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“What’s wrong?” I ask as she covers her mouth. Leaning forward, she coughs up blood, and I bang on the glass. “Ferol, Ferol, Ferol!”

“Damn, give me a minute,” she grumbles, wiping her mouth then flashing me a pearly white smile—teeth.

“Your teeth grow back? That’s fucking handy,” Torrin mutters.

“I wasn’t sure, but I usually heal. Either way, they are just teeth,” she says, wiping her mouth again. “So, what else can we do for fun in here?”

“Nothing,” Emrys answers darkly. “You are put on parade, tortured, played with, and experimented on.”

Watching us closely, she runs her eyes over us. “You spent a long time here.”

“Too long. We were finally free, but I was foolish,” I rumble. “Try to rest. You’ll need it.”

Nodding, she curls up against the glass as I press my palm to it, wishing I could touch her. “I’ll keep watch.” That seems to surprise her, but she gives me a rare, soft smile before closing her eyes again.

“So, were you always connected in some way, or was that one of her experiments?” Ferol’s voice, hours later, startles me, my eyes going to her. She’s talking quietly, and I realise the others are asleep too. There isn’t much else to do, after all. The lights are lowered, which is the only way we know if it’s day or night. We spent years like this, yet after just one day, I’m back to old habits and routines. I guess it’s true what the collector said—the mind can adapt to anything if you give it enough time.

I hate that I adapted to this place.

“She made that happen,” I admit. “An experiment. She’d tried to do it before, but they all died. She kept trying. For some reason, it worked with us. The neuro overload almost killed us, but we survived. It made us her favourites. She would never sell or kill us. We were her preferred toys to play with. The only good thing is, it stopped the extreme torture.”

“Like Bram losing his tail.” My eyes find hers. I’m betting she saw it in his nightmares.

“Like that and worse. She didn’t want to accidentally kill one of us in case it broke the bond she so joyfully showed off to her buyers. She did, however, experiment on how pain worked between us, amongst other things.” I don’t bother hiding anything. What’s the point? She’s facing our reality, our past. Shame makes my body heavy as I lean my forehead into the glass. “I thought I’d got them out. It was my one job.”

“You did. It’s not your fault she found you again, but you’re not alone this time. I’ll get you all free,” Ferol says, and she speaks so confidently, I can’t help but chuckle. “What?”

“Nothing. I just—how can someone who’s spent their entire life locked away in Gehenna be so . . . kind?”

“A prison is a prison. I escaped Gehenna, didn’t I?”

“With my help,” I tease.

“Still counts, even if it was a long time. There’s always hope, Kitt. Always. Besides, she’s one woman, and we are five monsters, which gives us an advantage.” I can’t help but soften at her grim smile.

“You’d help us, even knowing what waits out there?” I whisper.

“We’re mates. It’s what we do.” She winks before softening, pressing her hand to the glass as if we are reaching for each other. “We can’t help what we have to do after this, Kitt, but right now, we have a choice, and I chose you.”

“I knew you liked us,” I mutter, making her grin.

“Well, isn’t this sweet?” We both whirl around to find the collector at the top of the stairs, looking between us both. There is a gleam in her eyes I don’t like. She had it before when someone was determined to buy me, and she ended up killing them. Stiffening, I shoot Ferol a warning look then meet our captor’s reptilian gaze. “I knew you were mates, but seeing it? I find myself oddly . . . jealous. He is my specimen. Mine. I don’t share, and I don’t think I want to share them at all.” Heading to Ferol’s glass, the collector glares at her. “Maybe I don’t care what you are. Maybe I’ll just kill you.”

“You could, but killing me would kill them, so it seems like a dumb idea, but then again, judging by your outfit, I’d say you are more than likely used to that.”

Fuck, her smart mouth is hot, but it’s going to get her in trouble.

“I’ll find a way to keep them alive. I always do. They don’t need you. They are mine. Let’s prove it.”

She turns to me, and before I can voice a warning, a dart hits me from above, making me docile. The drug moves through my system, familiar and infuriating. Swaying, I crawl away from the glass, pressing against the other side just as the front lifts away, and she ducks inside. She moves to my side, making sure Ferol can see me. My eyes meet hers as I blink through the haze. She’s banging on the glass, her mouth forming words, but it’s clear the collector silenced her tube, wanting only her attention, not her input.

Anger washes through me, fighting against the numbing drug as her hand reaches out and strokes my face. “We used to have such fun together. Don’t you remember? We will again. Let’s show her who you belong to, shall we? You will always be mine—my pet, my specimen. I am your master.”

My eyes lock on Ferol’s as I try to move. I feel my fingers twitch and toes wiggling as I clamp my mouth shut. Ferol’s hands bleed as she smashes herself into the glass, trying to get to me as the collector yanks on my jaw, forcing me to look at her, then she presses her lips to mine.

Cold. Slimy.

Wrong. Wrong. So wrong.