“Where’s the cab taking them?” she asked faintly, thinking that everything about this night made her feel like she had fallen into some kind of depraved rabbit hole.
“To the hospital for treatment,” he answered dispassionately. “A lawyer will meet with them next day, and if the girl agrees, they’ll soon find themselves facing the wrong end of a lawsuit.”
The prince ran another command, and another sequence showed on the monitor, this time of Noah speaking to the girl in a room she had never seen before. It almost looked like some kind of cell in a dungeon.
“Where is that?”
Instead of answering, the prince relayed, “Noah’s giving this girl the sermon of her life.” Of course, that was putting it lightly. The truth was, Noah was playing the role of pissed-off drug dealer who happened to be in a good mood and which was why Henny would be allowed to “escape.”
Closing the monitor, the prince told her with a shrug, “Hopefully, by the end of it, she won’t be as naïve or desperate.”
The girl’s screams still echoing inside of her head, she said queasily, “I still think it’s too much.”
He said levelly, “Every day, there’s a party where girls like this one are taken in by men like her attackers.” The way the prince glanced at her told Fawn that he also believed she was included in the category. “If something like this happened in those parties, they do end up raped. Sometimes, they could also end up killed.”
The prince came to his feet and as he turned the monitor away from her, he continued in a bland voice, “That’s why we’re doing this. We deliberately fan interest in these initiations and make up all sorts of hype so that everyone who’s anyone would want to attend.”
Shrugging, he finished, “It’s not ideal, but at least we get to stay in control and ensure no one gets hurt. My men do regular rounds during these parties, and we make sure that no girls are placed under real threat.”
“But she was screaming and crying,” Fawn pointed out shakily. Her whole life, she didn’t think she would ever forget how that girl had cried. “They would have raped her—-”
“It was part of the lesson.”
She half-shrieked, “How can you say almost getting raped is a lesson?”
“Because it is,” he snapped back. “Trust me, that girl would have come back here if she hadn’t tasted real fear. You may not want to believe me, but most people have to learn things the hard way.”
Fawn was torn. On one hand, it did make sense, however heartless, but on the other hand, it didn’t feel humane at all. “But what if she’s scarred for life? Didn’t you consider that?”
“Scars heal, and I don’t owe it to them to play nice and treat them like some fragile piece of fine china.”
“I know, but—-”
His eyes flashed, and Fawn flinched.
“You must remember,” the prince said in an icily soft tone, “that no one came here against their will. It was their stupidity that brought them here, and that’s out of my control. If they want their first time with a stranger or a jerk, that’s their choice. If they want to be popular so much they’re willing to whore themselves for it – that’s on them. Frankly, I don’t have enough time or interest to give a shit about any of those. But I do what I can, and what I can do is give them a chance to learn from their own mistakes without getting raped or killed.”
When the prince tipped her chin up, she instinctively tried yanking it away, but he didn’t let her. His hold only tightened, and his lips curved at the way she glared at him.
“Are you angry,” he asked silkily, “or disappointed that I’m living up to my reputation?”
She didn’t answer, only looked at him with eyes that were slowly beginning to shine.
He released her chin, saying softly, “You’re about to cry.”
“No, I’m not. Seriously.”
“Yes, you are, and how you do love to lie to me, parthena mou.”
“I don’t know what to think anymore.” Blinking furiously to keep her tears in check, she knew that while she might never see it his way completely, she did understand that he was doing his best.
But at what cost?
She looked at him again, noting the way his gaze remained hooded and how his entire outline seemed shrouded in darkness. “You remind me of Batman,” she said unthinkingly.
He blinked. Well, that he did not expect.
Coloring at the look the prince gave her, she stammered, “Sorry. It just, well...” She gave up explaining, muttering, “Did you expect me to say something profound?”
He inclined his head in assent, saying drily, “Somewhat.”
She turned even redder. “I wish I could think of something profound to say, but the whole time you were just brooding there, telling me about what you need to do to make things right, it was just pure Batman emo, you know?”
The prince could only stare at her.
Batman.
He was almost tempted to ask her, Seriously?
Biting her lip, Fawn struggled with an internal debate before saying haltingly, “But if I really have to answer your question though, I d-don’t know how I feel about what you’re doing. I don’t think it’s wrong, I just don’t know if I agree you should be doing it. Or keep doing it.”
While listening, the prince did his best not to stare at her broodingly even though it was exactly what he wanted to do.
“There’s got to be an emotional toll every time you see someone almost getting raped – and that can’t be healthy, can it? Isn’t there a saying that when you stay too long in the dark, there might be no going back?”
A pause, before the prince said, “There it is then.” At her bemused look, he said with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes, “Something profound.”
Oh.
“Thank you. I will keep your words in mind.”
His tone was gentle but dismissive, and she knew she was
