A Violet Fire (Vampires in Avignon #1) - Kelsey Quick Page 0,91

tug on her sleeve as she brushes at her face with her hand. She’s crying!

“You can’t cry here, they will scent it,” I whisper urgently, grabbing her hand and squeezing it. “You are worth more than their opinion of you… than his opinion of you.” Knowing she cares about Giomar’s opinion of her is enough to make me sick.

“Listen to me on this. If it weren’t for you I would have given up on myself a long time ago. You have value outside of the vampires.”

She whips her face to me and I’m met with a harsh, incredulous glower. “Easy for you to say now, I bet.”

“What?” I release my grip on her hand and grab her forearm, tightly. “I’ve always been this way. Even back before Zein started…”

She jerks her arm away, and glares at me. “It’s Lord Zein. Especially around here.”

Did she really…?

She turns back and continues forward, saying nothing.

I clench my jaw and grab her arm again, whispering, “Is it too much of a stretch for you? To acknowledge that you may actually have some worth outside of their agenda? Outside of this?” I draw in a heavy breath. “In the future, I would rather you say how upset my special treatment makes you feel instead of snapping at me. One Anaya is enough.” I throw her arm down and she keeps walking, as if she never heard me. I blink away the anger, barely.

All the ruby supply units are led into one of five narrow spaces, literally caged from sight by stained-glass panels and a single, marble bench. There are openings on either side of the human crate, each guarded by an associate of the lord who owns the cargo. For our particular cage, the entrance side is manned by Ceti, while the exit side is manned by Gemini. Only a single, narrow opening in the glass allows us the ability to see out.

As we file in, Gemini shoots me a peculiar look. At least, I assume it’s me. But I disregard it, sitting on the bench as he returns his attention back to the center of the room, where serenely instrumental music plays and vampires—from all across Cain—glide across the stained glass to dance. Zein’s attention has shifted to Marina Schovir who seems to have made her way down the table to talk to him. The sway and angle of her body as she rests her weight on the table, as well as Zein’s particular engagement in their conversation, drains all of my fresh confidence I had acquired from the make-up—leaving only a pit of insecurity swirling in my gut.

“I’m sorry,” Savvy states softly from my side.

My whole body releases a built-up tension I didn’t even know was there at the sound of her calm voice.

“I didn’t mean to come off so… horrible. You are right. It’s hard for me to see past this one failure—of not becoming a worthy supply unit.” She blinks her pause. “Worthy of attention. Worthy of nourishment. Anything really, it would’ve been nice.”

“I understand. But it’s not your purpose for living. Trust me on that.”

She nods uneasily, and seems to understand. More than ever, I want to tell Savvy the truth. That she’s a product of Saya’s guarantee to provide submissive and endearing service. That they filled her mind with images, with ideals, crammed it in every learning corner of her early childhood to make her this fragile, and with a one-track mind. But then, if I told her and she believed me, she wouldn’t feel like a real person anymore. Like everything she is was manufactured to a standard, devoid of individuality. For one of only a handful of times, I stay quiet.

“I haven’t told you what I’ve been needing to, but I will later,” Savvy says. “I may not be there yet, but I’m trying to see past my shortcomings. It doesn’t make moments like this, where I’m surrounded by actual supply units, any less hard.”

I nod. “I’m sorry. I know how that is… all too well.”

“We can—” she starts but is cut off by a booming voice that originates from the grand hall floor. The owner of it is a tall, well-dressed, and a surprisingly scrawny vampire.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the Castle of Isshar. Before we get started with matters of business and relations, Lord Reginald Amaorin, as well as the Elders, would like to preface such stresses with times of fun and fellowship. Please enjoy the music and meals provided, and limit yourselves to your