AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Her aged blue eyes flick up to him, and she raises a hairless eyebrow.
“Haujezez nos gelecknezez demornatéz Demechnef?” Her tone is accusatory. Sharper than a sword.
Welp, I heard Demechnef in there, and that can’t be good.
“Come again?” Niles taps his ear like he simply didn’t hear her.
God, he’s going to get us all killed.
“She wants to know if we’re soldiers from Demechnef,” Ruth says hesitantly, glancing between Dessin and me.
I pause. Judging by the old woman’s tone, being a Demechnef soldier in a Vexamen prison is not a good thing. I shake my head at Ruth. “Tell her no.”
“Nexéz,” Ruth utters.
But the old woman is already shouting something, pointing at Dessin and me, babbling so quickly it sounds like one solid word. Other prisoners from the kitchen look up at us with a mix of curiosity and conviction in their eyes. Then, the rest of the room goes silent.
I try to get my lungs to fill with air, but they’ve decided it’s best to retire for the day. In fact, it’s so quiet that I can hear Warrose sigh and Dessin growl deeply in the base of his throat.
Without another word, the prisoners serving the food pour the gray goop onto the floor in front of our feet. I flinch, stepping back to avoid the chunky mess. But Dessin doesn’t even look down. His bare feet are coated with the splatter, and he doesn’t take his darkening glare off the woman before us.
“You sure you want to play this game with me?” he asks her, knowing she can’t understand a word he’s saying. But a wave of chills tumbles down my arms and legs at the challenge in his baritone voice, rough and edged with an intent to make her suffer.
The elderly cook spits at his feet, mumbling a phrase I’m sure is meant to offend.
I lightly touch Dessin’s rigid, unrelenting arm. The muscles are flexed to the point of impassable stone. “Low profile,” I remind him. But he doesn’t seem to hear me. His lowered lids and clenched jaw are aimed at the lady with a crinkled scowl on her face. She’s covered in scars and what looks like fresh wounds across her neck. I wonder how many years of her life she’s been a prisoner.
“Let’s sit down.” Warrose nudges Dessin with his elbow.
Dessin casts her one final look, then turns to the crowd of prisoners. Some are standing to watch the confrontation. Others are still sitting, but they’ve stopped eating. Stopped talking. Stopped moving.
And the room is so hushed that I can hear our feet pad across the floor until we reach an empty table.
I’m guessing it isn’t every day they get Demechnef citizens in this prison. That should make our stay enjoyable.
We stare at each other, waiting for the room to fill with casual conversation and spoons scraping the bottoms of bowls. But it doesn’t; all eyes are on us as if time has actually stopped. So, Warrose slams his fist down on the metal table, causing Ruth, Marilynn, and me to jump.
“Fuck,” he grunts.
The room slowly returns to its previous volume. And I can breathe again. Air whooshes from my chest, and my clenched muscles loosen, turning to slime under my skin.
“We’re fine,” I reassure the table, although my hands are trembling in my lap, and my stomach is growling like an animal is trapped in there, trying to claw its way up my esophagus to escape.
“I hope this is only a day-one-initiation kind of thing.” Warrose looks up at Dessin as if he can clarify how this will go.
But Dessin just shakes his head, calm rage seeping from his presence.
“It’s going to be okay. We’re used to not eating. Right, girls?” Ruth perks up.
Dessin’s jaw tics. Yeah, not the way to lighten his mood, Ruth.
“Wow, somehow that pissed me off even more,” Warrose says.
I look up at Marilynn, wondering what she’s thinking right about now. She doesn’t say much. Even her facial expression is unreadable. And honestly, I’m not too fond of that. We need to be able to trust each other implicitly here. No questioning who she’s really working for. We are in enemy territory and only have each other to rely on.
“You’ve been quiet,” I say, watching her reaction like a hawk.
Marilynn looks up, her sapphire eyes narrowing. “I’m always quiet.”
