Diamond let the other girls step out into the hallway. She stepped in the way of the line, preventing me from walking out before Hazel.
“You two aren’t like the other girls,” Diamond said. She stepped closer. Her eyes raked over us which sent a chill down my spine.
My hands trembled, but I tried not to let her see.
Hazel and I remained silent.
“Doesn’t matter your pasts, backgrounds, what you did to deserve this life,” Diamond said. “I shall give you each one piece of advice and use it wisely. Entertain these men tonight, and you may find yourself like me, bathed in fortune.”
She reached into her pocket and pulled out a gold bracelet. She grabbed my arm and slipped the metal over my arm, locking it into place. “We will be listening to every word that you speak, Jade,” Diamond said.
I swallowed the lump in my throat.
Diamond retrieved a second bracelet and snapped it onto Hazel’s wrist.
“Now go. Let the festivities commence,” Diamond said. She stepped aside, letting us catch up with the girls as they headed down the stairwell barefoot.