*Ainslee*My fucking sock is wet.Again.It’s a chilly night, yet we are all standing outside of the mayor’s office on the lawn. Earlier in the day, the town criers had spread the word that there would be a village meeting this evening at sundown. Everyone is expected to be there. No one has any idea what the meeting is about, at least, not any idea with merit. A lot of rumors are whirling about town. I’ve heard everything from a murderer is on the lose to that a volunteer army is being formed because Warfang is about to attack us, but I don’t think any of that is true.I do have an idea why the mayor has called this meeting, and the idea of it has my stomach sitting like a rock in the bottom of my gut.Lenny stands about five feet from me, saying nothing. His family is huddled around, trying to keep warm, though their cloaks are in better shape than my family’s. Each of my parent is holding a little to keep them warm, our thin blankets wrapped around their bodies. I’d tried to take S
*Ainslee*My arms are sore. Every time I move one of them, it hurts. But I am home, sitting on the couch, drinking some warm water and nibbling one of the last pieces of bread.I shouldn’t be. My family will need it when I’m gone. Though, my stepfather did remind us all on the way home that anyone who has a family member chosen for the culling receives an extra 100 vlads per week as a gift from the king. That’s probably meant to provide plenty of food to make up for that person’s absence, but as I discussed with Zeke, that’s not the case in our village.“How are you?” Mom sits down next to me and lovingly strokes my hair. Standing outside in the damp weather has her coughing again. I should’ve insisted on holding Sinead, but my sister only wanted her. Now, Mom is not doing well, and I feel miserable.“I’m okay. I thought they were going to kill me,” I admit.She sighs. “You’ve got to watch that mouth of yours, my love. I know you come by it naturally. Your father was the same way. Bu
*Ainslee*The transport vehicle jars all of us as it goes over the rough terrain. It’s still cold, but it’s warmed up a bit since the sun came up. So far, the reactions are almost as different as the twenty of us. A few of the younger kids are crying. The older ones, the almost adults, the ones that should be able to shift if they weren’t so fucking tired, are angry.And a lot of them keep glaring at me.I’m waiting for someone to say this is my fault, to just go ahead and put words behind the evil looks, but no one has done it yet. I keep my eyes focused out the slats between the timbers holding this rickety piece of shit together the best I can and try not to lose it.“We should talk strategy,” one of the older guys, Nelson Pebbles, says. He’s a short, stocky guy, about five years older than me. If this culling would’ve happened in three years like it was supposed to, he would’ve been too old. That’s true for four or five of these angry people.“Shit, I meant to go talk to Mark Beav
*Rafe*My horse whinnies, and I pat his neck to steady him. He’s not a fan of wolf shifters. I can’t say that I blame him. It’s not like he’s been around a lot of them, and even though these folks are all in human form, not wolf, it still makes him uneasy to be around savage predatorial beasts.Gazing through the trees, I see malnourished, dirty young people and almost laugh at myself for ever thinking to describe them that way. They are not a threat to my horse or me.The urge to go closer, to further inspect them, is overwhelming, but I fight it. I’d just as soon stay in the shadows and let my advisors and guards handle this business. They’ve all arrived here in plenty of time to prepare for the culling tonight the best they can. My understanding from talking to King Axel is that I just need to make sure that every village sent at least twenty people and that no one runs away before this thing begins. I have guards stationed everywhere throughout the forest and around the transport
*Ainslee*Lying back on the soft grass, I stare up at the sky, watching the stars beginning to glitter overhead as the sun drops below the tree line. I have one hand on my full stomach, the other under my head.“Your belly aching?” Nelson asks, sitting next to me.I don’t even look up to answer him, knowing he’s talking to me. “A little.”“I told you guys not to eat so much. That was all a hoax, you know. They pretend to be nice to you, pretend to care, and then rip your throat out.”I hear Annamarie whimper and sit up, despite my aching stomach. “Stop it, Nelson. You’re scaring her. They won’t rip your throat out, Annamarie.”She pulls her legs up to her chest and wraps an arm around them. It won’t be long now until we have to get ready to run, and I am not prepared. Neither is she, but for different reasons. I can tell fear is pulsing through her, the sort of fear that makes a person paralyzed, not persistent.“So you think they fed us to slow us down?” Travis asks, picking at his t
*Ainslee*Prince Rafe.How the fuck did I not know? It all makes perfect sense now. I’ve been so angry for so long, I haven’t been thinking clearly. When I thought of the royals, my mind went to King Axel’s daughters—Sophia and Riley. They are the only true royals besides the king. But Rafe was made a prince long ago so that he could become next in line to be king. Then there are some dukes and lords and other such titles that the king has around him. They were mostly given those titles because they served the king at one point or something. I’m not sure. Obviously, this is not my area of expertise.Prince Rafe is making his way to the center of the meadow. Not to address us as we all initially thought and stood up for. At least, that’s not what he’s doing at the moment. Instead, he’s speaking to Kris about something, a few guards standing around them, and he doesn’t look happy. I am up now, and I don’t want to hurt my full belly by sinking back down, so I look around and see the moon
*Rafe*“Do you want me to explain the rules?” Kris is asking, standing next to me in front of the crowd of young people who have been brought here to represent their villages in the culling.I want to tell him yes, that I would rather let him stand up here and tell these people the list of elaborate rules we’ve put in place to keep them from ever regaining their freedom again, but I find myself shaking my head. I’ll do it. I’m the soon-to-be king. It’s my responsibility.Just as I start to speak, I feel the weight of an intense gaze on my face and turn toward Ainslee. I’ve been trying to avoid her. It’s easier to pretend she’s at home with her family where she belongs if she’s not directly in my line of sight.But there she is, staring at me with those ocean eyes. I expect to see fear there, but that’s not what I see at all. Confusion. Irritation. Maybe even a little bit of rage. Could it be she’s just so use to always feeling angry at everyone all the time that she can’t help but loo
*Ainslee*Prince Rafe commands my attention while he speaks, but as he fades away into the shadows, and my thoughts return to what is about to transpire, I will myself not to think about him anymore. I have to concentrate on getting through the woods and out the other side.Three hours.We have an extra hour. When Nelson and Travis hear those words, they actually chuckle with glee. “We can do this,” Nelson whispers, and I nod. I know the boys won’t wait for me because it’s too much of a risk. I’ll be slower. My legs are shorter, and I’m just not as strong. But they’ll leave me footprints I can follow to the church, so I am confident I can find my way there.Although, I might not stop. I might just keep right on running for freedom. I know that Prince Rafe said that the vampires will be pouring in from all sides, a rule he says he couldn’t alter for whatever reason, but I have a stronger advantage when it comes to smell than most of these wolves seem to have. I always know when a vampi