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I don’t know if he’s trying to find space so he can be the callous man he needs to be. Or if he’s trying to protect me.

“Of course,” Isaac says, even though it’s the last thing he wants to do. “Silla, can I borrow you for a moment?”

Nodding, I exit out of the area I was digging in, making sure no one will know I was there.

“Of course,” I murmur, standing to face them. Lana’s eyes trace over my body, avoiding my face as she ogles me. By the time she glances up, I feel dirty.

“Miss Kort, this is Silla Tremaine. She’s in Section B, but is very skilled with coding work. You’ll often find her in my office once a day working for me,” Isaac explains. I know he’s trying to normalize my presence here, but it makes me uncomfortable knowing she knows I’m here.

FRC is just large enough that I can get lost inside of it if I need to.

“Silla… you’re the Queen’s step-sister, aren’t you?” Lana exclaims, reaching up to touch one of my curls.

“Miss Kort,” Isaac says disapprovingly. “Please keep your hands to yourself. Silla isn’t your play toy, and from my understanding, you have people at your disposal.”

“What if I want her?” she asks, making my body tremble as she stares at me as if I’m something pretty to break. The twins and Sidney have looked at me like this before, but somehow this scares the shit out of me.

I don’t think she’d bother putting me back together. As much as my intrusive thoughts have been getting the best of me, I know they care about me. Lana doesn’t have any connection to me.

“The rule for your rotation while you’re here is that your lovers have to be willing,” Isaac grunts. “Your dance card is full for the next three weeks.”

Lana’s fingers brush my clavicle bone, making me shiver and my breaths shorten. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.

“She could want me,” she says in a sing-song voice. “Silla… your name is so pretty. We really should get to know each other, since we’re both so close to the Queen…”

I am not at all close to my step-sister, and I’m almost positive my pupils are blown out in fear. It can’t possibly be arousal, even as I feel my nipples tighten.

What the fuck is wrong with me?

“Miss Kort,” Isaac barks. “Stop playing with my assistant. She has work to do.”

Pulling her hand away, she pouts, and I’m grateful for his help. My eyes dart to his for a moment, and I can see how stormy and full of anger he is.

“Isaac, can I ask you something?” asks someone, and I curse inside of my head.

“Yeah,” he mutters. “Miss Kort, I hope you take your leave soon."

Everyone else has been bending over backwards to cater to her, and a part of me loves that Isaac is his normal, grumpy self.

“Of course. I just need a word with… Silla,” Lana says with a smile. As he steps out of the room, she draws closer.

“I wonder how similar to Cinder you really are,” she says, so close to my lips they’re practically touching. “You’re so much curvier than either of us… I don’t think I’ve ever been with a woman with such large breasts either.”

As she talks, Lana pushes me against the desk, her hand brushing up my side until she can cup my breast. It’s like I lose the ability to fight as I whimper, “Please don’t…”

Truthfully, this woman terrifies me. When she smiles, it’s as if the face of evil is looking back at me. Pushing my shirt and bra up, Lana groans. “So pretty…”

Isaac starts to turn around, but as usual, someone else is getting his attention. I’m not sure how, but the door begins to close behind him. No… oh Gods…

I can see a man’s smile before the door completely closes, and my heart starts to break. Zachary is once again betraying me. Fuck.

Once a traitor… always one.

Lana’s hand wraps around my throat, tightening until I can’t make a noise, pushing me down onto the desk. I know how to break her hold, break her fingers, but I’m frozen in terror. She holds the power to bring my step-sister down on all of us.

Red lips parting, she sucks on my nipple, torturing the other in her other hand. “The sign of a true whore is responding to any stimulus, even if you don’t think you want me,” Lana breathes. “Cinder makes the most adorable noises when she comes. It’s too bad you’re going to make this so hard for me…”

Lana leans over me, her long sheet of hair falling around us. All I can smell is the cloying scent of roses, one of Cinder’s favorite flowers. Attempting to kiss me, I begin to struggle. I can’t… no.