Page 54 of Blood & Magic Eternal

“Oh, come now.” Distantly, I hear Malachi groan. “Do I really need to come in there and break this up? I can promise you; it won’t be pretty. Let’s not forget, we’ve traveled a long way. Barely eaten, barely rested. And you’re exactly the kind of meal my brethren and I wouldn’t mind sinking our teeth into.”

Lewis and I glare into each other’s eyes, neither one of us backing down.

Behind me, I hear Elison growl from where she sits. “You wouldn’t though. You can’t. You need us for your precious Hunt.”

Malachi is quiet for a long moment. “You’re not wrong. We did, indeed, bring you here for the Hunt. But make no mistake, if anyone proves to be a greater hassle than they’re worth, I’ll let my guards feast. So keep that in mind whenever your cellmates are being belligerent. Keep them in check and you’ll all get to live a few days longer. And who knows? Maybe you’ll get the opportunity to escape.”

My eyes flick to his, hope brimming in my chest like an overflowing river.

The prince winks at me and I realize how foolish I am to believe anything he says. It’s the same false hope Rowland and all the humans feed each other.

“Any argument?” he asks, his menacing gaze leering at Lewis and me. Finally, begrudgingly, Lewis releases the bars and I release his facial hair. Malachi grins. “Good. Now, if you’ll excuse us, we’veallhad a long journey and if we don’t leave you now, I’m afraid someone here is going to get eaten.”

“Fucking bullshit,” Elison grumbles to herself.

It warrants a smile from me. It’s one of the reasons I’ve always liked her. We’re similar, the two of us. Whenever we’d talk about what she’d do if theRowlandiaever fell, she always said she’d join me and that the two of us would kill every last noctis in the realm. I believed her. It was so easy to see: the two of us who had lost everything banding together and going on a suicide mission to fight and destroy all noctis.

I still need that to be true.

Despite everything.

Despite Rowland.

I need her on my side if I’m going to survive this.

Before he leaves, Malachi sinks to his knees to talk to a woman in another cell. The fire-haired woman responsible for my capture. They’re too far away to hear what they’re saying, but I’m sure it has something to do with plotting their next plan for tricking more humans into capture.

Once all the noctis have left, I join Elison on the bench.

She looks up at me with glossy eyes. “Charlotte, there’s something I need to tell you.”

So, she did know then…

I’m not sure it changes anything though. Not now that we’re both trapped and facing imminent death anyway.

“I know,” I tell her, inching closer so that no one else can hear us. “Rowland told me about the baby. It’s why I came looking for you.”

Confusion wrinkles her forehead, but why, I’m not sure. I don’t want to think about it, honestly. We have one purpose now.

“I’m going to get you out of here,” I whisper with lethal quiet. “You and I won’t be caught dead in the Hunt.”

13

THE BONDS OF WOMEN

“What’s the plan then?” Elison asks the next day, after we’ve all had some rest. She uses one of her nails to scrape away the dirt from her thumbnail, trying not to look suspicious by paying me too much attention or speaking too loudly. “You said you had one, but you haven’t shared any of the specifics.”

“That’s because I don’t have any yet.”

Irritation lingers behind the eyes that briefly flit to mine.

I shrug. “What? You just expect me to know exactly how to break out of here before I’ve ever even set foot in the place?”

“Yes!” she whispers emphatically. “You said you came looking for me to help me. I assumed you did it with an escape plan in mind!”

“I didn’t exactly plan on being captured!” I growl, my voice carrying farther than I intended and capturing the attention of our fellow prisoners in the neighboring cell.

If we’re too loud, the guards who meander down this way periodically might learn of our plan of escaping, and that would be one additional hurdle that I can’t afford.

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