Page 36 of The Caged Girl

I walked through the hallways and stopped only to look at the photographs. It was the same sort of sorority house photos. Every single photo was of a woman with blonde hair and the eerie smile that sent chills up my spine.

* * *

I knew I couldn’t waste time and anger Sage. This was an easy job for me, and after last night, I needed to stay under the radar. Alister would return, and I needed a track record of me caring for Mrs. Rothschild. I walked into the kitchen where I had forgotten about the unique outfits, or lack thereof, for the staff.

But then my stomach flipped as I remembered the screen.

It was what the men were getting to watch. That’s why the girls were wearing heels and nothing but an apron and tiny lace shorts to cook in. It was part of the entertainment for the men.

“Could I please get the berry-floral smoothie?” I asked one of the girls who was washing a wineglass.

“Are you talking about our wellness smoothie, Pretty in Pink?”

“I think so…”

“Yeah, just go over to Taylor. She’s making them.” I nodded and slid against the wall toward the back, hoping to not be a part of this sick production.

“Taylor!” I waved at her as she was chopping fruits and vegetables on a cutting board.

She wiped her brow with her forearm and smiled at me. “Hi, need something?”

“One Pretty in Pink, please.” This felt like a normal job. It was kind of a relief to just be…normal for a moment.

Taylor blew out a breath. “You should learn how to make it, too. That’s our most popular smoothie.”

“Yes, I’d love to.” I washed my hands at the sink next to her and dried them quickly.

“Strawberry, ice, banana, spinach, raspberries…” She paused as I finished adding the ingredients into the blender.

“That powder right there…” She flinched as I reached for a container labeled, osso blend.

“What is this?” I opened it and grabbed the measuring spoon.

“Bone blend.”

My lips parted as I looked at her. “When the caged girls…”

“You mean, the nightingales?”

“They’re the same. The nightingales are the caged girls. Once they are finished and used, they get well… It’s just their bones.”

Taylor looked around. Luckily, we were tucked away into the side of the kitchen that couldn’t be seen well. She slid a small container of something in a deep shade of red, almost black. “Alister swears this is some youth smoothie because it contains the bones and blood of beautiful, submissive women.”

“I’m not putting this in there,” I whimpered as my fingers shook.

“You must, Demi. Don’t stray.” She grabbed it from me and put in two heaping spoons of it. Then, she handed me a bowl of peony petals.

I gagged as I put the top on and began to blend everything. I knew where peony flowers grew at Ian Ivory’s home, and I wondered where the graveyard was here on the island.

“If this one was hard to make, then you really don’t want to know what’s in the pineapple smoothie.”

“What?” My eyebrows knitted together as I shuddered.

“Semen.”

CHAPTERTWENTY-TWO

“That took you long enough.”Sage smiled as she took the smoothie off the white marble platter.