Page 31 of Imprisoned with the Vampire King

Dante and I went to the solitary confinement hallway immediately.

Reaper made a rude joke as we walked away, but neither of us acknowledged it. He wanted me to keep "fixing" their shit the next day, so he wasn't going to do anything to us. Not really.

And we wanted to get the hell out of there in the morning, so we weren't going to rock the boat.

When we reached the door, I offered Dante my arm, and he bit me without hesitation. He was once again in zombie mode, so drained from the hunger that he was hardly functioning.

The solitary confinement door opened, and the magic carried us—and our plates of food—inside.

I'd fucked up the prison's magic in so many ways, without realizing it. It was going to take me forever to fix it. Assuming I could fix it at all.

I was trying not to think about any of that.

My shoulders hurt fiercely enough that I knew it was going to be seriously painful to let my wings out.

"Ready for your last night in this place?" I asked, as we ate.

"I'm trying not to get my hopes up."

I got that.

An escape probably sounded like a pipe dream to someone who had been there as long as he had. And so many people had been there even longer.

That was tomorrow's problem.

Or the day after tomorrow's, depending on how the escape went. If it went poorly enough, it was no one's problem, because I'd die and the magic would disappear completely.

We finished our food and put our plates on the ground, then curled up in bed together.

It was strange for me to feel so physically comfortable with Dante. Any affection that had been building on my end had disappeared after what he said while we were fucking a few days earlier, but the comfort was still there.

I'd never felt comfort around anyone. Not ever. River was the only person I'd ever been even somewhat close to, but I'd never felt at ease around him the way I was with Dante.

The sensation was nice, but I'd be glad to put it in my past. Being comfortable around someone wasn't good for me. It was too easy for me to get caught up in the feeling, and get too attached.

Dante silently massaged the muscles around my wings, and I slowly eased them into place. My eyes burned from the pain as I did, but the pressure he applied to the sore spots was enough to make it bearable.

I lifted my wrist back to his mouth, and he took a few more swallows before releasing me.

He was still working on the knots on my back when I fell asleep moments later.

He was awake before me. I wasn't sure if he slept at all, because I could tell I hadn't slept much.

We both stayed where we were, his eyes on the ceiling and mine on the thick curve of the bicep closest to my face.

Neither of us spoke for a long time.

"What's your plan after you get back?" I finally asked him, my voice soft.

"It's been a long time since I let myself consider going back to my old life." His admission was as quiet as my words had been.

"I'm sure you still have an idea."

He didn't reply immediately. Eventually, he said, "Grayson will expect me to retake my throne as soon as I'm back. It won't take long. Just one fight. I'll win. It doesn't seem like it down here, but I'm the strongest vampire in the city. Or I was."

"Were you in the Cabinet?"

"No. Gray and Jazz handled that." He paused before sighing. "I'm sure my businesses are all a fucking mess. Gray probably hired someone to deal with all my shit, and no one cares the way I do. Or did."