Page 111 of Imprisoned with the Vampire King

We all ordered food, too.

When the server was gone, Callum looked at me. "I'm sure you know why we're here, Ophelia."

He winced a little when Kat elbowed him in the side, but otherwise didn't react.

"We've been working on a plan for the prison," Dante stated, when I didn't say anything.

I managed to hide my surprise at the comment.

He was the one who'd refused to let me work on a plan.

"What is it?" Callum asked.

"Tell us what happened with the rest of the innocent prisoners," Dante countered.

He'd given me enough time to take over the conversation myself, so I seriously appreciated that he'd realized I didn't want to.

"We're working on incorporating them back into society. The Cabinet is funding their reintroduction into Rumor, and demanding answers about how we're going to avoid a repeat of this," Callum said.

"They're worried they're going to end up imprisoned next," Jazz explained.

"Did you tell them anything about what was happening underground?" I asked Dante.

"No. The prisoners who were with us probably did, though."

"At least one of them would've talked when the fae started questioning them," I agreed.

"Everything that occurred when you were breaking the innocents out is concerning, to say the least," Callum added. "What happened? Is the prison going to stay standing, or do we need to prepare for everyone else be freed, too?"

There it was.

What we were all really here for.

Callum wanted answers.

River was there to make a plan if I didn't have one.

I didn't.

But I would. I'd been planning on making a plan.

"The details of what happened that night are no one's business but ours," Dante said.

Callum's scoff said otherwise.

"We need all of the information if we're going to figure out what to do." Jazz seemed like she was trying to be gentle, but she wasn't much more thrilled than Callum.

Dante looked at me. "It's your call. If you don't want to tell them, I can come up with an alternative."

"It's fine." I brushed my bangs out of my eyes, fighting a bit of nausea. "Thanks to the mate bond, I had the power stores I needed to get the rest of the innocent prisoners out. I made enough plates to hold the magic, packed them into a wagon, and went in alone. Dante didn't know. I figured he'd try to stop me, and I thought I had it covered. Planning isn't really my forte, and I completely missed the fact that everyone wouldn't fit in the elevator at once."

"What do you mean, you missed it?" Callum asked, his forehead creasing.

"The magic she used to create the elevator required more power than most angels have access to," River said. "It takes a lot of energy just to move it once, and she didn't realize how many times she'd have to do it."

Surprise had me blinking quickly.

Was my brother trying to defend me?