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For ht "How

"Half I’ve never had a girl ht" She stopped in the hallway and faced me, her nose an inch from mine "You will treat the winner with the respect that kind of ive him whatever he wants, and you will make sure you do it with a s special, and you will give hi special"

I nodded, my mouth dry The full impact of what this meant hadn’t hit me until now, and my insides clenched uncomfortably as I followed her upstairs This was really happening, and there was no backing out now

Marion escorted me to a luxurious bedrooh space to walk beside it Just like the dressing room, there were no s, and the only door was the one she closed behind e of the bed and drew my knees to my chin, and I tried to pretend I was somewhere else

At home with Benjy, curled up underneath a quilt as he read to s, our way of passing notes Even walking through the rancid sewers, so long as he ith er to do whatever he wanted toheart

It would be all right Tabs did this all the tiirls did And for a hell of a lot less than fifteen thousand gold pieces, too With that kind of , I could pack s, take the money, and run Find a room to rent and stay there until Benjy was ranked After seventeen years of never having a say in my own life, I’d finally be the one in control I would put a sht of my life if that’s what it took to ht in my throat

The Shield from thethe saer, but the other I recognized fro, the Shield stepped inside the tiny rooht in the eye I stared back at hiesture Tabs et out of this situation Several seconds passed before he straightened and nodded to the men behind him "It’s her"

One of them mumbled a feords into his cuff, and the Shield froestured for me to stay put

Had he been the one to buy me? How could he have possibly affordeda seat next toatfor bubbled up inside ht insure I didn’t escape

This time there was a clock in the room, and over forty minutes passed before I heard a shuffle in the hallway The men outside the door saluted in crisp unison, and they stepped aside A tall man in a black overcoat entered the room

I froze

"Hello," he said with a voice that everyone in the country would recognize "What’s your naan to rip "Kitty," I croaked

The corners of his dark eyes crinkled in ah forehead, bushy eyebrows, and dark hair that was graying at the temples

If I’d had any doubts before, noas positive

Prime Minister Daxton Hart The position was supposed to be temporary, but when the elections came every four years, there was only one na out ?"

"Yeah," I said "It’s short for ‘ for cats’"

Silence filled the room, and the Shield stared at me as if he couldn’t believe I’d talked back to the priround and refused to flinch

A few seconds passed, and to hed "I like you You have spunk Though with a name like Kitty Doe, we both know you never knew your parents"

My cheeks grearm "If you already knew my name, then why did you ask for it in the first place?"

He shrugged "Courtesy, h I daresay you will not ask for ht of anyone touching me made ht

He brushed his fingers against the ridges and frowned

"A III," he said gravely "And a fresh one at that You must not be very happy"

"My choices in life have now been reduced to cleaning sewers or whoring ers It isn’t exactly what I had in mind"

"What did you have in uards shifted uneasily, but Daxton sighed

"You’re right, it isn’t Such a pity I do like you"

He druainst his elbow, and we stared at each other I refused to be the first to look away

"Tell you what, Kitty," he said, and he leaned in closer to me "Hoould you like to be a VII?"

I blinked, and for a second I was positive I’d ranted VIIs Not even the twelve Ministers of the Union were ranked so high

"I’m a III," I said, as if that settled it, because it did

No one changed rank No one Everyone took the test, and everyone wasit over again Everyone had the same shot as everyone else The only exceptions were the Harts, who didn’t take the test at all "I’htened and adjusted his overcoat "I will only offer this once, and I need your answer iht, and your mark will be replaced"

"And if I say no?" I said

"I think we both knohat happens then" Daxton checked his gold watch "My offer is good for the next thirty seconds"

I stared at hier tapped the watch face as each second ticked by, and with every tap, my throat seemed to close up a little more

A VII A real VII froe, endless resources and beautiful things, never again having to worry about being arrested and sent Elsewhere-- Benjy

What would happen to him? What would he do when he found out I’d disappeared? I couldn’t leave hi one of the few people in et to stay in DC?" I blurted, and Daxton gave me his trademark benevolent smile

"I don’t see why you wouldn’t," he said "We have many homes across the country, but the one in Somerset is by far the most lavish"