going to prison even when they’d slapped the cuffs on me. Rosa had gotten away at least. And that was the only thing that I'd had to hold onto in here. Now...she was stuck in here with me. And I'd pay any price to ensure she got out.
"I just feel like there could be a few more course options available," Rosa told Hastings without missing a beat. The girl could lie as a profession, I swear. She was as good of a liar as I was a thief. "It would be helpful if there was training too, for jobs we might apply for once we're out of here. I always fancied myself as a landscaper. I love wielding the earth, but a little training in construction would be amazing."
"Well I doubt Pike's gonna allow more magic time for something like that," Hastings said.
"I wanna try anyway," she said keenly. "Roary wants to put in a request about doing a crystal identification course too, don't you Roar?"
"Yeah," I agreed easily and Hastings glanced back at me.
"I guess it doesn't hurt to ask," Hastings said with a shrug and Rosa nodded with a bright smile.
We arrived at the elevator that led up into the guards' quarters and Hastings pressed his hand to the scanner before it opened and we followed him inside. My heart thumped unevenly as we rose through the complex and I flexed my fingers as I readied myself for this.
I shared a look with Rosa behind Hastings' back and more adrenaline flooded my veins which had nothing to do with this job and everything to do with her smile. I seriously needed to get a grip. I was just some washed up fucking thief who had literally nothing to offer her outside of these walls. Everything I'd ever stolen, I'd left in the care of my pride. And there was no way in hell my father would be giving it back. He saw me going to prison as me giving up any ownership I had over the things I'd stolen, the cash made from any stolen goods too. Which meant on the other side of these walls I was bum broke and potentially even more of a loser than I was in here. At least in Darkmore, I was someone. I had earned my position, fought for it with tooth and claw. But it meant nothing away from here. I meant nothing.
I pushed the bleak thoughts away as the doors ahead of me opened and I took a breath, readying myself for this. I followed after Hastings and Rosa moved to my side as we walked along the brightly lit corridor, the sound of chatter carrying from up ahead. I glanced around me, hunting for the antidote dispenser. Rosa knew it was here since she’d seen it before.
Just past a group of sofas and chairs where a couple of guards were drinking coffee, I saw it. The dispenser was embedded in the wall and a guard was standing before it, pressing a button so a plastic-wrapped syringe dropped out into his palm through a shoot. He walked past us, nodding to Hastings and as we headed by, I shot it a surreptitious look to my right, checking out that button. There didn't seem to be any need for a magical signature, no scanner, nothing. Up here, there weren't even cameras because why the fuck would they worry about an inmate getting into trouble here when the place was teeming with guards? Maybe they should have been more concerned.
Before we reached Warden Pike's office further down the hall, Hastings opened a door to his right and led us into a room. A few tables were laid out so it kind of resembled a classroom and there were posters on the wall with the same branding that the leaflet had had.
Become a better Fae today!
A brighter future is waiting for you.
Your sentence is a time to shine, not a time to turn to crime.
I fought the urge to roll my eyes at the words. Everyone knew getting out of Darkmore didn't mean you could just slip right back into society like it was nothing. Half the inmates in here had been power shamed, meaning no matter how powerful they were, they were no longer allowed to fight for position in society. That meant ninety-nine point nine percent of jobs wouldn't even let them apply. Beyond that, there were plenty of Orders like mine who were shamed by their own kind for