14. Scarlett

CHAPTER 14

SCARLETT

Beatrix and Julie escort me as far as the entrance hall. Once the harmony of wind instruments and deep, dreamlike notes of a cello thrums in my chest, they're gone.

So I endure the rest of my journey alone, venturing through a wide-open archway that lets the sounds of mirth and richness spill through.

My view as I step forward takes my breath away.

Hundreds of Elites are here, all in one place, dressed in their best finery for the occasion with a blood-red theme. I run my fingers over my lacy dress glimmering with reds and sapphire-black hues.

For once, I fit right in—had I been in the crowd. Now, peering over them from above, I feel like I sorely stand out.

They haven't noticed me yet as I stay a few steps just out of immediate view, so I take a moment to gather my scrambled thoughts.

Is this my life now? I wonder as I try not to gape at the oversized ballroom filled with the Magic Sector's most prominent and prestigious families.

Deciding to make my entrance alone now feels daunting—and possibly like a mistake.

I have no idea what I'm doing.

The ballroom spans out in a sea of extravagance and glittering jewels. My perch from the top of a gilded stairway lets me see just how many families want to impress the Rinholds. The Nightingale Village Day of the Choosing attracts perhaps four or five families to our meager ballroom. I doubt there will even be a fête this year without my mother being well enough to put it together.

My brother certainly won't be of any help. He often travels off-site for Cain knows what, and my father goes in person to oversee the selections himself at the village multiple train stops away.

But Rinhold's Choosing Day is quite the affair. I lose count after fifty as I take in the mingling crowd.

There has to be half of the Magic Sector's upper echelon here tonight.

I have never seen most of the faces in clumps of embroidered silks and sparkling jewels. That makes sense. Even if I've been in the Magic Sector for two years, I've spent the majority of it behind the walls of the Nightingale estate or the rare outings outside while I hid underneath a parasol.

I can't help but scan the crowd for my mother, even though I know she can't have possibly improved enough to attend. She would have enjoyed this.

She might have even been proud of me. While she had not prepared me to take a husband, she had told me that I could always choose my own fate.

Is this what I choose for myself?

It seems like a better alternative to taking our chances with the culling.

But that's next month's problem. Today is Rinhold's Choosing Day. Nightingale's will be coming up soon, meaning my own family has many tasks to attend to in preparation.

Such as my father departing on the train to Nightingale Village just this morning. He gave me a kiss on my forehead as he said goodbye.

I can't remember the last time my father had kissed me.

My brother had also disappeared, not onto a train but by carriage. He wouldn't tell me where he was going, but there was mention of the Nightingale Compound among the servants. I know even less about the compound than I do the village.

The fact that Rosie wouldn't tell me anything only made me more concerned.

Maybe things will be different as a Lady of the Rinhold family, I wonder.

Although, I feel incredibly unprepared for this courtship and all it might entail. Despite all of my training, my family only has so many connections here. Most families are incredibly private, so it can be difficult to obtain any documents with likenesses or information on those who wish to remain mysterious.

I have largely relied on rumor to navigate the new families I have encountered. But based on my interactions with Edward so far, I have reconsidered that method. Perhaps I need to reserve judgment based on my own experiences and not that of idle chatter likely born from a place of jealousy and disgruntled families unable to afford such extravagance.

Because this is no fête. This is positively lavish .

I no longer have the luxury of remaining frozen as trumpets sound. The blaring notes announce my appearance, and I instantly wish I were anywhere else.

Because the entire ballroom has fallen silent and all eyes turn to me.

"Announcing the arrival of the esteemed Lady Scarlett Nightingale, blood-betrothed to Earl Rinhold," says the announcer I hadn't seen emerge from his post. He's wearing a velvety red suit with frilly black under layers. He gives me a low bow after the damning introduction.

A wave of shocked gasps sweeps through the room as the music comes to an abrupt stop. My heart jumps into my throat, and it feels as if my corset has constricted, cutting off my air.

Was our courtship not yet publicly announced?

The only moving object through the crowd is my so-called blood-betrothed, a term I'm familiar with, so it doesn't surprise me. I dislike it immediately, though, because it makes the whole courtship period sound like a dispensable ceremony.

It isn't. I can still say no.

Can't I?

Earl Rinhold's eyes appear a fairer shade of blue in the bright ballroom. Every corner is gilded, and white marble reflects the cheerful light that catches in his blond curls, but he holds my focus.

Because he's wearing a black suit with frilly red cuffs and ruby cuff links encased in silver. It's an outfit that complements mine.

He smiles at me from the bottom of the staircase and gazes up as if I'm the most beautiful sight he's ever seen.

He doesn't move to retrieve me. Instead, he patiently waits, and I realize I'm supposed to do something.

Right. Stairs.

No one is here to escort me, which was my own choice. A rush of panic makes butterflies flutter in my stomach, but pride creeps up my blood-marked spine.

Resting my hand on the rail, I marvel that I successfully suppress a tremor and begin my descent. My elegant shoes clip along the marble, sending a heartbeat through the room as everyone watches me do exactly what Duchess Rinhold didn't want.

Make a grand entrance.

I spot her eyeing me from across the room. Her eyes are narrowed as she aggressively fans herself with a lacy contraption stuffed with silky black feathers.

Becoming enemies with my future mother-in-law wasn't what I had in mind tonight, but if it makes my purpose here clear, then that's how this will have to be.

If I fell now, I'd be under her shadow for the rest of my life. Which, if the Rinholds moved to the Immortality Sector, would possibly be forever.

"You're stunning, my lady," Edward says, pitching his voice low as I venture in range of his words. He holds out his hand, the one with the first letter of my name branded in blood on his skin. "It seems my sister's cosmetic tonics suit you, even though she didn't think they would."

Sister's tonics?

Conflicting emotions batter on the inside of my chest as I take his hand and he presses a kiss to my skin. A tingle runs up my arm, but I'm too caught up in what he just said to react.

My gaze flicks over him and to the crowd—they're still watching us. I don't have as good a vantage point to be able to see his mother anymore.

And I have no idea what his sister looks like.

"Will you introduce me to Lady Liliana?" I ask, then mentally kick myself when Edward gives me a raised brow.

If he's surprised I know her name, he doesn't comment on it. Instead, the hesitation melts away as he smiles and then gives me a low bow. "Of course. I'll be happy to introduce you after our dance."

My mouth pops open to question him, but he lets go of my hand and slaps his palms together. "Music! Lady Scarlett and I will begin today's celebrations with the first dance."

He eyes the crowd as if waiting for a protest, but no one dares say a thing.

Then the music begins. It's too slow to dance to, so I wait.

My eyes go round when all of the walls morph and change in response to the tones. The once solid walls have now turned into massive screens displaying a place I've never seen before.

No, that's not a city, I realize when I spot the platform and a large device scrolling with numbers atop it. While my family has a different system to call forth selections, I understand the format.

This is Rinhold Village.

My family's village could be called quaint. It has farms on the mountainside, little to no technology for the natives, and simple homes. While I've never visited, I have seen it on my father's monitoring devices. He explained the importance of keeping their objectives focused on developing the community and cultivating selections. Genetics isn't the only thing that comes into play when creating a human compatible to mate with a monster. Part of it is environment and training, too.

Footage of Monsters Night when selections go to Monster City is publicly broadcast, but insider images of rival villages are kept private. We're all in competition with one another. I always knew that other families had different methods and styles for how they formed and ran their villages, but I never imagined anything like this.

Rinhold Village looks as if it's made of iron. There's not a single speck of greenery as I blink at the militaristic surroundings and massive structures.

The inhabitants wear protective leathers, and the men have swords strapped to their backs. Even the women seem like tiny warriors with their hair up in tight bands and braids, each of them wearing what I could only describe as armor.

Except for three beautiful figures in the center of them all, protected by the largest men with swords. Each woman wears a glittery dress made of diamonds that flows with their movements.

Three various walls zoom in on each of them as the music thrums to life.

The women stiffen at the noise as if they can hear it.

"They'll dance after we do," Edward whispers in my ear as his hand snakes around my waist.

My blood-marks sting as he swoops me into a practiced move that has my spine bending to his will.

I don't resist. My muscles move on instinct, obeying the years of training that has cultivated my body as an instrument to be played on the dance floor.

But no man has ever played my body like this.

A curious murmur of voices rolls through the crowd, but I don't care. My entire focus is on Edward's kind eyes that have a hint of desire in them. He's not wearing a mask, but something seems to bleed through his skin as if he's done a good job of suppressing things I shouldn't be seeing.

He leads me into a swirling maneuver, making my dress fan out before I'm pressed against his chest. His nose brushes mine as he grins.

"Everyone is watching us," I whisper when he draws me into a dip, then strokes his fingers through my hair.

The movement is distinctly sensual, and my body zings with excitement.

The screens all around us darken, and I wonder if they've lowered the broadcast, or perhaps the skies have gone cloudy wherever Rinhold Village is located.

"I don't care," Edward says, his breath hot on my ear, as he swirls me again.

He lets me go, and the notes of the music lift, making me rise up on my toes as I instinctively reach for the air.

That's when the shadows descend and the room goes dark, but there's still enough subtle light from all the reflective surfaces around us for me to see.

I try not to panic. My first thought is that this is part of the dance, but when screams rip through the discorded music, I realize something is terribly wrong.

When I come down from my lifted position, I find myself in the arms of someone new.

Definitely not Edward.

My breath catches in my throat as I stare up at a face that is foreign and familiar all at the same time.

Cain, the King of the Elite City, smiles at me as his grip tightens on my hips.

"Hello, Scarlett."