“Purples and Pinks almost always live outside the high-rise. They come and go as they please. The Blues and Reds live with their Claimant, making the commitment more serious.”
Natalya took a deep breath. “The Silver contracts mean different things to different people. For some, it means servitude and subservience. For others, it means possession. For me, it means forever. It means I want you forever.”
Evie didn’t understand. It was too much. Natalya knew the risk Evie’s presence brought. Even if Varro was dead and Evie’s world was safenow, who could say it would continue to be that? It was dangerous to ask her this.
“What if it… What if I get…” A tear ran down Evie’s face, and she quickly wiped it away. “What if I’m killed and then you…”
“What is the point of being in this world if I can’t be with you?” Natalya put her hand on Evie’s, squeezing it gently. “I am on earth by force. It is my prison. My punishment. Before, it felt just like that. It doesn’t with you. With you, the world feels like a gift. Being with you is life itself. If I don’t have you, I might as well not exist.”
Evie shook her head in disbelief. She wasn’t worth this risk. She wasn’t worthy ofanyof this. Not of Natalya. Not of her protection, her attention, and least of all to have it forever.
The world hadn’t been kind to Evie. In childhood, it told her she was unwanted. In adulthood that she was unworthy. She saw it in the judging looks she got when she paid for groceries using beer-stained singles and in the landlords who refused her applications when they saw what she did for work. She sawit always, in almost everyone. It didn’t matter that she didn’t deserve those looks. She saw them anyway.
She’d never seen it in Natalya. Not once. Ever since Evie met her, all she’d seen in her was caring, understanding, and worry. Even now, she was worried. She was smiling, her eyes kind and soft, but she was tense too. She was nervous, and she didn’t want to let it show. But Evie noticed anyway.
With Natalya, Evie didn’t feel unworthy. With Natalya, she felt everything. It was a marvelous feeling. The joy she felt at the prospect of having it always filled her stomach with fluttering butterflies.
“I don’t know what to say,” Evie whispered.
Natalya put her hand on the box holding the pendant. “Say yes, darling.”
Those words made the decision feel like the easiest thing.
Evie picked up the silver Chain necklace. It was smooth and light in her hands. A symbol as much as a promise. She clasped the chain around her neck, and the feeling of the pendant resting against her skin was wonderfully familiar. It felt right. Like she was whole, somehow.
“Yes, Natal—”
Natalya didn’t let her finish. She leaned over the table and kissed Evie with so much fervor it made her yelp in surprise. When Natalya didn’t back away and instead deepened the kiss, it made Evie sigh with delight.
How lucky was Evie that she could have this forever? How lucky was she that this was to be her life? A life of love, and safety, and pure feeling.
The thought made Evie laugh against Natalya’s lips. Hearing it, Natalya smiled.
Chapter 51
The Court of Chains club floor was packed from wall to wall. Natalya sat on her steel throne in the Royal Lounge, her eyes on the stage below. The Claiming was underway, and she was doing her best not to fidget.
“Relax.” Aleksander was at her left, likewise looking down at the stage. “It’ll be your turn soon enough.”
Natalya gave him a pointed glare. “Advocating patience, are you?”
“You look like you’re about to jump over the railing.” He surprised her by smirking when he spoke. “Your eagerness is very cute.”
She could’ve taken offense. Easily so. She could’ve snapped at him or made a cutting retort. It was hard to do those things when you were trying not to smile.
“Is Evie nervous?” Aleksander asked. “It’s a big night, and she hasn’t done this before. It would be understandable.”
Natalya focused at the words, letting herself feel what Evie felt. Evie had said she was allowed to do so tonight, probably because she’d seen how tense Natalya was.
Natalya sensed a hint of nervousness from Evie, but it was overshadowed by keen excitement. By happiness and then a surge of joy. Someone in the green room had made Evie laugh.
“She’s excited, mostly,” Natalya said. “She’s happy. She’s laughing.”
“What a detailed amount of information.” Aleksander regarded her evenly. “Something you want to tell me?”
Natalya sighed. Aleksander could read her almost as well as Evie could.
“I can feel her. I have been able to for months. Ever since she came here, in fact. I can tell when she’s frightened. When she’s sad and happy.”
