraying the truth once again.
Yes, Scarlett.
You’re more valuable than you could possibly know—but now… Now we have no choice.
“Ten minutes,” my father announces after checking his watch again. “I know this is a burden to place on your delicate shoulders, dear daughter. But your mother has taken an unfortunate turn. She won’t last much longer past this Monsters Night.”
The annual Monsters Night is mere days away.
A hiccup sticks in the back of my throat, and I shove it down.