Page 89 of The Dawn of the Cursed Queen

There were prisoners here who had gone mad in their darkened cells, scratching at the walls, wishing for death, and cursing the guards who kept them from taking their own lives. I wondered how many were just forgotten, truly and utterly alone, locked in a cave below the ground in the dark.

I carried my tray of food toward Samkiel and Orym. They sat at their regular table near the wall, huddled together and talking. I snickered at the rumor running through this place about the two of them being lovers. I could see why. Samkiel was the prettiest one here, even with the overgrown five o’clock shadow. I supposed I should be jealous, but no one here was a threat to me, and I was more than happy to stir that rumor just for fun.

“I told everyone you two are in love,” I said, sitting down in a heap. I still wore the look of a short man, my head shaved, and a scar running across my jaw. He was someone I had seen on the streets back on Onuna, and I’d assumed his form to blend in here.

“You did that?” Samkiel asked, his spoon half-raised to his mouth.

“Yup,” I said, taking a bite of what looked like some type of fruit, struggling not to gag in front of him. Solid food was not my friend. I wanted and craved blood, but that was a conversation for another time.

“Why?” Orym hissed, his tail flicking.

“Two reasons.” I held up my finger. “One, it gets the guards off all of your backs when you are seen huddled and whispering to each other all the time, and two, for my own selfish one that if now I want to have my way with Samkiel and he happens to moan too loud, they will never think twice.”

Samkiel snorted around his food and shook his head. Orym scowled and glared at me. He knew it was a good plan. He just hated to admit it.

“Listen,” I said, taking another bite of my fruit. “I can only be strong for so long, okay? You think far too highly of me, and I have been without him for weeks. How much control do you think I have?”

Samkiel nudged my leg under the table. “Stop teasing him.” He grinned and kept his leg against mine.

Orym shook his head, mixing the mush on his tray before taking a bite. “While I think half of that is a great idea, it does put a mark on our backs. What if they separate us?”

I waved my hand. “Pfft, they won’t. I was doing my normal surveillance of the area, and the guy with the tentacles back there and Mister Uptight Guard with the goatee were not sleeping last night. Trust me. They don’t care.”

Both Samkiel and Orym turned to look at the two. The prisoner with the tentacles sat with a bunch of others but kept glancing up as the guard walked along the catwalk high above. He nodded, and Mister Tentacle got up and left as we watched. Samkiel and Orym grinned at me, and Samkiel went back to eating.

“Told you,” I said, taking another crunch out of my fruit. “Also, I wonder if the tentacles kind of hurt and if he’s into it. In my world, they had these tiny suction cup things.”

“It depends on the species,” Samkiel said, and then his spoon stilled in his mouth as both Orym and I stared at him. He lowered his spoon, his eyes widening a fraction as he looked at me. “Not that I would know or remember . . . ever.”

My eyes narrowed. I banged the fruit down on my tray and pulled my leg away from his. When I scooted away from him, he reached under the table and tried to pull me back. I slapped at his hands, both of us in a small match of push and pull before Orym cleared his throat.

“I heard they moved Savees to the lowest level after he ate a guard’s arm off when they tried to touch him. Only a handful are forced to stay down there.”

I raised my brow as Samkiel tried to put his foot near mine, and I stepped on it. “Who is Savees?”

Samkiel glared at me.

“Savees is a prisoner that was with us on the trip here. I still think they did it because of what he is,” Orym answered.

“Savees is one you stay away from,” Samkiel said, folding his arms and leaning on the table.

I ignored him and looked at Orym. “What is he?”

“I don’t know, actually. All I know is he is from the Otherworld.”

Otherworld. My heart thudded. Reggie said some beings from the Otherworld may look for me since I’m here now. My mind reeled as Orym kept talking, but I ignored him. I needed to find Savees. What if he was the orange-eyed one that had been calling me? My dreams had not relented, and the one the other night felt so damn vivid, even if all he did was sit on that throne, begging me to come to him. I didn’t realize I’d stood until Samkiel grabbed my arm.

“Where are you going?” Samkiel asked.

“To investigate a little further.”

“Dianna,” he hissed. “What did I just say about staying away from him?”

“I thought we had a conversation about alliances, remember? What if he can help us? You trusted Orym. Let me talk to him and see if we can trust him, too.”

“Why? Why do you think he’d even help? Beings from the Otherworld are not that . . . giving. They always require something in return.”

“Oh?” My brow flicked upwards. “Slept with one of them too?”

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