"Marina," she says after a moment's contemplation.
"I'm Raine."
"What are you in here for?" she asks.
"Here?"
"Preparing for the Duels. If you're here, then there must be a reason."
"Oh, my employer filled out the forms for me and I got picked." Even though it stings that they did this, a small part of me understands it. All the people running the company are trying to do is keep as many people paid as possible. Maybe I'm being too lenient on them, but revenge isn't exactly something I should be focusing on right now. I'm sure I'll feel differently if I survive the next part of this.
She snorts. "That tracks. I've heard it happens a lot."
"What about you?" I don't want to dwell on why I'm here, especially not when she clearly has more to tell.
Marina sighs, a haunted look crossing over her features. "I ran away from the Marriage Market."
My eyes widen. "It's that bad?" I whisper.
She nods. "Awful. I thought it'd save my sisters from it if I went and they got the money. But it's awful in there. They control everything. The food we ate, the dresses we wore. If you can call them dresses. Most of them revealed too much skin and made us cold..."
I shudder at the thought.
"...but worst of all was the way they let men treat us when they came in. They always talked above our heads, as if we weren't worth anything. They said we'd have a choice in who we ended up marrying, but when it came to it, that wasn't true."
"I'm so sorry," I whisper.
"Don't be. It is what it is. We don't get a choice in any of this." She waves her hand around the holding area. "The Dragon Duels, the Marriage Market, the ash...it's all things we have to put up with because we're not part of the elite. We get chosen for things, or given too little until we volunteer ourselves, and by then, the system is in place."
"That's true," I admit, even if I hate it.
The door swings open again, drawing our attention away from our conversation. A woman in a stark white uniform steps through with a clipboard in her hand.
"Raine Mason?" she asks.
"That's me," I answer, standing up.
She looks me up and down over the rim of her glasses. "Follow me."
"I'll see you around," I say to Marina, having no idea if I will, but it seems better to act as if we will. For both of us.
I make my way across the waiting room quickly, and follow the woman out into the hallway. Just like all the other people who have shepherded me around, she doesn't say anything as she leads me through the building. Everything around us is squeaky clean and borders on boring, but there's something off about it. Other than the threat of death hanging in the air.
It takes me a moment to realise what it is.
The ash. Over time, it's tracked into all of the buildings in the city, even if people try to clean their boots. But here, there's nothing of the sorts. I'm not overly dirty, but I'm starting to feel that way now I'm here.
"This is your room," the woman says, pushing open another door.
"My room?"
She nods. "You'll be staying here for the next few days. This is where you must stay during lights out, and where you can sleep and bathe." She wrinkles her nose at the last statement.
I bite my lip rather than say anything that may offend her further than my appearance already does. I wonder if it's the blue tint to my hair, or the general grubbiness she's most opposed to. Judging by the way she's presented, it really could be either.
She steps into the room, leaving me alone in the corridor. I glance longingly back the way we came. As much as the idea of trying to escape is tempting, the last thing I want is to make things more difficult to Mila. For all I know, they'll insist she comes in my place, especially if they've already paid the fee.
With nothing else for it, I step into the room. It's not as bad as I expect, with a standard-sized bed and a set of blankets and towels perched on top of it.
"While at the Facility, you may do whatever you want so long as it is not trying to leave, or harming another person here. There is a canteen and break room down the hall you may use as you wish up until orientation."
I nod, but don't look at her, I'm still trying to take in everything about the room I'm in. It's bigger than the one I have at home, but not by much. The only real difference is how clean it is. That's a good thing. I don't think I'd be able to stomach it if this place dripped in luxury.
"When will orientation happen?" I ask.
She points to a stack of papers on the small desk. "Everything is explained in there."
Which meant nothing is. They'll try and tell me the least about of information possible. They don't want anything more than entertainment with the Dragon Duels. And potentially a way to appease the dragons. I'm sure they keep them in check with something like this. Human sacrifice sounds about right.
"Thank you," I say instead of voicing my thoughts. I'm not an idiot. I don't want things making worse for me before they get to the point where I'm about to die anyway.
She doesn't respond, and walks out of the room, leaving me to look through the papers and make an attempt at readying myself for what's to come. Not that I think anything can, but it's nice to at least pretend for the short time I have left.
Chapter Five
The lights sting my eyes with their brightness, like they have since I arrived. I never
