Page 117 of Elas

Cell after cell, it’s more of the same. Bloodstained clothes and trembling bodies, atrophied muscles and bone-thin limbs. Most of them barely even move, and I don’t know if it’s from weakness or if they’ve just lost the will to live.

I have the fleeting thought that it would be a mercy to kill them all, and wonder if they’d embrace death. If I were in there shoes, I might welcome its quiet.

A glowing mark shines from the forearm of a sleeping human man, and the reminder is stark. The very reason they’re here may be the only thing that sustains them.

Their mates.

My attention is caught by an Anunian, leaning against the wall of his cell and staring off into space. Dark bruises cover his exposed chest, and weeping sores dot his skin. A body that was once muscled and strong is now concave and sickly, and his tails are bound with zipties and fastened to his collar. His gaze meets mine, and despite the distance, I see the emptiness in his eyes. They’re dead—hollow and haunted.

Hopeless.

I swallow hard, forcing myself to breathe as his face morphs into Ronan’s, and I imagine it’s my best friend locked inside these walls.

August was right to come here. Was right to demand action.

This has to stop.

“Nothing too terribly exciting in here,” Gale says, bringing me out of my head, and I glance beyond him to find the Khileon guard with a bored expression on his face. Are they really so numb that this no longer elicits any sort of emotion? I tamp down my fury, knowing I can’t afford to slip.

“Indeed. Once you’ve seen one prison, you’ve seen them all,” I say, keeping my tone flat. The Anunian continues to stare at me, his lips flexing in the slightest sign ofdisgust. As quiet as it is in this wing, I’m sure he heard me. There’s no way he didn’t. My stomach burns with guilt as he turns away and stares at the wall.

Another potential savior, proven to be nothing more than a monster.

I’ve never felt weak until now.

This bleak existence is their reality, and I can’t even handle mere minutes inside it. Any delusions insisting this isn’t happening are ripped away, invisible hands holding my eyelids open and forcing me to see.

Relief floods my body as we leave the cells, and in this moment, I hate myself.

Gale turns to us once we’re in the lobby, and I force myself to fight the acidic bite of bile in the back of my throat. “Given that it’s late, I’ve sent someone off to prepare your rooms,” he says, and it takes me a few seconds to comprehend.

“Room,” I correct, and he quirks his eyes between me and August. “Until the transfer paperwork is handled and he’s officially in your care, the human is my responsibility. It’s my neck on the line, and he will remain in my watch.”

“Thought you said he can be trusted?” Gale asks, and I scoff.

“Can any human really be trusted? Do what you please with him when I’m gone, but for now, he doesn’t leave my sight.” He stares for a long second before nodding and leading us back toward the main entrance, the sky darkening quickly now that the sun has vanished beyond the horizon.

There’s one final set of locked double doors, but we walk past them without comment. “What’s down that hall?” I ask.

“Research facility,” he says, shutting the subject down, but I probe regardless.

“More patient rooms?”

“No, that hallway is only for staff.” He narrows his eyes at me. “Researchstaff.”

I hold my hands up, palms facing out. “Fine by me. All this science stuff is beyond my comprehension, anyway. With my luck, I’d blow something up.”

“Nu’vak are pros at destruction, aren’t they?” he mutters, and I smirk but don’t respond.

It’s oddly quiet when we step outside. A strange sense of foreboding surrounds this place, even without knowing the horrors contained inside the unassuming building. The lack of trees and vegetation in this area means even the insects stay far away. The breeze that blows over my skin is so dry it’s like sandpaper, and my instincts scream at me to run.

I turn to Gale instead. “I need to grab our bags from the vehicle. We’ll be in the guard barracks?” Gale’s assistant takes over, reminding us which building we’ll be sleeping in tonight. The keycard she handed me when we arrived has been programmed to the exterior door and our room.

“I trust you can find your way from here?” Gale asks, and I nod and wave him off.

“Barracks are all the same. What time should we report in the morning?”

He glances at August beside me, who hasn’t spoken a word since the few he muttered as we walked by theexamination rooms. His silence is past the necessity of keeping quiet. It’s bone deep, with a sorrow I can feel to my soul. “Be in the main lobby at 0600, ready to work,” Gale says, and August bobs his head obediently.

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