Free Chronicles of the Uprising (Trilogy 1): Trilogy 1 by Katie Salidas, K.A. Salidas Page B

removal.”
    The unusually eager way she said it stole away Mira’s feelings of relaxation and contentment. This, she knew, would not be as nice as the shower had been.
    Hours later, plucked, tweezed, waxed, and threaded, Mira had endured the removal of every hair on her body. What hair remained, on top of her head, had been washed, cut, and styled so that her short hair framed around her face. Rather than the tunic and linen pants she was accustomed to wearing, Mira had been given a proper dress. Knee-length, the black and pink sheath dress felt unbelievably soft. Nothing like what she was used to wearing. They’d even given her shoes to wear. Those, however, were not as comfortable as her sandals had been. Tight and toe-pinching, these shoes had heels that made her feel as if she was walking on stilts. If you could call what she was doing ‘walking’ – more like trying hard not to fall with each wobbly step she took.
    By the time Olivia returned to retrieve her, Mira was almost unrecognizable.
    “That’ll do,” Olivia said, with no hint as to whether or not she actually approved. “Let’s get you moving.” 

Chapter 8
     
    Up an unfamiliar flight of stairs, Mira, her Owner, and the two handlers exited into a brightly lit lobby. Unlike other places Mira had been before, this place radiated an almost cheerful nature. Warm and inviting compared to the drab gray of the prisons, Mira felt as if she had entered a whole new world. Colors she’d forgotten existed were splashed all over paintings adorning the russet-colored walls. Crisp white trim framed the doorways. Comfortable-looking wingback chairs flanked a set of elevator doors that had been polished to a mirror-like finish.
    As if to remind Mira of her place, one of the handlers nudged her a little too harshly with the butt of his UV torch. “Quit gawking. Move.”
    Olivia took the lead, heading straight to the polished steel elevator doors. She pressed the button, which illuminated to a bright orangey-red. “Your Patron keeps you in luxury. Remember this. If you so much as annoy him in any way, I’ll send you to the lightbox for a week.”
    “Got it,” Mira said, with as much enthusiasm as she could muster. She knew what she had to do and didn’t need the reminder. She would do whatever was needed to keep herself alive and hopefully give herself another chance to make an escape. Even as they entered the elevator and exited on the top floor, Mira was paying close attention to every detail, looking for ways out, making sure she remembered exactly how they got to and from all of the new places she’d seen this day.
    The hallway they entered was just as warm and inviting as the lobby they’d left. At the end of the hall sat a large mirror. Mira had not yet seen herself after she’d been cleaned. In truth, it had been years since Mira had seen a real reflection. She’d seen images of herself on the big screen in the arena, covered in blood and gore, but nothing like this, a close up, clear look at herself. She hardly recognized the woman staring back at her. Her face, her eyes, her hair – everything was so alien. What was most disturbing though was that in this light, she almost looked human. All the makeup they’d slathered on her covered up the pale skin and the bruised-looking bags under her eyes. Even her hair seemed to have an unnatural glow to its raven color. She supposed that was to make her more presentable to humans, but it made her feel a little like a clown.
    The handlers escorted her to the doorway of her Patron’s suite.
    Olivia gave Mira a quick once over, nodding approvingly, before pressing the doorbell.
    When the doors parted, Mira met the muted green eyes of the man who’d thwarted her escape attempt the previous day. The Regent. The most powerful man in the city. And her new Patron. The irony of it almost made her laugh.
    “Leave her with me.” His voice was confident, his smile seductive. The little quirk up at the corner of his