It was totally fucking absurd.
For reasons he couldn’t quite explain, he found it impossible not to be charmed by her. Beautiful, haughty, and with far more courage than she should have in that hellhole, she really was a princess.
His princess.
Mordecai’s gaze held hers as the group of prisoners made their way down the dim hallway on the other side of the slab of concrete. Although she seemed to understand, he still had to hope that she would listen to him and remain quiet.
“Are they dead?”
“This one is,” a second male voice said.
“Marty is, too. I’ve wanted to get rid of this big bastard for ages. You think the shifters killed that guard?”
“Maybe. I guess that explosion did us a favor and took care of the rest of these assholes.”
“No, it looks like the guard died in the fall,” a different voice countered. “The other three…something else did that. What do you think, Thraxon?”
“Not something,” a lyrical voice corrected. “Someone.”
Mordecai stiffened. Part of the alliance of powerful inmates within the prison, Thraxon was someone who could be considered his equal within the established hierarchy. Nothing much was known about the supernatural. Not his age, his last name, or even what he’d done to get himself locked up. He just appeared in the prison around a century ago, and now helped run things on the lower levels.
Thraxon was one of the few celestials being held inside the prison. Normally, people from the Celestial Realm were judged by the laws established by the high gods who ruledover their realm. They had their own reward and punishment system and rarely interacted with the other realms. Because of that, celestials only ended up in the Supernatural Prison if they committed some sort of major crime dealing with the other races.
Like the guy Death had ripped the soul out of earlier.
Thraxon was much more personable than Mordecai. Even so, he had a wicked temper when pushed too far. Other prisoners had learned to respect his limits and avoid pissing him off. Mordecai never had any conflicts with him, but he was one of the few individuals he hoped he never had to face off with.
There was a brief pause, then the first male spoke again. “Hey, wasn’t there a storage closet around here or something?”
Rather than answering his question, Thraxon said, “All of you should go on ahead. Warn the others if they don’t calm down by the time I get there, I will be very displeased.”
“Sure thing, Thrax.”
There was a clattering of footsteps as a group of people hurried away. The silence following didn’t fool Mordecai, though. He was certain someone was still standing on the other side of the large slab of concrete.
“The protection wards are weakening,” Thraxon spoke softly, not bothering with pretense or prevarication. “I can feel it.”
Mordecai silently cursed, though he wasn’t surprised the celestial had known he was there despite the layers of magical protection his mate had created. The other male had to have noticed the absence of the doorway that was usually in the hallway. Perhaps he had also sensed a trace of the lingering magic in the air. Either way, it was pointless pretending he didn’t hear him.
“I know,” Mordecai admitted with a sigh. “I can feel it, too.”
“There is a riot up ahead, most likely in the dining hall. There was another back in unit three where we just camefrom. Probably more happening throughout the prison since the guards haven’t made it down here to the lower levels yet. We’re on our own for now. You and your mate should stay away from the cell blocks and remain here where it is safe.”
Mordecai wasn’t sure how the celestial knew his mate was with him, but it made him press against her tighter as he could shield her from the other male. Still, since he wasn’t used to getting information for nothing, he figured it was only fair to give something in return.
“Since the guards haven’t shown up yet, they probably won’t come down here at all until the wards are completely fixed. It’s a failsafe measure that was put in place back when this place was initially created. The lower levels will be cut off from the rest of the prison until they can replace all of the safeguards.”
“They would let everyone die down here rather than risk someone escaping?”
“Pretty much.”
“That sucks, but I guess it’s understandable.” Thraxon sighed. “Well, if everything goes to shit, it was nice knowing you, demon.”
Mordecai snorted out a laugh. “Likewise, celestial.”
He remained silent as he listened to Thraxon’s retreating footsteps. He was aware that the other male allowed them to hear him leave. Once he was sure they were alone again, he reluctantly moved away from her and walked toward the back of the alcove to start moving some of the rocks and other rubble blocking the doorway.
“This door leads to the library, one of the safest places inside the prison. We’ll stay here until everything calms down.”
