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Countless girls did. And for a hell of a lot less than fifteen thousand gold pieces, too. With that kind of money, I didn’t have to stay here. In the morning, I could pack my things, take the money, and run. Find a room to rent and stay there until Benjy was ranked. After seventeen years of never having a say in my own life, I’d finally be the one in control. I would put a smile on my face and pretend that I was having the best night of my life if that’s what it took to make that happen.
    The door opened, and my breath caught in my throat.
    The Shield from the market stood in the hallway, flanked by a pair of men wearing the same black-and-silver uniform from before. One was a stranger, but the other I recognized from the group home. Sampson.
    Instead of saying anything, the Shield stepped inside the tiny room and bent down, looking me straight in the eye. I stared back at him, refusing to smile or wink or any other cutesy gesture Tabs might do to get out of this situation. Several seconds passed before he straightened and nodded to the men behind him. “It’s her.”
    One of them mumbled a few words into his cuff, and the Shield from the market gestured for me to stay put. Had he been the one to buy me? How could he have possibly afforded me on a Shield’s salary?
    Instead of taking a seat next to me, however, he stood by the door, facing me but not looking at me. The urge to ask what he was waiting for bubbled up inside me, but the words caught in my throat. It was obvious what he was doing; he was making sure I didn’t escape.
    This time there was a clock in the room, and over forty minutes passed before I heard a shuffle in the hallway. The men outside the door saluted in crisp unison, and they stepped aside. A tall man in a black overcoat entered the room.
    I froze.
    “Hello,” he said with a voice that everyone in the country would recognize. “What’s your name?”
    I clutched my dress so tightly that the fabric began to rip. “Kitty,” I croaked.
    The corners of his dark eyes crinkled in amusement. He removed his hat, revealing a high forehead, bushy eyebrows, and dark hair that was graying at the temples. If I’d had any doubts before, now I was positive.
    Prime Minister Daxton Hart. The position was supposed to be temporary, but when the elections came every four years, there was only one name on the ballot.
    “Kitty,” he said, as if he was testing out my name. “Is that short for something?”
    “Yeah,” I said. “It’s short for ‘my mother was insane and had a thing for cats.’”
    Silence filled the room, and the Shield stared at me as if he couldn’t believe I’d talked back to the prime minister. My mouth went dry, but I held my ground and refused to flinch.
    A few seconds passed, and to my surprise, Daxton laughed. “I like you. You have spunk. Though with a name like Kitty Doe, we both know you never knew your parents.”
    My cheeks grew warm. “If you already knew my name, then why did you ask for it in the first place?”
    He shrugged. “Courtesy, my dear. Though I daresay you will not ask for mine. May I?” He gestured to my neck, and while the thought of anyone touching me made my skin crawl, I nodded. It was the least he would do tonight.
    He brushed his fingers against the ridges and frowned. “A III,” he said gravely. “And a fresh one at that. You must not be very happy.”
    “My choices in life have now been reduced to cleaning sewers or whoring myself out to strangers. It isn’t exactly what I had in mind.”
    “What did you have in mind?” he said.
    “None of your business.”
    The guards shifted uneasily, but Daxton sighed. “You’re right, it isn’t. Such a pity. I do like you.”
    He drummed his fingers against his elbow, and we stared at each other. I refused to be the first to look away.
    “Tell you what, Kitty,” he said, and he leaned in closer to me. “How would you like to be a VII?”
    I blinked, and for a second I was positive I’d