003

∆∆∆

Lala

“Who the heck are you in that body? ’Cause the witch of Oakwood doesn’t give up that easily…”

The voice comes from somewhere to my left, smooth, sarcastic, and so damn familiar that my heart skips. For a second, I think I’m imagining it, but when I turn my head toward the faint glow of the corridor light, I see her.

Rhea.

She’s leaning against the bars of the cell beside mine, her wild curls falling around her face, her eyes glinting with that same mischievous light I remember. Her grin is the same too sharp, lazy, and dangerous grin.

I blink a few times before I laugh under my breath. “You’ve got to be shitting me.”

“In the flesh, baby,” she says, raising her brows. “Well… what’s left of it. You look like hell.”

“You don’t look like heaven yourself,” I shoot back, dragging myself closer to the bars. “How long have you been here?”

“Long enough to hear your mouth the second you got thrown in,” she says, smirking. “I was gonna keep quiet, but then you started sulking. That’s not my Lala.”

I roll my eyes, biting down a smile. “Oh, please. My Lala? Since when do you own me?”

“Since the day you almost burned down Moonshard Prison,” she says, her voice laced with laughter. “Don’t act like you forgot who helped you light that fire.”

I can’t help but grin, even as exhaustion weighs heavy on me. “Trust me, I could never forget that.”

Rhea pushes her face a little closer to the bars. “So, what’s your excuse this time, huh? I heard you doubled your record. You should be a goddess by now, not a witch. The title’s too low for you.”

“Oh, please,” I mutter, shaking my head. “You make it sound like I enjoy these little vacations.”

She snorts. “You escaped and got caught one week later. That’s not a vacation, honey—that’s a comedy show. What the hell happened? That’s not like you. Who fucking snitched?”

I let out a dry laugh and drop my back against the cold wall. “Well… I figured $50,000 could make a poor family rich.”

Her eyes narrow instantly. “He sold you out?”

“Yeah. Guess loyalty’s expensive now. But damn it, such amount was the bounty on my head? They could have just given it to me, then I'll walk my two feet in here after spending.”

There’s a beat of silence between us. The air in Blackridge is thick, like it’s made of dust and secrets. But Rhea’s laugh cuts through it anyway, low and warm. “Damn. You always did pick the wrong ones to trust.”

I smile faintly. “And yet you’re still talking to me.”

“Only because you owe me,” she says, teasing. “Five years of dealing with your smart mouth should count for something.”

“Yeah, you loved every minute of it,” I reply, sliding down to sit on the cold floor. My chains clink softly as I stretch my legs out. “I can’t believe you’re here.”

Rhea leans back against her bars. “Same. When I heard they were bringing someone from the North Sector, I prayed it’d be someone interesting. You didn’t disappoint.”

We both laugh quietly. The sound echoes off the concrete walls, filling the empty corridor between us. For a second, it feels like old times— before the hopelessness creeping through my chest.

She studies me for a moment, her gaze softening. “So, tell me, what did the Gamma of the Moonshard do to you? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

I look down at my hands, the bruises dark against my skin. “He showed me why nobody escapes from here.”

Rhea’s smirk fades. “That bad?”

“Worse.” I take a deep breath. “Magic seals, steel walls, teleportation wards, scent locks, guards that don’t even blink. He made sure I understood every inch of this place is built to kill hope.”

For a moment, she’s quiet. Then she chuckles wickedly. “Sounds like my kind of place.”

“Yeah, right,” I scoff. “You’d charm your way out in a week.”

“Charm or burn,” she says, shrugging. “Depends on my mood.”

I grin. “You’re insane.”

“Takes one to know one.”

She’s not wrong. Rhea was the closest thing to a friend I had in that hellhole. Half wizard, half wolf—dangerous in a way even the guards couldn’t predict. She always knew how to twist the system, make things happen when everyone else had given up.

I still remember that first year. The guards used to keep me chained in the lower blocks. They hated witches, called us cursed bloods. I barely ate, barely slept. And then Rhea slipped me bread one night, smuggled from the kitchen, her grin soft in the dark. “Don’t die yet,” she’d said. “I still need a partner in crime.”

She got me through everything. The beatings, the hunger, the endless silence. And when she came up with the plan to escape, I didn’t even hesitate.

She caused a fire that night—a real one. Flames everywhere, alarms blaring, smoke so thick it burned the lungs. Prisoners screamed, guards scrambled. The whole place fell apart.

But I remember her pushing me toward the open gate, shouting, “Go!” while she stayed behind, her face lit by the firelight.

I’d wanted to drag her with me, but she wouldn’t move. She said her magic would give her away, and we both couldn’t make it out. I ran.

And she paid for it.

I swallow hard at the memory. “You shouldn’t have stayed that night.”

Rhea gives a short laugh. “And miss your dramatic exit? Please. I had to make sure you got your spotlight.”

“I mean it.”

“I know,” she says softly. “But if I hadn’t, you wouldn’t have gotten a second chance. And now look at you—back where you started.”

“Wow, thanks for the pep talk.”

“Anytime.”

Her smirk fades into a small smile. “Hey… I’m glad you made it out that first time. Even if you screwed it up later.”

“Yeah,” I say quietly. “Me too.”

For a while, we just sit there again, the silence heavy but not empty. Then Rhea shifts, resting her chin on her hands. “So, what now? You just gonna sit there and rot?”

I frown. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, I know you,” she says, eyes narrowing playfully. “You never sit still. You’re already thinking about escaping again, aren’t you?”

I laugh dryly. “Yeah, well, not this time. It’s impossible. I saw what Kael’s capable of. That man—he’s not just a Gamma, he’s a fucking nightmare. I’d rather kiss a fire rune than test him again.”

Rhea tilts her head, studying me. “You sound scared.”

“Smart,” I correct.

She smirks. “No, scared. The Lala I know doesn’t quit just because some handsome psycho scared her.”

“Handsome?” I scoff. “You’ve got a type, apparently.”

Rhea whispers after a few minutes of silence “You’ve done worse, Lala. Don’t tell me you’re actually giving up.”

I lie flat on my cot, one arm tucked under my head, staring at the cracked ceiling. “This place?” I mutter, half-laughing. “It’s a coffin with magic seals. Even my wolf can’t sniff a way out.”

Rhea chuckles softly from the next cell. “Then maybe don’t fight your way out,” she says, teasing. “Seduce your way out.”

I snort. “You can’t be serious.”

“Oh, I’m serious,” she says easily. “Remember the guard in Moonshard? You had him begging for mercy just to touch your cuffs.”

I laugh under my breath. “That idiot almost lost his job.”

“Exactly. You didn’t just distract him with your face. You made him believe you were harmless. That’s your real weapon.”

I sit up, rubbing my wrists. “This isn’t some weak guard we’re talking about. It’s Kael—the Gamma of Moonshard. The man sees through my soul”

“Rumor says he’s not made of stone,” Rhea hums. “And ice melts, baby.”

I roll my eyes. “That man probably gets turned on by discipline reports.”.

Her laughter fades, but her words linger long after. I stare at the flickering light in the hallway, listening to the hum of the seals vibrating through the walls.

Seduce my way out? Ridiculous. But… it’s not like I have a better plan. Every corner of this place screams trap—magic seals, guards that never speak, walls thick enough to swallow sound. Kael showed me the layout himself before throwing me back in here. His eyes never softened. His voice never shook. Just cold commands, like I was a stain to be erased.

I can still feel that sharp, assessing look. Like he could see every secret I’d buried.

And I hate how much it fascinates me.

If I don’t find a way to get his attention again, I’ll rot here. He’ll leave Blackridge soon, and when he does, I lose my only shot.

Rhea’s right about one thing this place thrives on chaos. Maybe I can use that.

Kael handles discipline personally. If I cause trouble—just enough to make noise, maybe he’ll come. Maybe he’ll drag me out himself.

The idea is stupid, risky, reckless. But then again, everything that ever worked for me started that way.

I sigh, leaning back against the cold wall.