Moments later,

Aria

The male model - a creature designed for silken sheets and whispered shames - looked at me like I’d just asked him to recite ancient calculus.

"I... I am quite fast, My Lady," he stammered, his voice lacking the iron I’d need in a soldier but possessing a frantic desire to please.

"Good," I smirked, my gold-crimson eyes flashing with a light that made him shiver. "Because you're not here to be a 'replacement.' You're the first recruit for the New World."

Jade, Muna, and Selene stared at me as if I had just grown a second head - or perhaps as if I’d admitted to eating...