SAMANTHA
Miss Daisy Bond came back to us acting like nothing had happened.
She walked through the corridor with her head held high, her expression neutral, her lips pressed together in that thin line I had come to hate. She offered no apology, no explanation and no acknowledgment that she had lied to the king's face and tried to have me thrown out like garbage.
I could not shake my anger.
It sat in my chest like a stone.
Daisy's actions had taught me a harsh lesson. This place was treacherous. Power could twist right and wrong until you could not tell the difference anymore. Truth did not matter. Only who the king believed. Only who had allies and only who could survive.
I reminded myself of this as I watched Daisy move through the room, handing out pieces of paper to each woman.
I have to be vigilant and I had to be cautious.
Daisy reached me and handed me a sheet without meeting my eyes. But just before she turned away, she gave me a glance.
A wicked glance.
Her eyes said everything her mouth would not.
[In my eyes, you are as good as dead.]
She walked away and I unfolded the paper and read the schedule.
-Dick Riding classes
-Dick sucking classes.
-Nude dance classes.
-Beast taming classes.
-Cloud nine for the prince classes.
-Ballet classes.
-Femininity classes.
I scoffed and I could not help myself. Dick sucking? Nude dancing? What kind of palace was this? What kind of king demanded such things?
I stopped reading and folded the paper and shoved it into my pocket. I did not need to see the rest of the list. I already knew enough.
This place was not just dangerous. It was degrading.
I went into the dining hall to eat.
The room was large and crowded. Long wooden tables stretched from one end to the other. Torches flickered on the walls. The smell of roasted meat and stale bread hung in the air.
And shamelessly, the girls had already started forming cliques.
At one table, a group of women hollered at me as I walked past.
"Hey, pretty thing," one of them called out. "You want to sit with us? We can show you a good time. I promise we are better than any prince."
Another woman licked her lips dramatically. "I have never been with a woman before, but for you? I would learn."
They laughed and obnoxiously and I snubbed them.
At another table, two women were kissing each other openly. Their hands wandered and no one dared to stop them. No one seemed to care. Did the King know about this? We're sex slaves allowed to be lesbians?
At a corner table, a small group was smoking shamelessly. The grey haze hung above their heads like a cloud. Cigarettes were banned in the slave quarters. Everyone knew that but no one said anything.
I walked past all of them and found a small table near the back. Alone.
I sat down, stared at my plate and tried to think.
Jayce was hungry for me. That much was clear. He would come for me again. And again. And again. There was no escape from him. Not in this palace. Not while I was trapped here.
Molly wanted me dead. That was also clear. She had tried to have me cast out as a rogue. When that failed, her hatred had only deepened. She would try again. She would find another way.
I was in a dangerous position.
I could not afford to sit idly and wait for doom to come to me. I needed a plan. If I did not have one, I could disappear one day and no one would ask questions. No one would search for me. No one would care.
I picked up my fork. I stared at the food on my plate.
What am I going to do?
Before I could answer my own question, a shadow fell across my table.
I looked up.
A girl was standing over me. She held her plate in both hands. Her expression was blank. Before I could speak, before I could move, she tilted her plate.
Everything slopped over.
Leftover food, gravy, scraps and grease. All of it spilled across my table. Some of it landed on the bench beside me. Some of it dripped onto the floor.
I jumped to my feet and stepped back quickly. My clothes were spared.
"You are a quick she-wolf," the person said, mockery dripped from every word. "I love that."
I looked at her.
She was beautiful. That was the first thing I noticed. Blonde hair that shone like gold in the torchlight. Big blue eyes. Full lips. Her face was the kind of face that belonged on paintings.
Her body was even better. Curves in all the right places. An ass that would make any wolf howl. She wore a tight red dress that left nothing to the imagination.
But her eyes.
Her eyes were cold. Cruel and empty.
I smelled her before I saw her properly. Rudeness. Coldness. Meanness.
"Why did you do that?" I asked. My voice was louder than I intended. "What was that for?"
The woman laughed. It was a fake laugh. A practiced laugh. The kind of laugh that was meant to show teeth, not joy.
She slammed her plate on my table. The sound echoed through the dining hall. Conversations stopped and heads turned.
With a tilt of her chin, she looked down at me like I was something she had stepped in.
"I am Leslie Jordan," she announced. Her voice carried. She wanted everyone to hear. "And you are not."
Laughter erupted from behind her.
Two other women stood at her shoulders like bodyguards. They were dressed similarly to Leslie—tight dresses, heavy makeup, hair done perfectly.
They looked like carbon copies of Barbie dolls. They had no personalities of their own.
One of them had dark hair and a permanent scowl. The other was shorter, rounder, with empty eyes that followed Leslie's every move.
Leslie herself was the queen bee. I could tell immediately. The way she stood. The way she spoke. The way the other girls in the room looked at her with fear and envy.
She was pretty. She knew it. And she used it like a weapon.
I rolled my eyes.
"And I do not care," I said flatly. "I am not interested in knowing you."
Leslie let out a snort. Then she laughed.
"I just want you to know something," she said, stepping closer. "I will be the first she-wolf to bear the princes' pups and not you. Not any of these other desperate bitches. Me."
She leaned in. Her breath smelled of mint and arrogance.
"You are a scentless bitch. And yes, I stand with Molly. Sooner or later, we will kick you out. You will be left to fend for yourself like a rogue." She straightened up and flipped her hair over her shoulder. "So do not get ahead of yourself. Do not think for one second that you are special. Do not think that Darlington speaking up for you means anything. You are nothing. You will always be nothing. Okay?"
I chewed my food, swallowed and stared at the wall.
Leslie Jordan was another enemy.
Molly. Leslie. Daisy. Jayce.
The list was growing.