Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 89379 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 447(@200wpm)___ 358(@250wpm)___ 298(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89379 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 447(@200wpm)___ 358(@250wpm)___ 298(@300wpm)
“Girl, let up. You’ll kill her.” I was vaguely aware of Marcel compelling me to stop, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t stop until she was dead, until she paid the price for the countless prisoners she’d murdered.
It was then that more people entered the courtyard. Serg and a number of other shapeshifters ran toward us. Before I knew it, I was being hauled away from Lara, the rope slipping from my hands.
“What’s the meaning of this?” Serg asked as he yanked me away from her.
“It’s her. She’s the one who’s been making people hang themselves,” Marcel exclaimed, pointing his finger at Lara.
“He’s lying,” she managed, her throat raw from my attempt to strangle her to death. I still couldn’t believe that was me. That I’d wanted to kill her. In the seconds that Serg had pulled me away, I’d come back to my senses, realising how badly I’d lost control.
“He isn’t lying. She used her psychic elven powers to get into my head and convince me to hang myself. If Marcel hadn’t interrupted, she would’ve gotten away with it, too.”
“Seriously, you don’t believe this, do you?” Lara looked pleadingly at Serg. He glanced at me, then at Marcel, and finally at Lara. He stared at her with narrowed eyes, then motioned to his men.
“Take her to the Spikes,” he ordered, and I knew instantly where Lara was headed. They were going to put her in the torture chamber Vasilios and I had just barely managed to survive. Without a partner to hold onto, Lara would have a hard time staying away from the edge.
I made to leave, but Serg gripped my shoulder. “Are you okay? That must’ve been traumatic.”
“I’ll be okay. Nothing a little nap won’t cure.” I needed to get back to my cell because my parents would be here in a few hours to get me out. Serg nodded, and I went. I was barely halfway to my cell when I noticed people eyeing me strangely.
When I first arrived at the prison, the other inmates looked at me like I was weak, fresh meat. Then, when word got around that I was more than prepared to defend myself, they looked at me with a small measure of respect. Now, though, now they looked at me with hatred in their eyes, like they wanted to maul me.
I didn’t understand it until I passed by the showers and spotted Cassandra. She was surrounded by other elves, almost like she was holding court. “If that Cristescu bitch thinks she can threaten me and walk around this prison like she owns the place, then she has another thing coming. I’ll stop at nothing until everyone knows exactly who she really is.”
Oh. Shit.
Shit, shit, shit, shit, SHIT!
Cassandra had decided to tell everyone my real identity, and it couldn’t have come at a worse moment. I was about to be extracted. All I needed to do was sit tight in my cell and wait for the guards to come, but that would be tough when every prisoner in the place was gunning for me.
I ducked my head and managed to get by the elves unnoticed. They were too focused on Cassandra. My pulse pounded. I didn’t know where to go. Panic threatened to pull me under when Vasilios and Sven appeared.
“There you are! We’ve been searching all over for you,” Vasilios said as he grabbed my hand and ushered me down a flight of stairs.
“Wait! What’s going on?” I asked frantically as I pulled my hand from his.
“We’re leaving, but we have to go now,” Vasilios answered.
I was about to protest and tell him I couldn’t go with him, but then it dawned on me. I had no choice. Because of Cassandra’s big mouth, I couldn’t afford to spend another moment in the prison. I couldn’t wait for the guards to come for me because I’d likely be beaten to death by then.
“Darya, what’s wrong?” he asked.
I stared at his hand, my decision made. I had to get out of there now, and escaping with Vasilios and Sven was my best option. Besides, this also meant my parents wouldn’t have to hand the blackmail money over to the warden to get me out. I grabbed hold of Vasilios’ hand again. We shared a look of agreement, and then we were off.
“Is there anything I should know about this plan?” I asked when we reached the barred door that led to Vasilios’s private shower room.
“It will be better if you don’t know,” Sven said, glancing back at us. “That way, you’ll be in the moment and less likely to freak out.”
I shivered at that, wondering exactly what part of the plan I’d be likely to freak out about.
Vasilios took a moment to use his magic to unlock the door, just as he had the last time. Only now, I sensed the strength of it. He was far more powerful than he had been when I first arrived at the prison, and it was all down to me being there, the strange connection we shared.