Sapphire.
The dusky dungeon we’d been trapped in.
The cold concrete.
Thewetair.
I shivered.Could this be the same place?No, that’d been closer to New York City. It would have taken us longer to reach that point.
What’s outside the bars?Alaric prompted, pulling me back to him once more.
I slowly tiptoed to the cell door, uncertain about what—or who—waited in the corridor.
It’s a long hallway lined with bars. There are windows at the very top, way over my head, like, two stories up. And they’re too high for me to climb up there to look around. They look blacked out, too. At least from here.I studied the lock on my door.Give me a minute and I’ll look in the cells.
I snatched the silver bracelets from the ground, braced for the pain this time, and broke off the single strand of one cuff.
It wasn’t an ideal tool, but it would do the trick.
Silver bars took me a few seconds longer than regular bars because I preferred not to let my skin touch the metal—a skill that had to be perfected when the lock was on the outside of the door. Fortunately, I had a lot of experience with similar challenges.
I haven’t heard anything since Hulk Junior left me in my cage,I said while I fussed with the lock. Other than some clanking of metal, which I assume is coming from the other captives.
Don’t take risks.Alaric’s low warning wrapped around me in a commanding caress, the alpha in him attempting to protect his mate from afar. It made me shiver, something that nearly caused me to touch the silver bars, but I corrected myself in the last second and heard the subtlepopof the lock.
I pulled the door toward me as slowly as possible, hoping to avoid any noise, but the hinges protested just before I had the opening wide enough for me to slip through. I winced and paused, holding my position and listening for any indication that someone had heard. I made a mental note to start carrying a tiny bottle of metal lubricant.
Glancing down at my nude body, I sighed.Yeah, never mind.I couldn’t even keep my damn ring, let alone a bag of supplies.
Fortunately, no one came running. I also didn’t hear the sound of voices, so I let out the breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding and slipped out of the cell.
I’m in the corridor now,I said, taking a step toward the exit, when the rattling sound echoed behind me. I winced. Part of me wanted to dart up the stairs and take my chances with the bad guys up there. Or slip into the night. Escape. Find Alaric. Return.
But a stronger part of me refused to leave anyone behind. Savannah might be down here, too.
Biting the side of my cheek, I started exploring, searching my surroundings to determine who else was here and also to potentially find another way out.
The cells were filthy. Some of them were bloody and holding the stench of death. Others had girls chained up in a drugged state, their eyes vacant to the world.
My heart broke upon seeing them, but I’d spent years hardening myself to the morbid scene. Feeling bad for them didn’t help them. They needed to be freed, and to do that, I had to keep going.
So I did, peeking in each cell while looking for anything that could be useful.I think there are only one set of stairs, I said, almost to the end of the first corridor.And all that’s left in these cells are battered women. Mostly human.
I shivered as I reached the last cell and found the source of the wheezing I’d heard from my cell. My stomach churned at the sight of a small girl curled into another female’s lap, her breathing labored as she fought off the chill of the cement beneath her.
Dying, I thought, my heart clenching.She’s dying.
Who?Alaric asked.
A girl, I whispered, turning away from the sight. The girls hadn’t noticed me. None of them had. They were too drugged to even care.
I crept back down the hallway toward the main area, my heart pounding each step of the way.Those assholes are going to pay, Alaric, I seethed.
He huffed in agreement.
I started toward the stairs, only to be distracted by the clanging of metal echoing down the other corridor. My instincts warred again, curiosity battling with my need to run.
But a soft cry pierced my ears, followed by a scent that had my nose twitching with familiarity.Savannah, I thought, following that thread to the corridor. It was lined with larger cells and medical equipment. I searched for any tools I could use, like a scalpel or a saw, only to be caught off guard by a whisper.
