I didn't mean it. I take it back. I thought those words to myself for most of the night and I've carried them over into the morning. I couldn't say them out loud and I've been fighting with my choice since Cain gave it to me.

Cain slept in my bed last night with me, nothing happened because I fell asleep too fast and when I woke up, he was gone. He said something about preparations before I fell asleep, that he'd need to summon the world leaders for an intimate meeting. He also said that I'd be present for that and I don't understand why he can't see that it's a bad idea. It's like he doesn't even see me as a human anymore, he's blinded by his feelings for me. He believes we are equal and we will never be equal.

I wait for Christian with my back straight against the chair. I've been building a monologue in my head, studying every version of the truth with precise delicacy. I considered just telling him that Cain is forcing me to be his Queen but I couldn't go through with a lie like that. I know I will lose Christian; I know I will never have his trust again. I just hope he can also see the good in it.

I swallow and raise my head higher when the door opens, the words push up my throat quickly. Better to just get it over with. I meet his eyes and I surrender myself to those painful words.

"Gianna's dead," Christian says, dropping the tray onto the table angrily. "She died last night. Just thought you should know."

I close my mouth, swallowing the words back down as new ones rise up. "I'm sorry."

"I offered to kill her, Aurora." He drops into the seat numbly. "Like you did with Wendy. I would have risked my life to do it. But she wouldn't let me. Blake did everything he could to try and preserve her, he tried to save her life. Ironic that, isn't it?"

I reach over for the coffee as his eyes bore into my face. I didn't know Gianna as well as Christian or Natalie but I still feel saddened by her death. I told her that she didn't have to be afraid here all those weeks ago at the dinner party. I should have known better.

"Did he consume her?" I say.

"I don't know, I didn't ask. I can't imagine he'd just let her die naturally after weeks of feeding on her. He probably realized there was nothing else he could do and put her out of her misery." He looks across the room, his eyes narrowing. "Is that a television?"

"Christian, I need to tell you something." I take a deep breath, rubbing my fingers together on the table. "You're going to hate me for it but I wanted you to be the first to know."

"Know what?"

"Cain has asked me to be his Queen and I accepted."

Christian laughs. I wasn't expecting that reaction and I stare at him cautiously. His laughter drowns out, his eyes meeting mine with a look of terror. "You're. . . you're not joking?"

I shake my head. "Cain and I. . . we're together. Together together. I know that it doesn't make sense but-"

"You're damn right it doesn't make sense," he says. "Explain it to me."

"Feeding on me gave him human desires. Human emotions. We've grown closer."

Christian leans back. "Closer?"

"We are sleeping together," I whisper. It's the first time I've said the words out loud and I can hear how ridiculous it is. "I know that hurts you and I wish there was a way that I could take away that pain but I can't lie to you."

"What has he done to you?" Christian questions. "I don't even know who you are anymore."

"He's good, Christian," I say. "He's different from the others. I am bonded to him and neither of us can break it."

"Good?" Christian chokes on the word, folding his arms with a scowl. "Your soul made him that way, Aurora! Do you think he'd still be 'good' without it?"

That question startles me. I've never considered that. What if it is just my soul that makes him that way?

"I don't know," I say. "He can't hide me away for years and this is the only choice left. As Queen, I will have influence over the creatures. I will have influence over the laws he makes and I can protect the humans better."

"Doesn't he care about how it looks?"

"No," I say, folding my arms. "That worries me."

"You should be worried," he says. "His kind aren't going to accept a human as their leader. What the hell has been happening inside this room?" He covers his eyes and rubs his temples. "Don't answer that."

"He will force them to accept it. He's blinded, I don't think he knows what he's doing. My priority is the humans, it will always be the humans. That will never change."

Christian chuckles. "You sure about that? I've seen the difference you can make but what else can you do? Can you order the creatures to stop feeding? Can you save owned humans from dying like Gianna? This is bigger than the palace, Aurora. It's happening around the world."

"I don't know," I say. "I don't know if there's anything else I can do and I don't know if I can make a difference. But I would rather be in the position to try than not be."

"So you're using him?" Christian says. "Playing along?"

I bite on my lip. I'm not using Cain, not even close. I feel as strongly for him as he does for me. I have followed Cain's orders since the moment I arrived here. I am obedient to him, chained to bowing down to him like everyone else. I have influenced his decisions but he was always the one in power. This shifts the balance of that. Cain wants to give me power. It is the only way we can be together, by declaring it to the world. He believes we have years but we don't, if Marina's right then we only have a few weeks at most, maybe even days. I am relying on that hunger to happen but it's going to be torture for him.

"Cain knows everything about me," I say. "I can't hide anything from him. He knows I will always put the humans first."

"The humans are dying anyway," Christian says. "It can't make anything worse."

"So you're not mad?" I say. "You forgive me?"

He nods. "Seeing you with him will be hard for me but if it means that you get to stay alive then I can't ever be mad. Not at you anyway."

I smile, looking over to the shelves. "How about that card game?"

We play games for a while, pretending as though the world isn't shattering around us. I feel better for telling him, he didn't make me feel insane or yell at me which is what I expected to happen. We eat our breakfast together like we used to, back when I was a newly owned human with nothing else to do in the day. Occasionally he would be reminded of Gianna's death and go silent, his eyes plagued with trauma. I broke it out of him when I sensed it happening, snapping him back to reality with a question or a comment that would make him smile. Two hours later, he stares at the clock and rises.

"I can't believe I've been here this long," he says. "I have to go, there's a new slave I'm supposed to be training."

"Always dedicated to your training," I say. "How is Jackson doing? Really? He didn't say much to me yesterday."

"It's hard to separate him from Natalie, I know that much," Christian says, grinning as he moves towards the door. "He's doing okay. He mostly spends his days reading with her and planting seeds. The King gives them anything they want. Natalie asked for an apple tree and he made it happen. He keeps to himself, the kid is smart, you taught him well."

It appears that Jackson doesn't need me anymore. He has Natalie now, he has a purpose to live, a desire to wake up in the mornings. He was so clingy at the nannery, always wanted to be beside me. He has changed since meeting her and I don't have the heart to force my presence upon him. He needs to find who he is too, but I will always watch over him—protect him—even if it's from a distance.

"Do you think he'll hate me?" I mumble.

"No. Jackson could never hate you. It's the other humans you should be worried about."

"Thanks. That's reassuring."

He laughs. "You are both taking a very big risk. I hope it's worth it."

"Me too."

I stand to my feet as he leaves. I take a shower and pick out a white dress to wear. It's hot outside and not being able to open the window is sending me crazy. I take a bottle of water with me as I leave the room. I slump down at the window, opening it as far as it will go. The view isn't great. It just shows a small stone courtyard with wooden tables, connecting different parts of the palace. There are humans down there, eating lunch together and drinking out of cocktail glasses. There are creatures too, they patrol the courtyard slowly, their eyes mostly pointed at the sky than around them. One creature looks directly at me and I lean back, turning to look at the empty hallway. I hear a sound that sounds like glass smashing.

"Someone help!" a voice screams. "Help!"

I look back to the window and I see a crowd of girls just looking on as a boy is laying on his back, his entire body convulses as though he's being electrocuted. The creatures are still standing at their positions, their eyes still on the sky, completely ignoring the boy's seizure. Only one girl seems to care about him, she crouches beside him and screams again for help.

I run down the staircase, almost tripping halfway down it. I reach the bottom level and I ignore the feeding room, charging towards a slave that is carrying an unconscious girl towards me.

"Where's the courtyard?" I demand.

"Um. . . down that hallway." He points left. "The second door on the right."

"Thanks."

It only takes me a couple of minutes to get there. I burst open a door to the courtyard, becoming blinded by the strong sunlight. The boy is still convulsing and the girl is no longer at his side, she sits at the table, staring at him sadly as though she's been forced from him.

"Why are you just standing there?" I demand at the creatures. "Get help!"

I take a few steps towards the boy but a creature blocks my way. "What did you just say to us?" he says.

"I said get help," I say. "He's having a seizure. It could be a brain injury."

"He is a slave. His body does this often. Move."

"No," I say. "You move."

The moment the words leave my words, I know I have crossed a line. This creature has probably never seen me before, he has no idea who I am. The anger flashes in his bloody eyes and he smacks me across the face. I stumble for a moment, losing my balance as I hold a hand to my cheek. The pain is instant but the numbness allows it to lessen.

"Are you deaf?" the creature says. "I said-"

Another creature lands at his side from the sky, his wings springing back to his shoulders as he whispers into the creature's ear. The creature that smacked me widens his eyes, being given information that suddenly makes him terrified. He moves back to the wall instantly and the other creature remains in the courtyard, taking himself over to a different wall as though he's remaining here as a witness.

I blink to myself for a moment as my head starts to ache. I compose myself and I fall to the boy's side, crouching as lowly as I can get without my knees getting impaled by the smashed glass. I gently tuck my hands underneath the back of his head. He's so young, no older than fourteen. His skin is pale and spotty. He's been fed on constantly. There's a dry cut on the side of his head, like it's been banged into something hard.

"Why is there a human helping my human?" a voice roars from the doorway. A creature with black skin and long dreadlocks comes into the courtyard. "I told you I didn't want them helping him because they might accidentally kill him."

The boy isn't a slave? He's owned? Or is he both? That doesn't matter, what matters is his health. I ignore all the eyes on me and I keep my hands firmly at his head, his seizure is starting to end.

The creature that smacked me speaks. "We had to let her."

"Why?"

"Because she is the Queen," a familiar voice says. Blake walks from the other side of the courtyard, passing the tables with a walk of confidence. He looks over my face and then finds the creature that dropped from the air, calling him forwards. They exchange whispers and then the creature shoots back up the sky.

The boy's eyes start to open and he takes sharp breaths. There is a silence in the courtyard, especially from the human girls that are taking sips of their drinks as they watch this unfold.

"Queen?" the creature with dreadlocks says. "You've obviously been misinformed."

"I haven't been misinformed," Blake says. "The King told me himself. You are welcome to discuss the matter with him if you deem myself a liar."

The creature snorts.

"You all may leave," Blake says to the guards, his voice raises. "Not you." The creature that smacked me halts, turning back around with his head high. "You are to get on your knees and apologize."

"To a human?"

"It's okay," I whisper to the boy as he rubs his eyes. "You're going to be okay."

"Yes," Blake says. "Apologize. Now."

I study the boy's wrists, not caring about the creatures around me. My fingers press against some kind of bruises and the boy whimpers in pain. "Does he shackle you?"

The boy doesn't respond, he's too out of it. The creature gets on his knees and issues some kind of apology but I just glare at him. I don't accept it and I don't care for it. He doesn't mean it.

"Are we done here?" the creature asks.

"Not even close," Blake says. "The King will be expecting a visit from you later in his office. I'll let you know the time. Don't make him come looking for you."

The creature swallows as he rises and almost runs through the door. I cast my eyes over the boy's ankles, seeing the same bruised marks as his wrists. I close my eyes for a moment as I take a deep breath. I still feel as though I don't have a right to say this but I say it anyway.

"Take the boy to my room," I say. "He will stay there until he recovers."

"Excuse me?" his owner says, charging towards us. Blake positions himself between us and the creature stops. "Queen or not it is the law that he is mine."

"It is also the law that every human must be treated with kindness," I say. "You are keeping him bound, there are bruises on his wrists and ankles. Blake, do you know of any other humans that receive seizures because of feeding?"

"No," Blake says.

"His seizures could be because of anything!" the creature says desperately.

"Look at his head," I say.

Blake keeps his eyes on the creature as he crouches down to observe the boy. The boy starts panicking and Blake reassures him gently to remain still.

"He has several head wounds," Blake says. "What have you been doing to him?"

"Nothing!" he shouts. "This is ridiculous. The boy is mine, I am taking him."

Blake moves fast and tackles the creature backwards. He locks his arms behind his back and charges him into the wall, causing a slight tremor. Blake clicks his fingers to the sky and a small army drops. The creature surrenders with a hiss as Blake pushes his face deeper into the wall.

"Take him to the dungeons," Blake says. "His actions will be investigated."

"You guards are all idiots!" the creature shouts as he's restrained and dragged away. "Following the command of a human! Axel will hear of this!"

I turn to look at the girls who are staring at me with bewilderment and excitement. I thought they'd all hate me but maybe that was just in my head. They saw me save the boy so they're probably thinking that I have the power to save them too. Blake comes closer and stretches out his hand to my cheek. I shy away from it.

"Help him," I say. "I'm fine."

Blake crouches down and picks the boy up. I follow him back into the palace, I can still hear the other creature's angry ramblings from down the hallway. Blake does exactly what I say and takes him to my bedroom. He lays the boy down on the bed, his hand pressed against his forehead.

"His energy is low but it isn't fatal," he says. "He needs water."

I sit beside the boy as Blake retrieves a glass of water from across the room. The boy is awake, weak but awake. He drinks slowly. He looks like Jackson. Sandy, bushy hair, warm brown eyes, dimples that spread out when he winces. My eyes water as I stare at the bruises around his ankles.

"He was a visitor," Blake says. "Only booked in for a week. He probably let him out so it wouldn't raise suspicion."

"That's why he told the guards not to let humans near him," I say. "In case they saw the marks."

"It wouldn't be the first thing we'd think of if we saw them," he says. "To a human, it would be obvious."

"What is your name?" I ask him gently.

The boy stops drinking and almost drops the glass out of his fingertips. Blake catches it. "Name?" the boy says.

"What are you called?" Blake says. "For example, I am Blake, this is Aurora."

The boy looks confused. I can't tell if that's because of his seizure or something far more sinister.

"You don't remember your name?"

He shakes his head.

"How long have you been with your owner?" Blake asks.

"Since I was released from the nannery at thirteen," he says.

"Do you know how old you are?"

"He said I am fifteen."

That makes no sense. I look at Blake in horror. "Two years? That's rare."

Blake rubs his chin sadly. "It's not unheard of. Before Cain's law changes, my kind would go on bidding sprees. They would own up to twenty humans at once and keep them chained up. They'd go through them one at a time, inflicting immense suffering upon them."

"Like head injuries?" I say.

"Yes. If this happened before Cain's law changes then there's nothing we can do. His owner hasn't broken a law."

"No," I say. "Those bruises are fresh. He isn't going anywhere near him."

"With respect," Blake says. "That's not your choice."

"He's been beaten and chained up for two years," I snarl. "He doesn't even remember his name! He's staying here until I know that he's safe."

Blake looks back to the boy. "Has your owner hurt you recently?"

"I don't remember," the boy whispers. "I don't feel so good."

"It's okay, you can rest here," I say.

"What is this?" he says, patting his hand against the mattress.

"It's a bed," I say, blinking back tears. "You sleep on it."

"Where do you usually sleep?" Blake asks.

"On something colder and harder." The boy starts to close his eyes, the comfort taking him away from us. I hold his hand until he falls asleep.

"Stay with him until he wakes up," Blake says. "He might remember something."

"Where are you going?"

"It's my job to interrogate the owner," he mumbles. "I'll get the truth out of him, one way or another."

How is he going to get the truth out of a creature? Does he have the blade? Creatures can't feel physical pain so what else would they be afraid of? I look back to the frail, skinny boy sleeping in my bed and my tears fall onto the covers. I know it's not my decision what happens to him but if Cain thinks he's handing him back to that evil being in the dungeons then he's going to get a shock.