The mermaid screamed in agony, her voice echoing and reverberating on the walls of the closed ballroom.

The second scale had been mercilessly plucked from her body by the werewolf, and he ran his hand on the slimy scales before putting them in his mouth. He closed his eyes, enjoying the taste of the mermaid.

"Absolutely delicious," the man licked his lips clean to remove any residue on his lips. When he opened his eyes, his eyes continued to glow. There was a hunger in eyes that would be sated only by having a bite, as the taste of the two scales had only evoked his appetite. He turned to Lady Annalise and politely stated, "I am not someone who likes to eat leftovers, but if you have no use for this one once you draw the last drop of blood from her body, I would be more than pleased to accept her when you are done with this one."

Hearing the werewolf's words, the other werewolves who were in the room tried to sway Lady Annalise by putting forward their request,

"I would be more than willing to give you something in return to the mermaid's body, Lady Annalise. Anything that you wish to have, from jewels to acquiring ownership of lands. I am sure my wife and the rest of my family would be more than happy to know how the mermaid's flesh tastes as it has been quite some time since we have caught one."

Marceline softly chuckled, and she raised her hands. She said, "Ladies and gentlemen, I would like you to hold your horses. We can discuss this later, but right now let my mother take a sip from the mermaid."

h ltt nd mt ulr nvl t lghtnvlubm

The guests nodded, waiting for Lady Annalise to take a sip, while the mermaid looked terrified. Right now, not only was she away from her loving family, but she was amid creatures who now hovered around her and wanted to harm her.

On the other hand, Eve couldn't see the mermaid being tortured in front of her eyes. It was as if her hands were tied, and she could do nothing but watch the cruelness of the people who belonged to the elites. She tried to move away from the scene because she doubted she would be able to witness the mermaid being hurt further.

The creatures here, be it the vampires, werewolves or the wealthy humans, were all barbaric.

She couldn't believe that it was only a few hours ago she had come to stand near the box, inside which was the mermaid that Lady Marceline had arranged. And if she knew it then, she would have done something to save the mermaid and hide her somewhere until she was safe and back in the sea where she rightfully belonged. Thinking this, she gritted her teeth in frustration of how she could have changed the fate of this mermaid if only she knew.

Eve wondered if it was because she was one of them, which was why it affected her and not the others in the room. The way the humans slaughtered animals for meat similarly the vampires and werewolves slaughtered mermaids as their food. It was a food cycle, and her kind were nowhere safe.

When one of the male servants came near the mermaid with a knife in his hand, the mermaid looked back and forth between the person and the sharp knife he held. The mermaid shook her head to protest from being hurt. Soon her eyes welled up because she knew she was going to be hurt.

h ltt nd mt ulr nvl t lghtnvlubm

Some of the guests continued to anticipate, hoping that after Lady Annalise was done taking a sip from the mermaid, they would get an opportunity to drink the water creature's blood, as well as a few others who wanted to have at least the mermaid's fin. The predators patiently waited for their turn.

During that time, Eve continued to move away from the crowd, dragging her feet and ensuring not to put pressure on her injured foot while calming her breathing.

While some of the guests' heartbeats had increased out of excitement, Eve's heartbeat mixed with them which continued to beat out of pure trickling fear that climbed through every second now.

Eve stopped for a moment so that she wouldn't bring attention to herself. She knew the consequences she would have to face if she were to reach the ballroom closed doors when everyone here was focused on Lady Marceline's 'gift'. If she was able to escape from here, it would be a miracle where she was lucky, but if she were to be caught, there was no guarantee of what could happen next.

She paused and looked at every guest around her, and her eyes reached where Lady Annalise, Senior Mr. Moriarty, and Charles stood near the mermaid with Marceline pleasantly smiling. Next to Lady Annalise stood Miss Allie, who looked at the mermaid in awe and who was in the making of enjoying a mermaid's blood as the sweetest delicacy.

With every beat of Eve's heart that ticked like a clock that neared the time she was going to be exposed, her eyes continued roaming in the room. Her blue eyes then fell on her employer, who stood with his butler on the other side talking, that she couldn't catch because of the distance between them.

lghtnvlubm fr bttr ur rn

Alfie asked his Master, "I thought it was a sculpture of Lady Annalise when the box was placed in the room. It must have taken Lady Marceline quite a lot of will to not take a bite and leave it untouched, isn't it, Master?"

"If she took a bite it would not let her show other people what she found and is gifting. My dear sister knows better than anyone how important it is when it comes to forming an image," responded Vincent, watching the mermaid struggle on the table.

The butler nodded but then heard his Master say, "But it doesn't look like she did a very good job finding a quality mermaid."

"No?" Alfie turned to look at Vincent in question.

"First comes the tears, then comes the pearls. But this mermaid's pearls aren't of high quality. You will see soon," remarked Vincent when a few pearls bounced on the table and fell to the floor.

At that very moment, Vincent felt someone's gaze on him and turned to see who it was.

lghtnvlubm fr bttr ur rn