Page 20 of Born for Silk
I wash, thinking about what I read, about the Xin De Maternal Deaths and why my Trade is so important to The Cradle. And… why being Fur Born means I’m at risk.
Am I strong enough to carry a baby with Xin De genes? When they grow so large, so strong, so quick.
I was assured years ago that my mother was Silk Born. That she was kidnapped by an outlawed Common man and that is why I was first marked as Fur. My blood is Silk, though. The story goes that The Guard found my mother dead in a pile of ash and bodies. I was found later.
That is the story I was told.
I am not really a Fur Girl.
I turn off the shower.
I’m wandering from the stall absentmindedly, my thoughts reeling and rolling over, when I bump into someone.
And it all happens so fast.
Iris shoves me against the wall, knocking breath from my lips. “You say nothing tonight, got it!”
I quickly search behind her to check for her followers, but she’s alone, which seems strange. I frown. “I have nothing to say. You tried to hurt me, tear me, but you failed.”
“They’ll know you’re Fur.” She sneers. “See scratches all over your skin. It’s important to live a delicate life. It says so in the books. Peaceful. Stress and trauma get into the cells and infect the babies. I have the Xin De DNA. I have the strength. I am perfectly at peace!”
“Yeah, you’re the picture of tranquillity right now.”
Red builds beneath her cheeks. “My seal will be a perfect shield and Sire will choose me because of it. Not you. He can’t. He won’t choose you!”
Gosh. She is jealous of me…
Power slides across my lips, resting into a smile. “You’re really jealous of me, aren’t you? You’re not disgusted because I was Fur Born. It has nothing to do with me. You’re jealous.”
“Filthy little Fur Girl!” She lifts her hand to slap me, but I catch her wrist. It vibrates with her rage.
“No.” I shake my head, glaring at her. “I’m not scared of you. Jealousy is not a virtue, Iris. You’re imperfect, too.”
“I’ll ruin your face next.”
She is losing it. I lean closer. “Do you know how to swim, Iris? I do. I jump in the pond and swim all around to catch birds. If you touch me again, I’m going to drag you into the deep and hold your head under until your lungs fill with water, and don’t worry, I won’t be punished. A creature lives near that pond, and he likes to eat birds. Pretty red birds like you. They won’t find your body. He’ll pluck you to bones, red feather by red feather.”
A moment of hesitation flitters through her angry stare before she tugs her wrist from my hand. She backs away slowly, grasping at a cruel smile. “The creature isn’t real, Aster. Your only friend is make-believe. You still have an imaginary friend. It’s pathetic.”
I blink at her.
“I’ve heard you talking to it,” she goes on. “It doesn’t talk back. It isn’t real. They’ll see that you’re not fit to be a Silk Girl. They’ll see that you’re odd and not want your genes tainting their legacy.”
Chapter Four
Aster
The van comes to a stop.
We exit the vehicle under the cloak of night. I cannot see much through the face mask, but follow the lamp held ahead by the Wardeness. Whistles from the gale dance around me until we are declining steep steps away from the fingers of the night and into a dimly lit concrete underground space.
My heart races knowing this is an unusual practice; sneaking away at night, just the three of us—the Silk Wardeness, Iris, and I—accompanied by two Guard: one ahead of us and one behind.
My body vibrates with nerves and something else entirely. Something strange and as lovely as it is alarming—excitement. I like the idea of sneaking around, like the idea of secrets and journeys.
I shouldn’t want such things.
Curiosity isn’t a virtue.