“You did lose your blankie to them.” Opie shrugged, nodding to the empty floor.
Fuck those bitches. They will go down.
Just not today.
The harsh morning bell rang through the stacked city, reverberating off the metal like an out-of-tune violin. The doors to our cages slid open.
Sick to my stomach, exhausted, and in agony, I didn’t want to leave my cell. I simply wanted to sleep the rest of the day. But it would be a victory for them if I didn’t show up. They’d think they broke me. Even three against one, I would not bow to them.
A guttural cry began in my gut as I used the wall to rise, wrapping my arm around my middle, my bruised ribs protesting every movement. My uniform was spotted with drying blood, dirt, and what looked like vomit, which probably happened in the middle of the night and didn’t remember. I bent over, sucking in gulps of air, slamming my jaw together to keep the tears from spilling down my face.
Chirp.
My gaze went to the imp. “What?”
“She just said you’re a fucking idiot, but hey, I say the show must go on. Good on ya, fishy.” He fisted the air in encouragement.
Having no energy to fight with an asshole imp, I shut my eyes, conjuring all the strength I could muster. Inhaling, I opened my eyes and took a step toward the door and almost fainted. Grabbing the bars, I watched the flood of prisoners heading to the bathroom, filling up the walkway. Many peered in at me, as though surprised to see me standing. All of them either encouraged or ignored the beating outside the cells the night before.
Camaraderie didn’t exist here. Everyone for themselves. Every alliance was as thin as tissue paper.
“Have a good day, little fish,” Opie yelled to me as I pitched myself into the throng, heading to the toilets with the herd of sheep. Halfway there, I almost turned back around. Consequences be damned.
“You are like fire, Brex. People try to put you out, but you come back with a roar,” Caden’s voice whispered in my head, the image of him leaning against the hospital room door, watching me put on my boots, heading back to training after a brutal session which had put me in the clinic for a night. “You amaze me.”
At the time, I thought friendship filled the sentiment, but now I could recall the way his eyes tracked me, a softness in them. Longing.
How did I not see it? Why did I not ever tell him how I felt? Now I would never have the chance to be with him. All because fear and misunderstanding kept both of us silent to what we really wanted.
Don’t give up on me, Caden. I’m out here. Can you feel I’m still alive?
The memories of him drove me forward. I made it to the restroom, grabbing my kit out of my locker.
“Well, well.” A voice stilled my movements. “I didn’t think we’d be seeing you today.”
Fuck me. Tess, Mio, and Dee grouped around me, their arms folded, faces wrinkled with abhorrence. Perhaps they didn’t like that after it had taken three of them to take me down, I still got up the next day.
“I knew you’d miss me too much,” I cooed, trying to keep my smile from turning into a grimace. Even speaking was agonizing. “Girls night was fun, wasn’t it? I really feel we bonded.”
Tess, the blonde leader, shifted her feet, her expression tightening, her nose taped from where my boot struck her. “Shut the fuck up, fish,” she hissed, her crew moving in closer to her. “We went light on you. Make no mistake; we won’t again.”
“Ohhhh.” A voice emerged beside me. “I enjoy it rough.”
The trio’s heads jerked to the figure at my side. Kek leaned her arm on my shoulder like we were chums.
“Oh, you weren’t talking to me? How embarrassing.” She grinned at them, showing her teeth.
“This has nothing to do with you, demon.” Tess’s voice softened, her bully pose deflating before my eyes.
“See, that’s the thing.” Kek’s fingers brushed knotted strands from my face. “I kind of have a thing for this one. What happens to her is my business.” Her eyebrows lifted.
She’d laid a challenge at their feet.
Tess grappled for a response, as though not wanting to show her limitation, but she also understood she couldn’t fight a demon.
“Walk away,” Kek ordered, moving her arm off me, standing straight. “Touch my girl