Under My Skin by Shawntelle Madison Read Free Book Online Page B

hair first. That’ll take the longest.” With her supplies in hand, she ran her fingers through my hair. “Quite soft. Too bad whoever cut it didn’t do a good job.”
    I bit my lower lip. My mom had cut my hair. Even if my hair weren’t as easy to manage as hers, she had done a great job, thank you very much.
    “Let me get started—”
    Claire grabbed me by the arm. Her fingernails bit into my skin. “I got it. I need to double check her measurements for the dress anyway.”
    Karin shrugged. “Whatever. More time for me to prep everything.”
    As Claire led me to the bathroom, a sinking feeling came over me. Why was she moving so fast? This feeling turned to dread as she shut the double doors and engaged the locks.
    “Sit down on the stool over there,” she commanded.
    None of this made sense so I waited next to the old mahogany stool and watched with curiosity. Claire turned on the faucets over the tub.
    “We could wash my hair in the sink,” I offered. “It’d be much easier.”
    She shrugged. Steam began to fill the room. “This’ll be faster. You can get clean and get your hair washed at the same time.”
    The water rose at a leisurely pace in the tub. Claire continued to face away from me, her head bent over while her hands messed with something beeping I couldn’t see. I craned my neck to see what beeped in her hands. Then as fast as a viper, she closed the space between us, holding a small black box in her hands. A buzzing noise, like the sound of angry bees, came from the box.
    “Look, I don’t have much time,” she whispered. “I have too many things to tell you.”
    My face wrinkled in surprise. “What?”
    “You need to get the hell out of here!”
    I jumped back. “Out of here? But wha ― ”
    “Just shut up!” She sighed and took a deep breath.
    “I have about three minutes before my cover’s blown, especially in a room like yours. You’ve got tech all over this place. Even the damn uniforms are bugged.”
    I nodded. She was so close I could make out the light freckles on her forehead, the soft sheen of the lip gloss on her lips.
    “Everything here is not what it appears: the Water Bearers, the Guild. It’s a front. I want to throw up every time I think about it.”
    The air in my throat caught and refused to go down.
    “You’ll have an opportunity after the auction to escape. You must take it.”
    “Will I get help to go home?”
    Claire shook her head. “You can never go back home, Tate. The Guild chose you and there’s no escape from them—unless you make a run for it.” Her gaze darted to the door twice as if she expected someone to come any minute now.
    “I don’t understand any of this,” I said. “I can’t go back home. I can’t stay here to be bought by the Guild. Why should I believe you?”
    Claire groaned and wildly gestured around her. “Does any of this make sense to you? Why would a group like the Guild who’ve oppressed people for hundreds of years have an auction and bid on people?”
    “Servants? I even heard we might be trained as their apprentices to take their place.”
    “Apprentices? Oh, c’mon. Do you think they would pluck anyone off the street to do that kind of thing?”
    “I don’t know.” I searched for some reasons and they came fast. “We’re young—harmless. Wouldn’t they want people they could trust? That they could train?”
    She roughly grabbed me by the chin. “Everything you’ve heard is nothing but lies. To them, you are cattle ,” she said between clenched teeth. “You’re something they allow to grow along the countryside before they bring you here to—” Heavy footsteps in the suite made us both look toward the doors. The doorknobs shook.
    “Not another word. Open the door, immediately!” A man's voice ordered.
    Claire turned to me, her eyes pleading. “Don’t forget what I said. Don’t let them use the Vorhees Unit on you.” She touched my forehead with her fingertips as someone rammed against the