“Yes, sir.”
The man approaches her, his thick brows furrowed in a prominent frown. They’re so close together it almost looks as if a long, thick, hairy caterpillar made a home on his forehead.Not the handsomest cookie in the jar…
“Tell me I didn’t just catch you playing cards with this prisoner,” the man rumbles, coming to stand very close to my Katerina.
“No, sir. I was just checking to make sure he doesn’t have a blade on him,” she says.
Ah, my Katerina girl is quick.
His ruthless gaze slides from her to me, still kneeling on the cold stone floor.
“Where would he get a blade here?”
I wink at him. “I don’t kiss and tell, dear friend.”
That is a mistake.
I realize it the moment he turns the key in the lock of my cell and opens the bars. Order of Ezkai are too serious. No sense of humor whatsoever.
He fists the front of my shirt and shakes me. “Do you think this is a game? You’re here for a reason,General Slayer.” He spits the words at my face. “It’s not a kindergarten. We don’t play around here with the likes of you.”
I lift my palms in defense. “I understand that. Very serious Ezkai men running a very serious establishment where men like me come to die.”
When his fist collides with my jaw, my head almost flies off my shoulders. Copper fills my mouth. I spit the blood out and smile at him.
I’ll be the first to admit—I’m much better with the ladies.
The Ezkai really doesn’t like my smile because he punches me again. This time around, my other cheek. He’s making sure I have matching bruises on both sides of my face.
How thoughtful of him.
After the second punch, he lets me go. I sink to my knees and spit another glob of bloody saliva on the dirty floor of my cell.
My fists itch for violence. Slowly, I count to ten in my mind. Punching Mister Caterpillar might not be the smartest idea. He’s just trying to impress my girl Katerina here. I can forgive his awful manners.
“Dinner will be served in ten minutes,” the Ezkai man says. “We’re to escort you.”
“I’m forever grateful,” I say, adjusting my jaw. Thank the spirits of the gods it didn’t break. Decarios are awfully strong. “Perfect timing. I was just starting to get peckish.”
The glare the Ezkai awards me could scare a poor deer to death. I fix the shirt he messed up, playfully bow at him, and then step outside my cell.
Dear Katerina and the grumpy Ezkai flank me on both sides as if I were the Ezkai General myself as we make our way through dim stone corridors towards the place they call thecanteen.
Two Ezkai escorting me wherever I go each time I leave my cell is not good for my prison credibility. I have no time to bond with other prisoners, which I think is essential if I aim to survive in this place.
I try not to think too much about how long I will have to survive here. And I try even harder to avoid thinking about the alternative. When I think about it, not thinking is the best course of action.
After wandering—withpurpose, of course—for forever, my entourage finally escorts me into the canteen. As we pass long tables full of other prisoners waiting for their rations to be distributed, many unkind eyes turn to peek at us.
Mostly at me. I know what my fellow criminals are thinking. They probably assume I’m extremely dangerous. That’s why I need two babysitters at all times breathing down my neck.
At least that’s what I tell myself.
At the very end of the third long table we pass, there’s an empty spot. Without saying anything to my guards, I plop on the hard wooden bench. Mister Caterpillar curses under his breath, but says nothing.
I feel them both behind my back as I look around the table. Not a single friendly face.Oh, well. I smile nonetheless. None of my comrades return the smile.
“I see we’re not in the best of moods this lovely afternoon,” I say.
