Page 14 of Angel Condemned

Axton

Acrash of thunder woke me, and I bolted upright. Lightning streaked across the sky, illuminating the small window in the corner and briefly bringing light to the dull, cold prison.

Jody lay on her side, softly snoring and something in my heart tugged. She was curled in on herself with her hand tucked against her cheek. Almost like she’d fallen asleep pondering something.

Rain splattered against the stone wall outside, and I longed to break through this prison to freedom. I wanted to save Jody from this shithole. From the cruel fate that took my sister from me.

I slammed my palm against the wall. The stones were too tightly packed and thick. I’d spent many a night ramming my shoulders or my entire body into them to only gain broken bones and a dislocated shoulder. One of my wings ripped too. My healing ability surged forward, but felt like acid bubbling underneath my flesh, yet I remained trapped in this cell.

With a grumble, I pressed my forehead against the rough stones. Jody’s spicy scent drifted through the cell and wrapped around me. It reminded me of the spicy-sweet peppers that grew at the edge of my mountain home. She didn’t belong here and definitely not stuck with me.

What was her agenda anyway? So far, she hadn’t acted afraid or upset to be locked in here with me. Did she know what the Roulex expected of her? The vile creatures lied all the time and could’ve told her whatever they thought would make her obedient until the truth was revealed. Or was she holding in her emotions not to give in to hysteria like my mom?

The Roulex would be here sometime tomorrow to punish me for not having sex with Jody. They’d tortured me before because I wouldn’t perform for them. I never would, and therefore I had the route to their torture chamber memorized.

I could pretend acceptance…have Jody act like we had sex…then the Roulex might be so ecstatic they’d lower their guard. And that would be when I struck.

Jody let out a whimper in the back of her throat and I faced her. Her brows were furrowed, and her gorgeous mouth twisted into a scowl. She shivered in her sleep.

Fuck! Perhaps I was right, and she was holding in her terror while she was awake.

And with the storm, it was chilled inside our cell. One thing I learned about my countless months here was to eat whenever you could and sleep whenever possible. She’d never survive the torture they would put her through if she stopped eating and getting enough sleep. Those were two of the things Celica hadn’t done early on. It made her weaker to the point where it took her days to heal simple wounds. I had begged her to eat more, to sleep. A dry tightness clenched my throat.

“Jody,” I whispered, hoarsely.

She didn’t wake up, and I was certain she was exhausted from whatever trauma the Roulex had inflicted when they brought her here. A pang hit the center of my chest. I’d been so tangled up in my misery that I never considered the brave face she had given me. How she never complained or even said how she was captured and forced here to mate with me.

Not my problem. It was best we stayed the hell away from each other. I rolled over, facing away from her, and tried to sleep. Guilt gnawed at my insides. She let out another whimper. Why was I letting this female get under my skin? So she had a bad dream? In this place, that was the least of her worries. She would learn soon enough.

A nagging voice in the back of my mind jabbed at me, reminding me how I’d wished someone would’ve helped my sister when she was here. That she’d had someone to comfort her.

Shit!

I sat up, anger and guilt colliding in my gut. The least I could do was wake Jody. But as I neared her, her breathing was even and her face tranquil. She must have ended the dream on her own. Part of me was glad. The other part sulked that I had delayed too long and hadn’t saved her. Which was stupid. I didn’t need to help her or anyone except myself. My sister was dead and Knox was free. I needed to look out for myself. Couldn’t allow myself to get soft.

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