Windsor's POV
The words hit me like ice water. "What did you just say?"
Pauline's face was pale, her grip tight around her water bottle. "Twenty thousand points. That's what a virgin is worth to whoever claims her."
My mouth went dry. The cafeteria noise around us suddenly felt muffled, like I was underwater. "Twenty thousand?"
"It's called the Purity Prize," she whispered. "Headmaster Sinclair implemented it. He claims it's an ode to the Moon Goddess, honoring traditional values. But really?" Her voice turned bitter. "It's just another way to turn students into commodities."
I couldn't breathe. Twenty thousand points. I thought about the blonde girl in the bathroom, how desperate she'd seemed for Gideon's attention. How many encounters would it take her to earn that many points?
"How would they even know?" I managed to ask. "How could they verify something like that?"
Pauline's expression grew even more grim. "Purity marks."
"What are those?"
