Page 19 of Their Lethal Pet

Or maybe he sees it as a white flag. I technically obeyed him.Finally.

Yet it doesn’t feel like obedience. My eyes are focused ahead, not downcast. My shoulders are square. And my steps are sure.

All the while, my heart threatens to take over my hearing again.

Deep breaths,I tell myself as the train rumbles to life before me.Just hop on board and go to Monster City. Then look for Sera.

Over a dozen Village Protectors line the train platform, all of them hidden behind their ominous hoods.

They’re silent, imposing statues, but I know they’re watching me, waiting to see if I’ll run. That’s their purpose.

It’s happened before, back when I was a young girl. The Offering made it as far as the alleyway just off the square before she was caught by her hair and dragged back to the train.

Serapina was distraught after the violent display, her seven-year-old mind struggling to understand the cruelty.

Our parents were nowhere nearby to console her, leaving me to calm her down.

If only I knew then how common that would become—me being a mother to Serapina.

Because we lost our parents a year later, leaving us orphaned in the village. Fortunately, they’d saved enough resources for us to live on in their absence.

I’m still not sure how that was possible, especially now that I understand how basic necessities are handled in our village. However, it wasn’t like I could ask anyone for clarification. I simply accepted what we needed to survive, guarded my sister the best I could, and…

Ended up on this train platform,I think, eyeing the extra-wide door before me.

With Protectors on either side and the Viscount at my back, I don’t have a choice but to continue forward. Not that I want to stop now.

I need to see this through.

Even if the Viscount plans to make an example of me.

My spine straightens in response to the looming threat.I will not give in to the urge to submit.Besides, it’s too late now to even try.

So I don’t.

I simply board the train.

Another Protector waits just inside, his arm lifting to gesture to his left.

No words, just a silent command.

Goose bumps prickle my arms, not just from his ominous presence but also from the blast of cold air that hits me as I walk.

It’sfreezingin here.

A shiver works through me, my clammy skin instantly chilled.

What is this?I marvel.A freezer?

There are a few in the village, mostly used to store meat. But I’ve never seen one large enough to walk into before.

Is this… air-conditioning?I wonder, glancing around at the too-clean interior. It’s all silver and white, the hallway seemingly endless.

I’ve read about air-conditioning. But I’ve never experienced it before. That must be the source of this frigid temperature. It’s…overwhelming. Too cold. Too foreign.

My skin continues to tingle, unused to the frosty sensation. But as I enter an opulent room decorated in golds and velvety reds, the air conditioner becomes the least of my worries.

All the Offerings are standing in a line, heads bowed, still as statues, as a man in elegant apparel studies them intently. Unlike the Protectors behind him, his head is exposed to reveal a shock of dark hair and slightly aged features.