Page 11 of Savage Hunt

“Then what do you care about?” He’d called me in here for a reason. Was it just to let me know he had all this information on me, including my bond with Fane?

Did he know what caused it? Besides the obvious?

“What’s Lord Ruin doing in his lab?”

My spine jerked straight, and the hairs on my nape stood up at Demarcus’s interest in the demon lord. The warden seemed like the type to prefer the old ways, so if he knew about Soulvation, he’d probably do anything in his power to stop it.

“Why don’t you just ask him yourself?” I crossed my arms and leaned into the back of the chair. “I don’t know anything.”

His mouth twitched into a smile. “You’re quite the loyal creature, aren’t you, Ms. Teague? That quality is hard to come by in young ones like you.”

Young ones? He made me sound like a child.

He raked his hand through his purple locks. “I wish I had more allies like you.”

“Maybe if you weren’t a bad guy, you would.”

“And you think Ruin Bacchus is a standup nightworlder with noble causes?” His chuckle had my muscles tensing in preparation for a fight. “We’ve had quite a few crazed demons ending up in Heldrok because of their behavior. Did you know that they all came from Savannah?”

Ice ran through my bloodstream, but I tried to keep the shock off my face. “What are you implying?”

“There’s always more to the story regarding demons like Ruin.”

“And you?”

He shrugged. “Perhaps.”

My flesh felt frozen as he continued to stare. Was he trying to blame these feral demons on Ruin? Did Demarcus think the demon lord was doing something in his lab to make them batshit?

No way. I didn’t believe Ruin was some philanthropic hero, but he cared about his own kind. Demarcus was trying to make me doubt the high demon so I’d spill information about his secret work.

“It was lovely chatting with you, Ms. Teague.” He pressed a button on his desk phone—they did have phones in Heldrok—and Gershen opened the door. “I’m finished with Ms. Teague.”

The demon guard nodded and cuffed my wrists as soon as I stood. “Shall I return her to her cell?”

“No,” the warden said. “Take her to the cafeteria for dinner with the general population.”

As Gershan led me into the cafeteria, the pungent aroma of meat swam up my nostrils, and hunger pangs assaulted my stomach. I didn’t even care what kind of meat was cooking. I was starving.

Rows of circular tables full of prisoners in multicolored uniforms stretched through the large stone room. Guards patrolled on the second-story balcony while more toured the bottom level, their hands never far from their collection of weapons.

My search through the throng of inmates was a waste of time. Fane wasn’t there, or I would have sensed his presence.

“Get your food and find a place to sit.” Gershan snatched my hands to unlock the cuffs. “Try anything, and you’ll end up in a torture room or maybe one of those cages.” His grin made me shiver as he shoved me toward the line.

I rubbed my wrists and tried to peek over prisoners to check out the food lining the metal tables in front, but most blocked my view. My lips thinned, and I finally gave up on getting a glimpse.

Whispers permeated the cafeteria, and prisoners’ eyes drilled into me as they sneered. What was their problem? Had they heard about the fight earlier? Had it landed me on everyone’s bad side?

Maybe it was good that I couldn’t use the ancient demon magic right now. I’d tear them apart if I could.

When I finally grabbed a tray and waited for the vampire to serve me some mystery meat, she just glowered.

My brows knit. “Are you going to give me some or not?”

She scoffed. “Not.”

“Why?”

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