Chapter 13

Chapter

Thirteen

I'd been torturing prisoners for weeks now. The ones on the receiving end of my cruelty avoided me at all costs in communal spaces. They didn't speak to anyone about what they experienced in those rooms either.

Why would they? The words probably would never part from their lips.

Not like their screams. Those poured into the atmosphere with every slice of my knife or fear I dredged up.

Hot water scalded my hands as I dunked the red jumpsuit into the large bucket and ran it along the washboard. The witch guards used magic to heat the water to almost unbearable levels. Heldrok could have had washing machines, but the warden forced us to hand wash clothes, bedding, and towels.

I hadn't seen Warden Demarcus since he pulled me from that torture room and hinted that I could visit Fane in my phantom form. How he knew so much about our bond was beyond me, but it made me nervous. He hadn't shared that information with Venna, or she would have mentioned it by now.

That evil royal had been right about drowning in my own guilt. Once I managed to shove the Infernal Sol into the back seat while I took the wheel, crushing guilt slammed into me. It wouldn't have been so bad if she had me torturing the worst of the worst like Sorin, but I was always sent inmates who kept to themselves and never started trouble.

Demarcus had to know what the royal was doing. Maybe he figured being nice wasn't getting him anywhere, so he had to resort to a different tactic to break me down. Venna and Mykel tortured me every few days and questioned me about Ruin. I never gave in. That frustrated the princess to no end.

Now that the Infernal Sol had restored some of my strength, I could visit Fane more often. Against my protests, his ghostly form came to me while I tortured the inmates. Sometimes, he was the only thing pulling me back from total destruction.

One day, he might not be enough.

"They brought in another one." The female witch CO smoothed her black button-down shirt as she spoke to a male fae prisoner. "She was out of her mind, growling and raging like a wild beast."

The inmate stopped scrubbing the orange jumpsuit. "Did they put her in the cavern?"

"The high demon was too rowdy for that." The guard, her silver name tag read Desiree, tucked a lock of blue hair behind her ear. "She's in solitary confinement in the basement."

I concentrated on their conversation while washing the reeking pile of jumpsuits. They talked about more crazed, out- of-control demons showing up in Heldrok. Had all of them originated from Savannah like the warden claimed?

"Two finally came out of the psychotic trance," Desiree said. "They don't know why or how they got like that."

Tingles glided down every vertebra. Had this strange epidemic been going on for longer than I thought? My first encounter—or I thought it was my first—was when a dux demon attacked Hawk and me without provocation during our field test.

But what if that wasn't my first encounter? What if this same thing had affected Fane's brother the night he killed my friends and Jayla?

Maddie leaned over, interrupting my spiraling thoughts. "How did you and Fane Maverick meet?"

Memories of his brother faded, replaced with images of fighting the demon shifter for the first time after he followed me from Wrath & Ruin. "He was trying to kill me."

"Seriously?"

"It's kind of a long story." Not really. I'd killed his brother.

The scars on my side from Warin burned as if the flesh had been torn open again, and my attention lowered to the bucket full of suds.

"Well, he'd kill for you now," she said with a longing sigh. "I wish I had someone like that."

Steam curled around my face as I wrung out a jumpsuit. "Things between Fane and me aren't exactly hearts and roses." In fact, there were times we still wanted to throttle each other. "We don't always get along."

"I'd love to not get along with him." Maddie wiggled her eyebrows.

I laughed. "He is fun to provoke. "

When I returned to our cell after torturing prisoners, Maddie never questioned where I'd been or why I was usually covered in blood. And when the Infernal Sol still had control, the raven never triggered any psychotic episodes. She seemed to sense the darkness and knew to stay away.

Tight bands wrapped around my heart because I could feel the other shoe dangling over my head. They stuck me in Maddie's cell for a reason, and it wasn't so we could become besties. The warden or Venna had plans, and the knots in my gut told me Maddie wouldn't come out of this unscathed.

No one connected to me ever did.

Sweet Jayla flashed through my mind, making my eyes prickle with unshed tears. I'd had so many nightmares and hallucinations of her recently that I would have crumbled without my visits with Fane. Even Griffin, the guy I beat to death in an organized fight, haunted me a few times during sleeping hours.

Fane and I had to find a way to get out of here before I fell apart or did something unforgivable while the Infernal Sol was in control.

"What do we have here?" Alister, one of Sorin's minions, strolled to our buckets, licking his lips. "You two are on the menu today."

I flipped him off. "Why don't you fuck off, Alister, and find someone else to annoy."

A sneer pulled at the high demon's cruel face, his cheekbones eerily sinking in. "I'm going to do more than annoy you, Tate." He dragged his fingers through his pale blond locks as his gaze roamed over Maddie. "I've been wanting to hear your screams again, Mads. "

Her nostrils flared, and she dropped the suit she was washing in the water with a splat. "Go to hell."

An ominous chuckle tumbled out of Emerick, another one of Sorin's guys, as he flanked Alister's side. "Look around, sweetheart. We're already there."

Hanren, the third guy in the rec room with Sorin, slithered up to us from behind, his hot breath ghosting down my nape. "Don't think you're safe now that you've been made into a torturer, Tate. You still have a target on your back."

Alister reached forward and tried tugging Maddie's hair, but she smacked his hand away. "And since you have a target, so does your cellmate."

Goose bumps spread over my flesh as the tension in the wash room heightened. Something was about to go down.

The three guards roaming between washing stations peered in our direction, noticing how Emerick, Alister, and Hanren closed in around Maddie and me, but they didn't move to stop them.

"No one is going to protect you," Hanren whispered, his golden horns shining under the lights. "Not even your mate can save you now."

Why the hell did everyone think I needed to be protected or saved?

A commotion on the other side of the room erupted, and the guards jogged toward the brawling vampire and demon. And it gave these three assholes just the distraction they needed.

Hanren grabbed my left arm as Emerick darted over to snatch my other one, keeping me in place as Alister went after Maddie.

"Get the fuck off me!" I hissed, bucking in their hold .

Maddie spun and punched Alister. The high demon recovered too quickly and gripped her hair, dunking her head into one of the buckets.

Invisible daggers punctured my heart as he held her underwater. The COs were too busy trying to break up the other fight to notice this one. Plenty of inmates saw, but they wouldn't intervene out of fear of Sorin.

When Maddie gripped the sides of the bucket and tried to force herself out, Alister slammed her head back under the surface. Hot fury swelled through my veins, touching the demon amulet. I couldn't let her get hurt, especially not because of me.

That delicious power unfurled, overwhelming my system. Malice filled me and twisted my thoughts into something terrible and wonderful.

And fucking deadly.

I elbowed the dark fae off and then Hanren, tossing him into a wash station. The bucket tipped over and spilled water across the ground. My boots slipped as I stomped toward Alister, releasing a vicious snarl.

When Alister looked up, the snarky insult on the tip of his tongue died as he saw my expression. "I'm only?—"

My fist plowed into his nose, black blood gushing out. My heart pounded as I broke his grip on Maddie and yanked her out of the bucket. She gasped and gulped air, water trailing down her jumpsuit.

"Thanks." She coughed, pushing the tangled raven strands from her face. "I thought I was going to drown."

My focus remained on Alister as a slow smile melted over my lips. "Fear and fight will never be the same. Fright and flight. You won't be able to run from me."

He wiped the blackness from under his nose. "You're going to pay for that."

"I'm about to pay you back tenfold," I said.

Make him see what makes him scream.

Tendrils of wicked, intoxicating power from the Infernal Sol loaded my veins with the desire to make those around me quiver in fear. I should have clamped it down and buried the amulet under those barricades I constructed every day, but the urge to hurt the high demon wouldn't be ignored.

I snatched his arm, yanked him forward, and plowed through any barriers he thought would keep me out of his mind.

A fear instantly jumped out of him trapped on Earth and unable to consume souls. "How funny." I snapped, plunging Alister into the sensation of being ripped apart from the inside out as his body craved souls to remain topside.

Maddie's brown eyes widened in my direction. "What are you doing to him?"

"He likes to make you shake and tremble, so I thought it only fair he felt the same." My head fell back, and I inhaled the energy his terror admitted, feeding the darkness within me. The Infernal Sol wasn't completely at the helm, but it was inching closer, wrapping long fingers around the steering wheel to shove me aside.

Alister's shrieks finally caught the guards' attention, and when the witch jogged over, her cheeks paled as she realized his torment came from me.

He dropped to the ground, clutching his chest. "Make it stop. I need souls. I can't breathe!"

Desiree cursed, grabbed a gun off her belt, and held it up to me. "These are magical bullets, inmate 487331. They will harm you."

Maddie jumped in front of me. "She was only trying to help. Alister would have killed me if not for her."

Another CO rushed forward, flanking Desiree's side. "Get on your knees, 487331, or we'll shoot both of you."

A sinister chuckle rolled out of me, and I stepped in front of Maddie. "No need to threaten. I'll be cooperative." They were no doubt full of fears. "Please come closer. I'm famished, and that demon was just an appetizer."

"She did something to Alister." Emerick jerked his long finger to his high demon friend. "He's in some kind of hallucination."

Desiree's lips thinned as she tried to keep the gun steady. "Whatever you did, make it stop."

I tapped my chin. "I'm having too much fun watching him beg and cry."

"Tate, just stop this, please," Maddie whispered behind me. "I don't want them to shoot you. And they will."

My tattoo prickled as Fane's ghostly image appeared a few feet away. It didn't take him long to put the pieces together.

"Release him from the fear, Tate. Please." His mismatched gaze penetrated mine. "Those bullets could kill you, and I need you alive."

I sighed and scrambled for control from the Infernal Sol. "Since you said please, I'll do as you wish."

No one could see Fane, so it looked like I was talking to a wall. Everyone probably thought I was completely unhinged.

As I snapped my fingers, the hallucination evaporated around Alister, and he slumped on the ground. "All gone." My hard, deadly glare swiveled to Emerick and Hanren. "Stay away from Maddie, or you'll end up begging for mercy at my feet."

The two inmates gave each other wary glances, probably wondering if I could do to them what I did to their friend.

I could. And I would enjoy it very much.

Desiree cocked the gun. "Maybe I should just shoot you anyway."

"No!" Gershan, the huge Viking demon, stormed into the room, his orange braid swishing behind him. "She's not to be killed."

My laugh sent chills down my own spine. "My hero, Gershan. And here I thought you didn't like me."

He sneered as he approached me and pulled out a pair of magic cuffs. "Turn around, 487331, and give me your hands."

"Teague, do what he says."

My beast moved beside me, running his hand over my arm and causing my knees to weaken. A low hum vibrated my throat as he continued to soothe my turmoil and push back the terrible urges.

I held my hands out. "I'll play the good girl for now."

Gershan released a breath of relief once he finally secured the cuffs around my wrists.

As the guard led me out, I blew Fane a kiss. "See you soon, lover."

While we traveled through the maze of hallways to my cell, the amulet cooled and relinquished control, but it didn't go far. Chains rattled, and when we turned a corner, another inmate appeared between two guards.

Sorin's brow furrowed as he studied me. Did he expect me to be bruised and bloodied? Maybe unconscious?

"Are you too scared to fight me yourself, Sorin?" I asked, the Infernal Sol wanting to toy with him again. "You have to send your friends after my cellmate and me instead?"

His eyes blackened and teeth sharpened while fury throbbed around him. "You'll get yours soon enough, Tate." Sorin craned his tattooed head around after we passed each other. "Fane will too."

I knew using the Infernal Sol's powers in the wash room would come back to bite me in the ass. While the guards took Maddie out of our cell for a work assignment, they left me alone. I figured Mykel would retrieve me for more torture—either on myself or to inflict on others—but when two unfamiliar dux demons hauled me out of my cell, I knew something else was coming.

Mykel, Gershan, Tajeed, and Vankis were the only ones who took me to the torture rooms.

Shackles on my ankles prevented me from running, and the ones on my wrists kept me from attacking the COs. The chains jingled as they led me through Heldrok until reaching a familiar set of heavy doors. When they opened them and shoved me into the circular room, my heart rate doubled.

Guards loomed around the second-story balcony, overlooking the combat ring where more officers and a few prisoners lingered.

Did Venna know they'd taken me to the fighting pit? She couldn't actually want me to fight. What if I lost?

Who was I kidding? Losing wasn't an option no matter who I fought. Maybe they'd throw Sorin in the ring with me. I'd love to take that bastard down .

As the guards removed my restraints, my attention landed on the high demon casually leaning against the railing on the balcony, his intense stare prickling my nape. Demarcus's black suit hugged his lean frame, and dark purple hair coiled around his face where the edges of his neck tattoos curled along his sharp jawbone.

"I knew the warden had to be here for a reason."

My own neck tattoo tingled just as Fane's voice drifted through my mind, and I spun to find him standing on the crowd's edge.

In the flesh.

The air stuck in my throat, and my feet moved in his direction, the connection between us pulling me toward him.

A hard hand gripped my shoulder and forced me to stop. "Where do you think you're going, inmate?" The dux demon snarled and flicked his forked tongue. "You're here to fight. Not see your lover."

The desire to rip that tongue right out of his mouth bled through my veins.

"Teague, don't."

I jerked in Fane's direction but remained put. "I'm really tired of you telling me don't don't don't. It's really annoying."

His brow arched. "I'm only trying to keep you out of trouble."

"Because you're so good at staying out of trouble, right?" A heavy dose of fear hit me in the chest as a horrible thought coalesced in my mind. "Fane, what if…" I couldn't even think the words.

He shook his head. "Demarcus wouldn't make you and me fight. He knows that would push me too far, and I'd stop being so cooperative."

"Why have you been so cooperative?" Fane Maverick didn't follow anyone's rules, even his own. So why had he let the guards shackle and muzzle him?

"I'm pretending to be the good prisoner for now." A feral smile curved his lips as his pupils thinned. "But that'll change when we find a way out of Heldrok."

"Prisoner 487331, get in the circle." The guard that dragged me out of my cell shoved me into the center of the circle to wait on my opponent.

I glared at him over my shoulder, imagining his terror when I poked through his mind to yank out his fears.

The group of guards split, and as a dux demon pulled someone into the fighting ring, an arctic wind rushed over my body.

No. Anyone but her.

"Tate?"

My limbs turned numb as Maddie's confusion intensified. Clearly, she'd never been in the pit and had no idea what her future held. This was the plan. I was put in Maddie's cell so we'd become friends. And once we had, I'd be forced to kill her.