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Chapter18
After Seran was done threatening me, he gave me leave to walk around the compound. At first I’d been overjoyed at the chance to plan my escape, but it became apparent that wasn’t in the cards.
The place was crawling with soldiers. All men, and all dressed head-to-toe in black armor. Which made my barefoot/sweatpants appearance stick out like a sore thumb.
But the real reason I knew I wouldn’t be getting out of here was because we were inside of a prison.
Not a metaphorical prison. An honest-to-goodness, abandoned penitentiary.
The doors to leave were locked. And even if they weren’t, there were watchtowers and multiple barriers of barbed wire fences.
I was sure I could get out if I wanted, but it would take time and a fair bit of planning.
Planning that would come easier if there wasn’t an evil fae currently staring at me.
Seran wasn’t even trying to hide it. I’d turn a corner and there he’d be, those golden eyes harsh and calculating. Sometimes he looked at me, and I swore there was...desire? But then he’d go right back to looking murderous and those thoughts would vanish.
After all, I’d never been the kind of woman to draw male suitors. Maybe if I tried harder, I would be decent-looking, just by virtue of being a healthy weight and having breasts that men seemed to love and were darn inconvenient for me. But my hair was always a frazzled mess and makeup just wasn’t part of my daily routine.
To hide my shape, I liked oversized cardigans and wore long skirts or slacks to the office or lab.
If I wanted to be taken seriously in the sciences, I couldn’t just be myself. I needed to be the right amount of pretty. Too attractive or if I seemed as though I were trying too hard, and the menfolk wouldn’t respect me. And if I came in looking like a bum, no one would give me the time of day.
So although I’d perfected my average-Jane routine, it had done nothing for my dating life. Which worked out fine for my career ambitions. And it wasn’t as if my parents were clamoring for grandbabies.
And maybe my dreams of a big family were just that. Dreams.
Once I’d walked the perimeter of the prison, or as much as I could considering about half of the doors were still locked, I pulled a chair next to one of the exits and settled in. Before I fully allowed myself to relax, I started to plot a way out. The doors were locked, so I’d have to find a way to get them open.
I wasn’t a hacker and didn’t know anything about how the software systems operated. And from what I could see, the locks were all electronic.
I couldn’t get past the electronics, but I could beat the mechanics. All I needed was enough leverage. Because there wasn’t a fulcrum big enough to get the desired results, I would go for a different type of energy release.
A bomb.
Seran wasn’t worried about me being a danger, considering he was a fae and the humans all carried guns. But I had full access to a janitorial supply closet, so they might as well have given me access to an entire armory.
Physics were my specialty, but I knew enough chemistry to be dangerous. Very dangerous.
As soon as he lost interest in me and I was alone, I collected the chemicals I needed and also some dangerous-looking small items, like nails and screws.
I deposited my findings next to my station by the door and then went looking for containers to put the bombs in.
The breakroom was just a few turns away. I let out a squeak when I saw Seran sitting against the counter, regarding me.
“What are you planning, mortal?”
I didn’t want to look guilty, so I let all of my anger show clearly on my face. “The many ways I want you dead,” I answered. Not a total lie, considering I was making weapons.
He just grinned. “So bloodthirsty. That’s what I love about you humans. So powerless and angry all the time.”
“Great. I’ll just go be powerless and angry somewhere else.” Even so, I crossed to the fridge and pulled it open, holding back my sigh of relief as I saw the bottles of water inside.
I grabbed four. It was an amount I could easily carry and wouldn’t be too suspicious.
“Thirsty?” asked Seran with calculating eyes.
“Parched,” I muttered, stopping to pocket a few granola bars. I had avoided the food offered in the interrogation room, but I would need some type of sustenance to keep my wits up.
