Chapter 3

Chapter

Three

The high demon's grin lifted the hairs on my nape, and I resisted the urge to step back as power throbbed from him. The sharp tattoos stamped across his head traveled down his neck and across the bit of his shoulders revealed in the jumpsuit. Some of the black symbols reminded me of Fane's, but these filled me with foreboding and poured unease through my veins.

"What are you doing alone without a prison guard escort?" he asked, exploring me from head to toe. "How'd you get in here, wolf?"

The dark fae on the couch leaned into the cushions and spread his arms wide. Thick, purple locks cascaded into his deceptively beautiful face. He probably used it to lure in his human victims to suck on their sexual energy. Power emanated around him even with the dampening sigil. "Look, Sorin. She's holding a pair of prison keys. Is that how you got in here?"

Sorin released a chilling laugh as he closed the gap between us. "Tricky little wolf, aren't you?" The tips of his boots hit mine, but I didn't back away or flinch. "I don't mind the company. I prefer to get to know all the pretty inmates."

Acid oozed up my throat as his meaning swirled around us, tainting it. "I'm in the wrong room." My teeth clenched as I spoke, my body tensing. As I turned to leave, one of the demons who'd been playing cards blocked the door.

"You're not going anywhere." The heat from Sorin cascaded over my back as he approached me. "Let's get to know each other."

"What's your name?" The one perched against the door asked, pale blond hair curling around his cruel face. "Mine is Alister. That's Emerick." He ticked his head to the dark fae on the couch.

The dux demon at the table slid his finger over his bottom lip as he scrutinized me like he wanted to devour my flesh. "I'm Hanren." He appeared mostly human except for the orange eyes, slitted pupils, and small horns protruding through crimson curls.

Sorin brushed a lock of hair behind my ear, his hand laying on my shoulder. "You can just call me master."

I smacked his hand off as a snarl slithered out of my mouth. "Touch me again, and I'll call you dead man."

Excitement flashed in those blue orbs. "Is that so?" He looked me up and down. "You're mighty small to be so daring."

"I'm not someone who backs down. You should learn that." I shouldn't provoke the huge demon looming over me, especially when the room was full of his friends. One against four weren't good odds.

Sorin's lips curled back, revealing his teeth as dangerous energy poured from him. "And you should learn your place, shifter. I run this prison and can make your life a living hell."

A manic laugh burst out of me. "My life is already hell." He had no idea I was tortured daily and sometimes by a psychotic royal and her pet. "There isn't much you can do to make it worse than it already is."

Alister's presence moved to my back. "Don't be so sure about that, inmate. There's lots Sorin can do. And when he's done with you, we'll get a shot."

Sorin snorted. "I don't know, Al. Maybe I'll let you and Hanren join in at the same time while I teach her who owns her."

Emerick grinned and stood from the couch, slinking toward me. "That sounds like a good time."

"For us ." Sorin's hand snapped out, his fingers digging into my chin. "For her? Not so much."

I shoved him off and gripped the keys, ready to slam one in his eye. "I warned you."

The other demon dropped the cards and marched away from the table. My pulse skyrocketed as all four males surrounded me, the air thick with anticipation and lust.

My stomach curdled as their intentions wrapped around my throat, choking me. I wouldn't go down without a fight.

The door suddenly burst open, and a tall high demon in an ebony suit that hugged his strong, lean frame emerged. Scorching blue eyes burned holes in the guys circling me, and his jaw clenched, sharpening the edges to lethal blades that could cut flesh.

"What's going on in here?" His voice floated out like smooth silk, but vicious spikes grew beneath the finery. Everyone except Sorin scurried back to their original spots.

"Nothing, Warden Demarcus." Sorin stepped back and crossed his arms. "We were just explaining to this inmate how things worked around here."

Warden?

I swallowed hard and stared at the man with tattoos inking his neck and hands. More probably covered his body beneath that impeccable all-black attire. He reminded me of Ruin, but ice and cruelty pulsated from his irises instead of warmth like the demon lord's. Purple locks, cut short on the sides and a tousled mess on top, gleamed in the lights along with the piercings on his eyebrow and lip. More metal spotted his ears.

"I'm sure you were only explaining things, Sorin." He held his hand out and curled his fingers at me. "The keys, Ms. Teague."

My lips thinned as I reluctantly dropped the ring in his palm, my escape window closing. Warden Demarcus shoved them into his pocket and tilted his head toward the door.

"Let's go."

As I turned to follow, Sorin's hot breath ghosted down my nape. "This isn't over, wolf. The warden won't be there to interrupt next time."

I flipped him off over my shoulder. If the Infernal Sol wasn't hiding deep in my center, I could wipe the floor with that demon while he sobbed over his fears.

Instead of calling a guard, the warden escorted me down the stone corridor, his movements fluid and steps silent.

"Will I be punished for your guards' carelessness."

A barely visible smile tugged at his mouth. "You didn't have to grab the keys and try to escape."

"I wasn't trying to escape," I lied. "I just wanted to see someone. "

"Fane Maverick?"

Venna probably told him all about us. We'd never be allowed in the same damn room if the warden wanted to keep us apart.

My footsteps halted as he stopped at my cell and held the door open for me. "You're not taking me to a torture room?"

His pierced eyebrow arched. "Would you like me to take you to one?"

I shook my head and darted into my cell, releasing a shaky breath. "Torture's not really my thing."

Warden Demarcus's scrutiny made me squirm. "You seem like the type to enjoy a little torture play." He slammed the door shut and locked me in. "Aren't you?"

Heat crawled into my cheeks as his words created images of Fane putting binds around my wrists as he gave a wicked smile. "Why would you say that?"

His dark, silky chuckle puckered my flesh. "I make it my priority to know things about my inmates."

I gripped the bars. "Do you know what's wrong with those demons your guards brought in a little while ago?"

He rolled his shoulders and smoothed a wrinkle in his jacket. "Unfortunately, I don't, but they aren't the first I've encountered like that." His gaze bored into mine. "Did you meet some as a raven in Savannah?"

My jaw slackened at his question. Did Venna or Mykel draft a whole file of facts about me? "A few."

He nodded and stepped away from the cell. "Stay out of trouble, Ms. Teague, and you may survive Heldrok."

"I doubt Venna will allow that."

The warden's expression remained blank, but something brightened those icy blue eyes for a moment. "She doesn't run this prison. I do." He spun and strode down the corridor.

"I want to see Fane." My fingers tightened around the bars as his steps slowed.

Warden Demarcus glanced over his shoulder. "You're not in a position to make demands. But maybe if you're a good little inmate, I'll allow a brief visit."

Banging on my cell startled me awake, and I rolled over as a dux demon with a peach complexion and long, orange hair braided down his back stood in front of the door. "Get off your lazy ass and approach the bars."

Tiny explosions rippled through my body as I struggled into a sitting position, planting my black boots on the ground. My snarled, reddish-pink strands hung in my face. "More torture already?"

His thin lips pulled into a smirk. "You're on a work assignment today."

My head jerked back. "What? Why?"

"Don't know. Don't care." He tapped the horizontal opening on the left side. "You've got five seconds to get up and put your hands through here, or I'm beating you with this stick." He tapped the weapon on his hip that probably held a magical charge and would hurt like a motherfucker.

I pushed off the cot and shuffled over, gritting from the soreness in my legs. His nametag read Gershan . As soon as I shoved my hands through the opening, he locked handcuffs around my wrists.

"Back away from the door." His yellow eyes narrowed. "Try anything, and I have the right to beat you to an inch of your death, understand?"

"I doubt that, but I'll be good." Venna would rip this demon to shreds if he accidentally killed me. She'd never find out what Ruin was up to or get the Infernal Sol.

A growl rumbled in him as he opened the door and yanked me out so hard I stumbled into the opposite wall. Pain erupted in my temple where my skull struck, and my vision blurred.

The big guy didn't like being challenged.

He snapped his fingers as I blinked the stars from my vision. "I don't have all day. Let's go." Like all the guards, he dressed in a black uniform with a silver H emblazoned on the left side of his barrel chest. Weapons were strapped to his sides and dangled from his belt.

As we walked through the prison, screams erupted every few minutes, and my insides grew colder. We passed a few other COs dragging prisoners, some barely conscious and covered in blood, and when we entered a cavernous room, my gag reflexes engaged. Small cells reached all the way to the tall ceiling, and the aroma of excrement and piss choked me.

The guard's laughter slammed against my skull as did the screams and wails of the prisoners trapped in tiny cages like vermin.

"This is where the disobedient prisoners are sent." His grin sent shards of ice through my bloodstream. A few faces pressed against the metal bars, pleading for release.

A female dux demon guard rolled a bucket and mop toward us. "The others have already started." She tossed me a pair of rubber gloves, which I caught with my bound hands. "Get to work on the lower level."

The big guard who dragged me in here roughly unlocked the cuffs from around my wrists. "Try anything, and you'll earn a spot in one of these cages, 487331."

A few officers posted around the edges of the enormous room, including Gershan, watching inmates clean out the cages. What happened to the former occupants?

They were probably dead.

I gagged as I ran the mop through a puddle of urine, wishing I had something to cover my nose. The other shifters on this work assignment looked like they had the same desire. They dressed in orange like me while demons had blue jumpsuits. The two fae wore green like Emerick had. Witches were in purple and vampires in red.

What color did Fane wear?

Someone bumped into me from behind. "When you're done with this one, you can do mine." The female panther shifter took a cigarette out of her pocket and lit it with a match.

I scoffed. "No thanks. I'll stick to mine."

She blew smoke at me, a reprieve from the shit and piss I'd inhaled for the last hour. "The new girl gets more work. I've already paid my dues."

A male lion shifter approached, his blond locks in wild curls like a mane. "Esme's right." He shoved me as he strode to her side. "The new chick gets most of the work. You'll understand once you've been here for a while."

I had been in Heldrok for a while.

I dropped my mop back into my bucket and folded my arms. "I'm not doing shit else except my assigned share."

Esme laughed, smoke coiling out of her mouth. "She'll learn real fast how it works in Heldrok, won't she, Benny?"

Gold leaked into his irises, smothering the green. "That's right. This wolf will learn her place—right under my boot. "

Fire bubbled in my blood, and my nostrils flared as I stood my ground against the two shifters. "Try it. I dare you."

Movement in my peripheral caught my attention, and I ducked just as a fist flew at my face, catching air. I whirled around as a snarling female wolf lunged. I slipped to the right and then jammed my elbow into her side, making her stumble away.

The guards remained in their spots, conversing while absentmindedly watching us. Apparently, fighting among inmates didn't bother them. Hell, it was probably their entertainment.

Thick arms wrapped around my middle. "She's a fast one." Benny's laughter stirred my hair as he lifted me. "She's so little, though. I could squeeze her to death."

Esme rushed forward, but I kicked her chin. She cursed and wiped the blood dripping down her neck. "You little bitch."

Adrenaline pumped through my veins as I fought off the shifters, a few demons joining in. None of them knew I'd been trained as a raven, so they didn't expect my level of technique. I was also a street kid who participated in organized fights. And won. A lot.

As Benny's grip around me tightened, I slammed the back of my head into his face, bone and cartilage giving a satisfying crunch.

"Motherfucker!" He released me and staggered back, gripping his nose as blood gushed out.

Why were they attacking me! Were they bored or really not in the mood to do this filthy, disgusting work?

The air stirred behind me, and as I pivoted, I delivered a roundhouse to the approaching female demon. Her ribs broke and she screeched, tumbling on her ass. Benny and a male wolf charged me before I could even take a breath.

The wolf's fist hit my cheek, pain exploding and hot blood dribbling down.

"Enough!"

Instead of a guard, a wolf inmate broke through the crowd surrounding me, his irises flashing between green and gold. "No more fighting."

"She started it, Knox," Esme said. "I only asked her for help."

I spat blood on the ground and wiped my lip. "You wanted me to do your job."

Benny straightened his orange jumpsuit. "We were only?—"

"Stop talking." Alpha power throbbed off of Knox as he studied me. "Everyone, stick to your own assignments."

The demons grumbled and drifted back to their stations without much protest. Maybe they'd just wanted a little violence. Esme pouted as Benny grabbed her arm and towed her away. I turned to the wolf who clearly held a leadership position in Heldrok.

"Thanks." I shook out my arms. "But I could have handled them on my own." I would have walked away with more than a few cuts and bruises, though.

"Don't thank me. I didn't do it for you. I just wanted to keep my pack from punishment for a stupid fight." He jerked his chin toward the COs. "Sometimes they let a fight go on, and sometimes they stop it early and send the participants to torture rooms."

"I've had enough torture to last a lifetime." I shrugged. "I'd like to stay away."

"487331, stop talking and get over here!" Gershan called .

So much for not getting in trouble.

I marched toward him, scowling. "I didn't start anything."

He gave a terrifying grin. "Warden Demarcus wants to see you."

Gasps sounded through the room, even some from the occupied cages. Apparently, going to see the warden was not a good thing.