“Always do for the northern cell block. This is routine, Kaliya. Let’s just get it done. And no, we’re not going to fuck with Wesley today. He’s been agitated recently.” He didn’t sound particularly annoyed, but he wasn’t pleased. Normally, I did this walkthrough with Dian because Tarak hated doing this procedural stuff for Alphas who were stronger than him. Most werewolf Alphas hated this kind of stuff. They ruled their little corner of the world and ignored the others unless someone intruded on their space. I represented power over Tarak, and he didn’t like it on an instinctual level.
“Wow,” Raphael whispered. “Why are they all so quiet?”
“Northern cell block, the worst of the worst,” I reminded him. “They don’t need to be blowhards. Among their ranks, a naga who’s considered the most proficient serial killer of the last five hundred years, a fae princess, daughter of Titania and Oberon, with a knack for skinning people alive—” Saying that caused someone to giggle hysterically on the second floor. That made me take a pause and reconsider telling Raphael more. There was more to that fae, but it suddenly made my skin itch to think about, and I could only imagine how Raphael felt without even knowing all the details. “And others.”
“Fuck,” he mumbled.
“Yup.” I stepped closer to the cell doors. I had to look inside of these to see the inmates. These were people of power, importance, rarity, and more. They had done horrendous things, but for whatever reason, they weren’t executed.
Seeing them always left a bad taste in my mouth. This cell block made me uncomfortable in ways that made me feel vulnerable. These supernaturals were sick, and they all unabashedly knew it. Many were damn right proud they ended up getting away with what they had done.
“Kaliya,” a singsong voice called. “Are you still with my nephew, sweet serpent?”
I looked up for a moment and wondered why she was talking today. Normally, she was quiet, and I appreciated that. She had that happy-go-lucky thing that freaked me out.
“Nephew?”
“Remember what I said. Fae were born of two people, either with each other or with humans. Fae royalty are children of Oberon of the light and Titania of the dark—Cassius, his parents, and his direct relatives. She’s a princess, one of them. She’s his aunt. I promise you, they aren’t close.” Swallowing, I ignored the woman and looked into the first cell. Sometimes, these motherfuckers liked to spook me, and I wasn’t really in the mood for that shit today. I was already jumpy because Raphael was with me. I was certain he was the cause of my extra layer of discomfort.
I caught sight of the prisoner, lying on his bed, staring at me with hooded eyes. He gave me a very small smile, then closed his eyes.
“This is Leviathan,” Tarak started explaining, probably to Raphael, who was hovering over my shoulder because I sure as hell didn’t need to know who was who. “The one who—”
“We don’t need a rundown on every one of them,” I snapped. “He doesn’t need to hear about all of them.”
“It’s fine—”
“I want you to be able to sleep tonight,” I muttered, walking to the next door and leaving them standing in front of Levi. His name wasn’t fucking Leviathan. It was Levi, and I hated when people let these monsters use their special little nicknames to stroke their own egos when they had one.
I stopped in front of the next door and looked in to find another healthy criminal, then the next door and so on. We walked up a metal staircase to the second floor, and two doors in, I was confronted with eyes I didn’t want to see.
“Niece,” Nakul whispered so softly, I almost missed it. He was on the other side of the cell and walked closer, giving me a look of hopefulness and deep concern. I knew the stare, but I hadn’t seen it since I was a child. “How is your work? Are you well?”
I didn’t respond, staring at him for a moment. He had deep brown, nearly black—just like mine—eyes that seemed endless. He looked healthy, not a day older than the day his wife and son died. Not a day older than the day I caught him. There was over a century of history between us, a lifetime for me, but I grew up and changed, becoming the woman I was. He stayed the same. He was centuries older than me.