Page 28 of Queen of Wrath

The room went on so far that I couldn't even see to the end of it.

The walls were made of dark cave rock, not concrete, which likely meant that this facility hadn’t been built as a basement to the building above it. It had probably been here for a while even before that…

Perhaps the company building was built over it?

I moved quietly down the stairs, not seeing anyone in sight until I reached the final step at the bottom. That was when I noticed it…the cage. It was filled with people who wore rags and looked malnourished.

Their skin was dirty, and they looked disheveled. With a jagged boulder stuck in my throat, I walked up to the cage to get a better look at them.

My eyes fixed on a man I recognized.

He’d been in the cell next to me at Ryklira.

Don’t tell me…

The boulder fell to my stomach. It was the only explanation for it—these people had been brought here to be used as test subjects. Rats, the vile investor had put so bluntly at the meeting. Lab rats…

I clutched at my heavily knotted stomach, trying not to throw up.

Did Jax know about this? Why had he defended the prisoners of Ryklira’s so fervently then?

But I did see General Achlys pass a note from her hand to his when they greeted each other the other day. There’s no way he isn’t aware of what's going on.

This only fanned the flames of my volatile hatred for him.

My marking burned like hell.

Fire bellowed up into my chest, and it took everything within me not to shift and go on a rampage. I wanted to not only rip out the throats of the two Ransoms alone anymore. Any person working down here had just earned themselves a spot on my kill list as well. Whether it was directly or not, they were a part of this barbarism.

“Emma? What are you doing down here?”

I knew that voice… I turned to see Kiyan standing behind me with a frown on his face.

“What is this place?” He looked at me, disgusted, as if I was the one responsible for what he saw.

“You’re telling me you know nothing about this? How did you find a way in?” I eyed him suspiciously, finding it hard to believe that he knew absolutely nothing of his father’s disgusting games.

He opened his mouth to respond, but then his eyes went wide at something behind me. “Emma, look out!”

Before I could turn, I felt something stab into the side of my neck. “You’re not supposed to be in here. Now you’re not getting out.”

My body became heavy all of a sudden, and my knees began to wobble.

I stumbled forward, trying to get away, but I ended up heading toward the ground face first. I felt a stinging pain from hitting the floor, but it quickly numbed into nothing at all.

10

KIYAN

Kiyan knew his father would lock him up for a year if he found out he visited the underground facility. He’d been given strict instruction to never go down there, to basically keep his nose clear of where it wasn’t welcome.

Now that he had done exactly that, there was no going back. This whole time, Diesel had been hiding this major illegal potion operation down there, and he couldn’t help but feel absolute revulsion for his father.

This is where he gets his fortune from? I should have known he was into some shady business. He’s always so secretive about everything. Even me…

With frustration welling up inside him, Kiyan raked his fingers through his thick hair, having to stop himself from ripping them clean out.

Now what do I do?

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