Page 6 of Their Blood Queen
It doesn’t much matter if there’s a storm or not. I won’t be going outside anytime soon to find out. My father looks like he’s about to stab me with the dagger himself, but he can’t.
I have to do this willingly.
“Is there no other way?” I ask, my chest deflating. Prayers to a monster are only going to get me so far.
My father’s shoulders sink, and I realize there’s more he’s been hiding under his mask. “It’s not just about your mother, Scarlett. I’ve spent all our money on medicine. Every coin. If we fail to reach the Immortality Sector this year to wipe our slate clean, it’s possible we will all be killed during the culling.”
The blood drains from my face.
Every family is expected to pay a tribute to the collective pot once a year.
The culling makes a example of any of the families who fail in that endeavor.
Moving to the Magic Sector opened up opportunities, but I knew it increased expectations on our family, too.
There is a cost to run a city like this, one full of monsters and men.
I’ve come to learn that the men are the ones who devour everything.
“We don’t have enough points for Monsters Night?” I finally ask.
My father’s mask stays in place, but his eyes darken with grief he’s desperately trying to hide. “There are some promising tributes from the village this year, but… they might not be enough for the quota expected of a family in the Magic Sector. No.”
My brother scoffs. “You mean we ran out of bribes to keep our quota threshold down because you spent them all on medicine.” His jaw flexes as if he’s debating the words coming out of his mouth next, but he says them anyway. “I’ve told you before, I could steal it from?—”
“Careful,” my father interrupts, giving my brother a stern look. “Stealing is a grave offense.”
“Even from rival families?” my brother grumbles.
“Even from rival families,” my father confirms. “We don’t steal. Period. It’s against the rules.”
We don’t question the rules.
And we certainly don’t break them.
Breaking the rules comes with a price.
That price is death.
Now I understand the true level of my father’s desperation. If we don’t even have enough points to survive another Monsters Night, everything we’ve sacrificed won’t matter. We’ll be dead.
What have you done, Father?
With the new danger revealed, my brother’s cordial kindness slips, and his cruel expression frightens me. His features seem sharper than usual, as if he might simply cut me with his brown-eyed gaze alone.
His eyes are even darker than my father’s tonight.
He leans down and curls a lock of hair behind my ear, then presses his lips up against my cheek as he whispers a threat that has my heart going still.
“If you don’t do this, Scarlett, I’m going to make your life a living hell. The monsters might let us live another cycle, and if they do, I will wait for Mother to die, watch our father dwindle into a corpse, and then take my rightful place as Duke. After that, I’m going to sell you off to the highest bidder regardless. I might even let Earl Rinhold have a taste before I do. So be a good girl and sign the fucking contract.”
We all jump as a hiss comes from the painting.
I stare at it with wide eyes, now sure that the mirrored eyes are looking at me.
I don’t know what compels me to grab the dagger from my father. I’m running on adrenaline as I stab it into my finger, then I sign my name on the contract and shudder when the icy spell drapes over me like a shroud.
It’s done.