He looked at me with a smirk.
“You’re in a whorehouse, my darling.”
22
EVE
Aclawed slap to the face knocked me back toward the cold concrete floor. Even after a day or so, my head was still pounding from the way I’d been knocked out back at the palace.
I had lost track of time. After the king had left, they had allowed me to rest for a while.
Allowed… They locked the door to my closet and made me stay there for god knows how many hours.
They let me out in time for breakfast, apparently, but instead of going to the common eating area with the other girls, I went straight to the madam in charge.
Stupid idea.One that got me clawed in the fucking face.
No one dared lift a finger to help me as the demon in charge of the whorehouse rounded on me. She stood above me, a wicked smile on her face and her arms crossed over her chest.
I protected my stomach, afraid she’d kick her pointy shoe right into my abdomen. Or worse, ribcage.
The smug look on her face told me she liked how I was living in fear of her next move. All the humans seemed thesame. Cowering in the corners, not daring to even whisper while they watched.
“You think you’re above taking clients, girl?”
I glared at her.Fuck her.This was one of the places Angelica told me about. She rescued girls from places like this all the time. There was nobeing above taking clients—this was human trafficking!
“I told you I’m not doing it,” I hissed. “So you can just fuck right off?—”
She sent a kick to my side. Even with my arm protecting me, it stole the air right from my lungs.
Jesus Christ.The pain was too much. I feared she might have broken something.
Finally, warm hands grabbed my arms and helped me into a sitting position. I tried to take a deep breath, but it just brought on another wave of fresh pain.
“I’ll teach her, Madam,” a male human voice said from behind me.
The madam huffed.
“Get her ready before tomorrow or I’ll have both of your heads,” she said. “No amount of money your body can bring is worth all this trouble.”
Murderous thoughts raged through my mind as I watched her walk away.
She was exactly the type of demon I wanted to take down.
Who would have thought the king would give me first-hand experience of the atrocities happening in his own realm?
“Fighting is not worth it,” the male voice said. It belonged to a youngish-looking man with blond hair and green eyes, who was looking at me with a pitiful smile. He had scars running down his face, just narrowly missing one eye.
“I’m not supposed to be here.”
Memories of Eros and Oros passed through my mind. Their faces as I was taken. Their pain was palpable.
I didn’t even get to tell them that I would stay.
“None of us are, sweetheart.” He helped me into a standing position. “But they will literally kill you and then eat your heart, so the other choice is the best one, hm?”
His words were like an icepick to the chest.
