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)
“Maybe. I’m Lara, by the way.” She took a step closer, her hand outstretched. “I’m in the cell next to this one. Guess that makes us neighbours.” I glanced at her hand a moment but didn’t get any sense that she meant me harm. Feeling like it would be good to make a friend in here possibly, I shook with her. As soon as our palms met, a strange, tingly shiver shot through me. It wasn’t unpleasant, though, just unusual. I suspected it was my witch side, muted as it might be by the thorn tattoos, informing me she possessed some kind of elven magic.
“Darya,” I replied evenly before letting go of her hand. Normally, I might’ve said it was nice to meet her, but that hadn’t panned out very well yesterday during my encounter with Mack.
“I’ve been here for a few years now, so if you have any questions, feel free to ask.”
“Okay, thanks,” I said, falling silent a moment before asking, “Is Mack the most powerful prisoner here?”
Lara bobbed her head. “In a sense, yes. Mack rules at night, but during the day, the shapeshifters are in charge.”
“Oh, and do they have a leader, too?”
“Yes, that would be Cassian Sergesto. Personally, I think he’s far scarier than Mack.”
Cassian Sergesto? Surely, that couldn’t be Serg? The guy had plenty of tattoos and piercings, but he hadn’t seemed that scary. Then again, he’d been the one to end the attack on me yesterday, and only someone with power could’ve done that.
I wanted to ask Lara about a hundred more questions, but then a weird bell rang. It almost sounded like church bells but duller, less musical. “Looks like it’s time for breakfast. I’d invite you to eat with me, but you clearly aren’t an elf, so—”
“Wait, do prisoners only interact with their own kind?” I asked, worried. How had Sergeant Davis failed to mention that? He’d said that there were gangs and certain groups, but not that they were species specific. The more I learned about the prison, the more I suspected the Guard knew very little about its true inner workings.
“Unfortunately, yes, which means you’ll have to start befriending the witches and warlocks,” Lara answered, her eyes on my thorn tattoos.
“I’m not a full witch,” I said. “I’m half vampire.”
“Oh,” she replied, blinking as she seemed to take me in with new eyes. “That explains your unusual energy.” She studied the space around my body, like she could see something I couldn’t. Elves had many psychic abilities, and it appeared Lara’s allowed her to see auras. Then she frowned. “That means you’ll be relegated to the mixed group, and sadly, there are only two other prisoners who match that category right now.”
Immediately, my throat ran dry because if that was the case, I knew exactly who those two prisoners were. Vasilios and Sven, one part warlock, part demon, the other part demon, part vampire. I swallowed the lump in my throat, trying to look on the bright side. It could actually work in my favour. I was there to get close to Vasilios, and if he were one of the only other prisoners I was able to befriend, then it wouldn’t be too obvious that I was up to something when I tried to talk to him.
“Okay,” I said, glancing at her again.
She wore an apologetic look. “Sorry about that. It would’ve been nice to be friends, but at least we can still talk when we’re at our cells. Anywhere else in the prison, though, I’ll have to pretend I don’t know you.”
“I understand,” I said with a nod, and she left. I turned back to my cell, and surprisingly, Belinda was still there.
“What are you going to do now?” she asked.
“Right now,” I replied. “I’m going to go get some breakfast.”
7.
I had a slight limp thanks to that Vincent guy kicking me in the shin. It made me stand out among the crowd as I followed in the direction all the other prisoners were going. There appeared to be mostly witches and warlocks, with a few shapeshifters and elves mixed in.
Not many demons, though. They tended to be adept at evading capture. If it hadn’t been for me tricking him, I was sure Vasilios never would’ve ended up there.
It was another reason why getting close to him would be difficult, never mind actually earning his trust. I also had to get past the fact that I hated him with every fibre of my being. Everything he’d done to invade my life was underhanded and sly, so spending time with him would not be enjoyable.
I wondered why I hadn’t seen him around yet. I was fixated on spotting him, my eyes scanning the sea of heads, when someone stuck their foot out to trip me. I fell flat on my face, and the prisoners surrounding me chuckled heartily. I gritted my teeth, not bothering to make a scene and demand who did it. I knew the drill. They were intimidating the new girl, but I wouldn’t let them break me so easily. I stood up, dusted myself off, and continued limping toward what I presumed would be the dining area.