Read Pawn for Free Online Page B

misheard him. Only the Harts were granted VIIs. Not even the twelve Ministers of the Union were ranked so high.
    “I’m a III,” I said, as if that settled it, because it did. No one changed rank. No one. Everyone took the test, and everyone was marked accordingly. There was no special treatment, no taking it over again. Everyone had the same shot as everyone else. The only exceptions were the Harts, who didn’t take the test at all. “I’m already marked.”
    “Yes, I can see that.” Daxton straightened and adjusted his overcoat. “I will only offer this once, and I need your answer immediately. If you say yes, you will leave with me tonight, and your mark will be replaced.”
    “And if I say no?” I said.
    “I think we both know what happens then.” Daxton checked his gold watch. “My offer is good for the next thirty seconds.”
    I stared at him openly, but his eyes were focused on the time. His finger tapped the watch face as each second ticked by, and with every tap, my throat seemed to close up a little more.
    A VII. A real VII from the prime minister himself. Wealth, power, and prestige, endless resources and beautiful things, never again having to worry about being arrested and sent Elsewhere—
    Benjy.
    What would happen to him? What would he do when he found out I’d disappeared? I couldn’t leave him. A VII was worth a lot, but it wasn’t worth losing one of the few people in my life who really mattered.
    “Do I get to stay in D.C.?” I blurted, and Daxton gave me his trademark benevolent smile.
    “I don’t see why you wouldn’t,” he said. “We have many homes across the country, but the one in Somerset is by far the most lavish.”
    Somerset. That was on the opposite end of the District of Columbia, where the Vs and VIs lived. I wouldn’t have to live in a club. I wouldn’t have to work in the sewers. I wouldn’t even have to leave the city. I’d get to see Benjy whenever I wanted, and when he got his VI—
    What would he say when he saw a fresh VII on the back of my neck? A VII would guarantee me riches beyond imagining, things that would make the perfumes and fruits and silks that were sold in the markets look like worthless trinkets instead of the treasures they were. A mark that meant we wouldn’t have to break the law to stay together.
    So what if I had to be the prime minister’s mistress? He probably had dozens of them. He’d grow tired of me eventually, and then I’d be free to be with Benjy. And I would still be a VII.
    Not a III, not a IV, but a VII.
    “What’s the catch?”
    His lower eyelid twitched, but his expression didn’t change. “Your time is almost up.”
    Whatever the catch was, it was worth thirty thousand gold pieces and a VII. I was stupid for hesitating.
    “Five,” he said, counting down. “Four, three, two—”
    “Yes.” I couldn’t get the word out fast enough. I pictured Benjy’s face when he found out we could stay together, and I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from grinning.
    A VII. A real VII.
    Daxton’s lips twisted into a strange hybrid of a smirk and a smile. “I cannot tell you how pleased I am to hear that. There is a car waiting. Shall we?”
    He offered me his hand, and his skin was smooth and cool against my damp palm. When we stepped out of the room, half a dozen guards surrounded us, and all of them eyed me. I hunched my shoulders in an attempt to make myself as small as possible.
    “What’s the catch?” I said again.
    “Why on earth do you assume there’s a catch?” said Daxton, and I didn’t answer. Of course there was a catch. No one changed ranks, ever.
    I rushed to keep up with his long strides, and the guards were so close behind us that I couldn’t stop and take a breath. Daxton ushered me down a narrow flight of stairs and through a series of dank hallways, and finally I spotted the exit into the alleyway. Butterflies fluttered in my stomach. How was I supposed to let Benjy know I was safe? Daxton had