Page 39

Ace is a killer. Vincent is a killer.

God, is there anyone here who isn't? My mind reels from everything John said, every word replaying over and over. There is no safety here—even the ones who looked sad, broken, and almost as lost as you. They have no souls, either. I turn on my side, wincing as a spring digs into my hip. My eyes are drawn to the sleeping girl in the cot across the room as I try to avoid the empty cell beside me where Hailee should have been. My heart shatters, but I try to hold it together.

We disobeyed, we defied Vincent's rules, and she paid the price. I swallow, watching Annabelle's breathing, the way her chest rises and falls with ease while she finds a flicker of peace in sleep.

If I want to survive this long enough to find Rosa, I need to play their game. I need to succumb to whatever they want me to do; it's the only way. No matter how much I want to fight, it's useless. I know this, but still…

I left with a new need…

Vincent's voice rattles inside my ears. A new need. Me.

The thought sinks in fast as my stomach starts to churn.

If he wants me, he can have me, but I come with a price: my sister. If I could just convince him to find her, to bring her to me, then we could work a way out together. At least I'd know she was alive, at least we'd be together. I sit up straight, my mind set. I push out every dark thought that tries to creep in, not wanting to listen—I can't afford to.

My eyes dart to Annabelle as she groans. I shoot up, rushing to the cell bars, hands wrapped tightly around them.

"Annabelle? Can you hear me?" I call out, my palms sweating against the metal.

"Amora…" Her voice is raspy, throat raw.

"I'm here, Annabelle, I'm here…" I lace an arm through the bars, but she's too far. The metal grips around my bicep, sending a shooting pain through me.

"Where did they take you? What happened?" My voice cracks.

She turns, her face crumbling as tears start to spill down her small face, each one hitting me harder than the last.

"Please, Annabelle, don't cry," I whisper, wiping my own tears, trying to be strong for her, for both of us. I move to the cell gate, pulling hard even though I know it'll never open.

"Hello! Please! Let me out!" I scream, but no one comes. No one hears me. I can hear the guards above, but they don't care—why would they?

My chest burns, my head dizzy as Annabelle's sobs fill the room. I can't. I can't do this.

My hands ball into fists, and I start lunging at the cell gate, hard, painful, but I don't stop. With each thud, I see Rosa. Hailee. Annabelle. Jade.

Every woman taken.

I can't stop. The rage. The anger. The hurt all spills out, I don't stop lashing out. I can hear the screams—they're so loud in my ears, almost deafening.

Then I realise it's me. The screams are me.

"Amora," Annabelle's voice snaps me out of it. I turn, my knuckles aching as I look down to see they're bloody, split open from the force.

"I should have done more…" I let out a sob, one I couldn't hold back even if I'd tried. Annabelle looks at me, her blue eyes bright and wet with tears.

"I survived it, Amora…" she hiccups through a sob. "I didn't know if I would, but I did."

I move closer to the bars separating us.

"What did they do to you?"

Annabelle drops her head, her hand on her cheek as she wipes away the tears.

"I can't...I don't…"

"Don't tell me. You survived, that's all that matters." I stop her from trying. It's too much to ask, and honestly, I don't even want to know. I can already imagine, and that's bad enough.

"What happened to the others?" Her voice is innocent as she looks around at the empty cells. My lips part as I almost tell her about Hailee, about what happened, but I snap my lips shut. She doesn't need to know, not yet. She's already been through so much.