You Are Mine (35 page)

She flutters to me and throws her arms
around me. I'm too numb to have it shock me, but the gesture
lightens some of my load.

“
I can't believe you had
to go through that. No wonder Daniel always hates the meetings. I
can't even
—
” She bursts into tears on my shoulder.

The only time I've comforted someone
who's crying was one of my younger sisters. I'm not sure how to
help. Mostly, I feel like crying with her. Instead, I give her
shoulder a pat.

From behind the foliage
next to us, a male voice says, “Gertrude said you
wanted
—
”

Before the thought is finished,
Councilman Daniel and Zade come into view. Daniel drops the basket
he's carrying and rushes to us. Annabelle latches onto
him.

“
What's the matter
darling? Was it too much for you? I'm sorry. It's all my fault. The
opportunity presented itself and I thought you'd want to take
advantage of it. You won't ever have to do it again.”

“
It's not that,” she says,
voice muffled by his shoulder. “Serena told me what they did before
I came.”

Councilman Daniel meets my eyes, his
brows drawn. Blast. I shouldn't have told her.

“
Sorry, Daniel,” Zade
says. My chest tightens. He has yet to look at me. “I didn't think
this would affect anyone but Serena.”

“
Don't worry about it.
I've been meaning to tell her, but never knew how. If anything, I'm
grateful she's knows.”

I step back from them. Never have I
seen a man and woman act as such. Something about it pulls at me. I
feel as if I broke Annabelle. Broke her sunny disposition. Broke
the way things are done. Broke everything.

Whether Councilman Daniel would have
told her or not, Annabelle wouldn't be in tears right now if it
weren't for me. I'm surprised he hasn't punished her yet. Then I
realize, she always calls him by just his first name, not his
title. And they're entwined in such a sweet way. Her fingers
clasped behind his neck. His arms wrapped around her. He's
whispering things in her ear. Perhaps there are others more like
Zade than I thought.

Watching them feels like I'm spying on
something I shouldn't. He rubs her back and says things too quiet
for me to hear. She clings to him, tears trickling to a
stop.

Zade moves closer, no longer ignoring
me. “Are you all right? He hit you pretty hard.”

My stomach's fine, but is the rest of
me all right? No. Never will I be again. Especially if something
happens to him. “Fine.”

“
No you're not.” His hands
are fisted at his side, jaw clenched. “Do you want to talk about
it?”

Which part? I bring up the least
bothersome of my problems, though it still seems like too much.
“The new tarnished law, when will it start?”

“
I meant talk about the
sacrifice, how you're feeling.” Not a word about the threat. Maybe
he doesn't know I heard. “I didn't tell you because I wanted to see
your genuine reaction. I'm sorry. It was wrong. I should've said
something.”

Would knowing about it beforehand
change how hard it was to go through?

He puts a hand on his hip. “The law
will happen when the Grand Chancellor decides. No other really
knows.”

I stay silent,
contemplating.

“
I didn't mean to stop
your question, it just surprised me. Is there anything else you
want to know?”

Lots of things. Coming here raised
more questions than expected. Mostly I want to know how serious
Chancellor Ryan was, but I stick to the easier topic. “Are the
tarnished who are causing the problems really going to
participate?”

“
Many will have to
participate because they have no way to earn money and pay taxes.
But those causing the problems, it's doubtful they
will.”

“
Then why bother with the
compromise? It doesn't make sense.”

“
It's just a way to sneak
the law in. They've been fighting the tougher law for so long, that
the weaker law now looks good. The Grand Chancellor can act on it
without anyone trying to usurp him.”

“
Is someone trying to take
over?”

“
He's aware some are
unhappy with the way things are,” he says. “And by doing it here,
it makes Daniel appear in support of the law. The Grand Chancellor
knows what he's doing with this law. It'll probably grow harsher
after people get used to it.”

“
So, things will keep
getting harder for the tarnished.”

“
Do you think that's a
good thing or a bad?”

Before my name was entered in the
marriage pool, it would have meant nothing. Now I know how much it
means. “Why didn't you vote against it?”

Immediately his expression becomes
guarded. “I couldn't.”

“
Did you want
to?”

After checking to see where the others
are, he bends toward me. “Yes.”

This makes sense with the way he's
acted, but why wouldn't he say so in front of the council? Warlocks
always say whatever they want, at least, I thought they did. Why is
he different?

“
The green in your eyes.
I've never seen anything quite like it.”

It's suddenly hard to breathe. “My
eyes are brown.”

He leans down, closer. “Yes, but
there's a ring of green in the middle of them.”

I've never noticed. No one's ever
noticed. At least not that they've told me.

“
Guess none of us are
hungry,” Daniel says.

I jump away from Zade desperately
trying to get some air.

Zade is just like he always is, not
affected by whatever it is that struck me. “No. We best be on our
way. Thank you for taking care of Serena.”

“
It's not a problem. Thank
you for bringing her,” Daniel says.

“
Yes, thank you.”
Annabelle smiles. “I'll see you soon, Serena.”

Though her eyes are still red, her
cheerfulness is returning. Wish I hadn't broken it in the first
place. “You're staying at our house for the ball?”

“
We are.”

“
We'll see you soon
then.”

On the ride home, I can't help but
think of the tarnished woman, the glazed look in her eyes becoming
lifeless. It's easier than thinking of Chancellor Ryan's threat,
and what it could mean to Zade and me. I'm not ready to contemplate
it, but the sacrifice...It could have been Katherine on that table.
She has to know what they're doing.

Chapter
Thirty-Four

K
atherine sits across from me in my room, looking at me with
her big, dark eyes. Suddenly, I don't want to tell her. I want her
free from the burden life has forced on her. It's a false hope. I
have to say something.

“
Two days ago I went to a
council meeting.” And had four shooting lessons since that time.
It's been a busy week. Not the type of business I prefer. The metal
piece is strapped to my leg. But even with the lessons, I doubt it
will help Zade, or Katherine.

Her eyes widen. “How did you manage
that?”

“
I asked Chancellor Zade
to take me a while back and he finally consented.” I choke down the
regret I feel for doing so.

“
He consented? I didn't
think a woman would ever go to a meeting and live to tell about
it.”

I cock my head. “What do you
mean?”

“
You were there, did you
see what happened to the tarnished?”

“
I tried not to.” She
already knows? “But how do you know it was a woman? How do you know
about it at all?”

“
Tarnished get taken
whenever it's time for a meeting. When that happens, you get good
at knowing about it and making sure you're not around,” she says.
“And it's always a woman. Always.”

“
Why a woman?”

“
I'm guessing it has to do
with magic. Some tarnished women have magic in their blood, no
tarnished men do.”

Magic in our blood. We can't use it,
but the warlocks can. I remember the strange glow to the Grand
Chancellor's skin after the sacrifices and Zade taking my blood
during the ceremony. Didn't he say something about being more
powerful after that? No wonder they want wives with lots of magic
flowing through their veins. Or tarnish them and later use them as
a sacrifice. How much more powerful will they become after draining
our full life's blood?

Katherine says, “What was the rest of
the meeting like?”

It takes me a moment to think of
anything other than women being used for a power they can't access.
“Horrid. Rather like my engagement ceremony, but not centered on
me. Annabelle joined the meeting a little way into it. It was good
to have the support of someone else, though we weren't next to each
other.”

“
Two of you were there?
That changes things even more.”

“
Probably not. I don't
think we'll go again.” How could I risk Zade's life more? And I
don't want to keep being around sacrifices. But I do want to stop
it. There's just no way that I can. “They did discuss something
that will affect you and I wanted to make sure you
knew.”

Her face pales. “A law?”

“
Yes. Revised from what
they originally wanted, but it's passed.”

Her hands tighten around the arms of
her chair. “How bad is it?”

I explain the law as best I can. “It's
not mandatory yet.”

She puts the back of her hand to her
mouth. “Might as well be.”

“
Chancellor Zade thinks
it'll be the beginning of stricter laws. Are
you
—
”

Before I finish, Katherine rushes to
the washing bowl and retches. For a moment, I'm stunned into
immobilization. Once I'm over the shock, I pour a glass of water
and take it to her.

“
I should have broken the
news more gently. I'm sorry.”

She takes a sip. “It's not
the news. Perhaps in part, I've been expecting it. It's
just
—
”
she drops into the closest chair. “I'm not a tarnished.”

I stare at her.

She's not a tarnished?

It can't be. Can it?

“
How's that even
possible?”

She gives a half-hearted smile. “You'd
better sit, you look worse than I feel.”

My legs carry me to a chair. “Your
marks are fake?”

“
It hurt enough getting
them to be real, but yes, by tarnished standards, they're
fake.”

“
And your
hair?”

“
Shaved clean every
morning.”

“
How can you not be a
tarnished? You look just like one. You work and live in their
section of town. Why would you do that if you're not one of
them?”

“
It's a long
story.”

“
You can't tell me you're
not tarnished without explaining. Please, tell me.”

She sighs. “Father chose an old
warlock to marry me. A really old warlock. Lots of money and power.
He lived in another town. It was unlikely I'd see mother again.
Plus, he smelled something fierce. Like rotting vegetables. So I
ran away.”

“
You ran?” I slap my hand
onto my chest. “Running never crossed my mind. How did you consider
it an option?”

“
One of the servants ran
off when I was a little girl. It never left my memory. They caught
her and hung her, but I always wished she had gotten away. When the
chance came, I took it. Had I known what waited on the streets, I
would have married the smelly old man.” She shudders. “Now, I'm
glad for the choice. Despite the hard work, I'm free as any woman
can be in this country.” Her voice cracks. “And after everything,
it's going to end.”

I switch to the chair next to hers and
squeeze her hand. “We'll figure something out. Is this why you were
upset when we came to visit?”

She nods.

It must have been hard dealing with
this and no one to talk to. “You spoke of helping me escape once,
could we make that work for you?”

“
Perhaps. But it's not
easy or likely with my inked face. Plus, I like my life and there
are others I have to consider.”

“
What others?”

She breaks eye contact. “Friends I've
made.”

Is she hiding more from me? If she is,
I can't imagine what else it could be.

Her gaze comes back to mine. “I like
you. I'd hate not having you around anymore.”

“
But if they discover you,
they won't tarnish you.” The truth hits me like a pack of
daughters. “They'll kill you for it, wouldn't they?”

Her lips form a thin line. She
nods.

I sag in my chair and think. Is there
any way to help her? Anything we can do besides sending her away? I
don't want to see her go away either, but if it means she'll be
safe, it would be worth it. “I have one other idea, but it'll be
risky.”