I am called into Raven's private office in the early morning. I have never been called to him before so this has to be about my release. What if it's today? What if it's now? I begin to perspire heavily as I am escorted into the spacious, open room. Raven sits at the other side of a tall, wooden desk looking over a stack of papers.

"Sit down, Aurora," he says. "I can smell your fear, please relax."

I can't do that. I do not relax. My fear gets worse as I sit and wait for him to look at me. His red eyes finally glance up.

"You have been with this nannery for eight years," he states factually. "Since the day you were taken, I believe. At age twelve, one hundred visitors had put in premature requests for you, assuming you'd be released. Since then, three thousand visitors have wanted you. Do you know why I never approved it?"

I shake my head.

"You are what we call a completed soul," he says, very seriously. "I knew it from the very moment I touched you. You are very rare, you are equivalent to a thousand pure souls. After touching you, being close to you and not tasting you is extremely painful for any one of us that does it, which is why I have never been around you since. I thought about releasing you to claim you for myself but it's against the law. Every human must be bid on." He sighs gently and rubs his head. "I know that you've heard that term before but do you understand what it means?"

"No," I say.

"Our species bids old souls for new ones," he says. "Each soul is different; we taste the difference. We consume them and they stay a part of us. But we can transfer them into each other for bids. We have collected various kinds of souls from various kinds of forms over the last millennia, and within each species, there is always at least one completed soul. Consuming a completed soul is a heavenly experience that gives us unlimited strength. Our leader, Cain, is known to have consumed so many completed souls that he cannot be challenged. If one of my species was to consume you, they could be as strong as our King."

"And challenge him," I say.

"Yes." He nods, leaning back in the chair. "Which is why I could never approve your release. I had to be very careful. Selling you could be perceived as an act of treason. At the moment, those that touch you just assume you are a pure soul. Highly satisfying, but there is a huge difference between that and completed. Only those that have consumed a completed soul before would be able to tell and none ever did."

He studies me closely, his eyes trailing down to my throat. He swallows down hard and clenches his teeth. "Until last night. You were touched by a visitor and he knew what you were. He is threatening to go public that I have hidden you from being bid on purposely and to even spread lies that I have been feeding from you." He takes a deep breath. "Unless I release you to him. I should have been more careful, but it is highly rare that any of my species has consumed a completed soul except Cain, and obviously myself."

"Am I being released to him?" I ask quietly. I already know the answer, I don't even know why I asked it. If the other creatures discovered he's been hiding a completed soul, and they believe he's been feeding from me, then that is breaking the law. I don't know much about how they punish each other but I know they are terrified of breaking Cain's laws. Arabella would have definitely fed on me by now if not.

"He is coming to collect you this afternoon," he says. "The only way to avoid a bidding backlash is to fake your death. If my species ever discovered that there was a completed soul like you, they would fight over you like animals. Humans in general are the best we've ever tasted, so this is. . .unique."

I nod my head. I feel queasy the way he's talking about humans being food, the way he's implying that I am still food. I don't have a clue what my soul is like, or what it tastes like, I just want to live. I just want to be free.

"I will be extremely sad to see you go," he says slyly, lingering his gaze on my throat. "You are a once in a millennia occurrence."

"If you are to fake my death, how will I leave?"

"I'll make sure the back exit is unguarded. You will meet him there at four. Slip out discreetly. I don't need to remind you how important this situation is."

"Of course," I say.

"You may leave. Do it quickly before I lose control." He turns his head sharply, swallowing down again.

I leave the room in haste; fearful he might change his mind and order me back inside so he can taste me. I run around the bend of a hallway, checking to make sure that it's empty before I collapse to my knees and cry.