CELESTE
Tristan released me the second I regained my balance, like the contact itself offended him.
"Alpha!" I straightened quickly, giving a small bow before I spoke my mind. "What… was all that noise? And the woman? Where did she go?" My breath had gone ragged.
"You don't ask questions in this place, Celeste." Tristan said. "I would suggest you follow me quietly."
I remembered what Riggs said last night. So, I swallowed every question buzzing in my head and nodded. This place… these people… nothing made sense. Everything felt off, like I had walked into a nightmare.
Tristan led me into a room that felt like part office, part interrogation chamber. A blonde man in a neat black suit stood there. He was the warden and Tristan's trusted beta. I saw him a few times before.
Spotting Tristan, he bowed. "I didn't expect you to come. It's rare."
Tristan didn't give him any respond. He just glanced at me. "She is the new slave."
Conor looked me up and down as he asked my height, my weight, writing everything down like I was livestock. Then he looked me in the eye and asked, "You are the girl from the eyot. The one who lives alone. You haven't found your mate yet. But there are always men around your house. Is that you?"
I nodded slowly, wondering where this was going.
His pupils dilated. "Are you sacred at all?"
I blinked. "Pardon?"
He stared at me like I was the odd one. But Tristan was faster to cut in and ask me again, "Are you a virgin?"
Was this really happening?
Sierra was as embarrassed as me. Her pulse raced in sync with mine, heat prickling along my skin.
I wanted to disappear. Really. Right there. But I refused to lie. I didn't even try. I just shook my head.
"Do you have a man at home?" Tristan asked again. He was now gripping a long sword that had just been handed to him by a young man through the second door.
The blade caught the light, sharp and polished. I would not lie. It scared me a bit.
Clearing my throat, I turned back to Tristan. "No." I answered.
Tristan said nothing. He looked toward the swordsmith who was leaving and tested the blade's edge with a few flexes, pointing it at him. Before I could even guess what he was doing, he flung the sword.
I gasped. Loud. Sierra's spine arched inside me, tail flicking through my gut.
The blade flew past the man's face, just a hair's width between his shoulder and his ear and slammed into the stone wall. The sound echoed, and I swear I stopped breathing.
What. The. Hell.
The swordsmith stood frozen. His face drained of color. And I? My heart felt like it had leapt into my throat.
The sword fell to the ground seconds later.
Tristan frowned. "Make something that can cut through boulders," he said coldly. "Not just some pathetic human bones."
The swordsmith bowed and rushed out. Probably happy to still be breathing.
I stared at Tristan in disbelief as he turned back toward the desk and started sifting through papers. "Have you prepared her contract and oath statement yet, Conor?" he asked the warden.
"Alpha, she doesn't have a mate, and is not sacred."
I clenched my jaw. There it was again. That sacred nonsense.
Tristan didn't even flinch. "No one is sacred here, Beta Conor."
I didn't understand the connection. They wanted me to be a virgin. For slavery. Of course, it came with warming their beds up. But wanting a sacred girl for it was sick.
"You need a sacred person for slavery?" I asked. Brave.
Conor nodded seriously. "That's the rule here. You need to join us sacred."
Another rule. Of course. This kingdom was drowning in them.
I was about to respond when Tristan's voice cut me off.
"The rule is nullified from now on."