22. Lily

PRESENT DAY

There was a strangely calm lull after the riot had died down. It was as though the entire prison had, for one night only, enjoyed a large rave and the following morning, everyone was still suffering from the after-effects.

The beasts that came to protect us — at the mysterious Thillak's behest, no less — had done a sterling job, but now it was time for them to go.

The attacks on the Prize Pool were over and there was no longer any reason for them to remain. More than one had a lingering look for the Prizes beneath my care and I strongly suspected we hadn't seen the last of them… not for a long while.

A young gleesarian who'd come with the most recent shipment of girls, fluttered her eyes and almost swooned as the inmates left. I'd seen the look before and it never failed but to lead to one place:

Trouble.

"Wipe whatever thoughts you're having right now from your mind," I said, snapping at her.

The young gleesarian blinked, surprised I'd noticed her dreamy expression. She immediately dropped her head and lowered her gaze to the floor.

"Yes, Ma'am," she said, her native drawl tucked between each of the vowels.

"Have you learned nothing from my instructions?" I said, glowering at her. "You're never going to find happiness with one of these beasts. You're here for their amusement, nothing more. Do you understand? You're their plaything."

The gleesarian maintained her view of the floor. Then I noticed the other Prizes standing around us, watching.

Some might have buckled under their gazes but I didn't — I doubled down and I glowered at them all one at a time. "The sooner you all get that into your thick heads, the better."

I turned on my heel and marched into the back rooms and began to tidy up.

I felt angry, flustered. Why did the new Prizes always have to open up their hearts to the beasts? They always let them down.

Always.

I dumped broken chair legs and other impromptu weapons into a pile in the corner and immediately felt the crushing weight of heartache press down on me. I almost bent double, and braced myself on the wall. It was like I'd been hit in the gut by a brutal blow.

"Lily?" one of the Prizes said, placing a hand on my back. "Are you all right?"

I slapped her arm away and didn't even turn to look at whoever it was. "I'm fine!" I growled. "Get this crap cleared away. We have to prepare for when the competitions begin again."

I moved past the makeup desks and changing rooms and entered the bathroom. I splashed some water on my face and got a grip on myself. I looked at myself in the mirror.

It was just the stress of the riots, I told myself. Nothing more. Then everything would go back to normal.

A pair of Prizes moved past the bathroom, their hushed whispers magnified as they bounced off the hard tile walls.

"What happened to her?" the young gleesarian asked. "To Lily. To make her this way."

"The rumor is she had her heart broken by one of the inmates," an older Prize, whose face I couldn't recall, said.

"She fell in love?" the young gleesarian said incredulously. "Seriously? How is that possible?"

"I know it seems impossible now, but they say there was a time when she actually used to smile."

"Her? Smile? I don't believe it."

"I've never seen it myself, but that's what they say."

They passed the bathroom and were gone.

After all this time, after all the Prizes I'd known back then had gone, replaced with fresh female flesh, my past still haunted me.

He still haunted me.

I could still recall how his arms felt wrapped around me, how strong, yet caring, reassuring. And the caress of his soft lips against my skin, and the hard press of his cock against my back…

Stop it!

I scowled at myself in the mirror. Stop being so weak!You're better than this!You're stronger than this!

And still, the tears threatened to roll down my cheeks.

There was one reason not to fall in love, and that was once it ended, and your heart was torn from your chest, you were left with nothing, and remained an empty shell for the rest of your life.

That was what I wanted to tell the young gleesarian. That was what all the Prizes needed to know.

But that would mean exposing that I had, in fact, once been in love. And then there would be their questions, their endless, probing questions, that could only open my wound further and cause more pain and anguish.

Let them think they knew the mystery of me. They didn't. And they never would.

I straightened up, blew my nose, and dabbed the dampness from my eyes. And there I was, back to normal. Fully myself again.

A knock came at the door. There was no need to tell them to enter as it was standing open.

"Yeah?" I said.

"It's the Supervisor," the Prize said, head bowed deferentially.

"And?"

"He wants to speak with you."

Of course he did. I'd been waiting for him to issue the summons.

"All right," I said. "I'm coming."

I checked myself once more in the mirror and followed the Prize back to the Viewing Room where the other girls were busy tidying up.

A guard stood ready to lead me to the Supervisor's quarters upstairs. It took less than five minutes, and I was standing in the Supervisor's presence. I could see the old Supervisor had already been replaced after the recent riots.

I guess someone had to take the blame.

He was a thickly set creature with spiral horns and a solid but slow gait. He looked up from the papers strewn across his desk, raised his chin, and peered at me through the strongest part of his lenses.

"You're in charge of the Prize Pool?" he asked.

"Yes, sir."

He took a moment to look me over from tip to toe, his eyes catching on my breasts and wide waist for a fraction of an instant. He licked his lips before continuing.

"You're aware of the recent riots at Ikmal?" he said.

It was hard not to be. "Yes, sir," I said.

"We have reason to believe someone on the inside helped instigate these riots. The Lead Guard will be with us until the emergency riot crew has established calm at Ikmal. He will also investigate what caused the riots so this never happens again."

I said nothing and just waited. What was there to say?

"I'm having the Lead Guard look into every part of the facility," he said. "I trust you'll be cooperative?"

"Of course, sir," I said. "Who is the Lead Guard? I've always assumed that was the Supervisor's role."

The Supervisor leaned back in his chair and smiled. "It is. At least, it was. But no longer. It was decided the guards should have a more… independent role at the prison."

That meant the Supervisor had lost some of his power and would no longer be the godlike persona he had been up until now.

It was a big change.

"Meet the Chief," the Supervisor said.

Meet the Chief?I thought. Saying that implied that he was here somewhere and I didn't see—

And then I saw him.

He stood in the corner of the room, so rock steady and still that I thought he was a statue. He was bigger than the other guards — much bigger. He stood a head taller and was extremely broad across the chest.

Like all guards, his armor covered him head to foot and a slit of black was carved into his helmet where his onboard computer system could access information from the main database. He clutched a plasma rifle to his chest like he meant to use it.

A very big change, I thought.

"He will be meeting you at a later date to conduct a thorough investigation into your operations," the Supervisor said. "That will be all."

I nodded respectfully and left, shaking my head. Problems upon problems. Things were getting complicated and I would need to watch my back.

Back in the Prize Pool, the young gleesarian I berated earlier glanced at me before bending over to continue her work.

Oh yes, I thought, I'd seen that look on her face before. It always spelled trouble. And I should know.

Just five years earlier, I'd worn the same dopey expression on my face and it had led to the biggest problems of my entire life…