Page 39 of Diamond Kisses

But locks and guards and heavy stone bricks kept me trapped.

Rubbing my empty, snarling stomach, I hunched where I sat on the window seat. I’d wrapped myself up in the white blanket from the bed, warm for the first time in weeks, but the constant gnawing in my middle wouldn’t leave me alone.

Judging by how insistently my body demanded food, it’d been over twenty-four hours since our last rations. And our rations could hardly be called food. Our diet in the dungeon had consisted of stale bread, tough meat, and a few overly cooked vegetables if we were lucky.

No matter how incredible the hot shower had been or the full hour I’d spent sitting beneath its warm rain, I would’ve traded that luxury for a decent meal.

Dirt and filth robbed every drop of self-worth, but hunger? God, that had the capacity to steal every ounce of willpower. If Victor starved us for much longer, I truly didn’t know how far we’d go or what we’d put up with if it promised an end to the pain in our bellies.

Strings of soft music wriggled their way through the windowpanes as stars pricked the velvet sky above. The sounds of masculine laughter down in the gardens as men gathered on the deck and smoked and drank hinted May and the cooks in the kitchen would be hard at work making dinner for everyone. Faiza and her cleaners would’ve had a busy day tending to the many chambers, and the gardeners, handymen, and other staff would’ve endured yet another day of no freedom.

I sighed and rested my head on the cool glass.

Five months ago, I’d arrived with such naïve beliefs that I could free the poor men and women imprisoned here. I clung with such conviction to the power of right over wrong.

Yet sitting there in silence, a little whisper in my weary heart said perhaps this tale didn’t have a happy ending after all. Maybe we would never get free. Perhaps Victor would break Henri, which, in turn, would break me. We’d both die a painful death, and Peter and the jewels would remain forever trapped.

They’d go on serving until they ended up on the altar and their pieces sold to the highest bidder. No one would know that this island or these monsters existed. The world would continue spinning. People would continue bickering and moaning, catching public transport, and snuggling on the couch after work. All while hell existed for those unlucky enough to have been trafficked into it.

Stop.

Just…stop.

These thoughts aren’t helping.

You will get out.

Don’t lose hope…not yet.

Peter’s voice echoed in my ears from when I’d watched the guards strap Henri onto the altar in the Temple of Facets.

“Not yet, jaanu…not yet.”

I still didn’t know what he meant or when not yet would be.

But…not yet.

I wouldn’t give up.

Not yet.

A particularly bright star glimmered above, twinkling in its freedom. It looked like one of the stars I regularly visited in my meditations.

I found comfort in its brightness.

A tiny pinprick of light in a cloak of black.

All it took was one.

Just a single dot of light to break the oppressiveness of the night.

Pressing my fingertips to the glass, I stared at that glittering diamond in the sky and made a wish like I used to when I was a child.

I closed my eyes.

I found that centre of calm and begged someone to hear me.

“Please…come for us. We can’t do this on our own. We tried. We failed. If you’re out there…please hurry—”

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