005

Lala

My head throbs as smoke fills my cell. I cough so hard my ribs ache, trying not to choke on it. The chains bite into my skin each time I move, the metal scorching my wrists. My throat burns, and my eyes sting so bad that tears blur everything around me. I wave my hand weakly, trying to shove the smoke away, but it’s useless. I turn to look at Rhea, and I freeze.

Fuck. She’s wounded—lying on the floor, barely conscious.

“Rhea!?” I yell. She doesn’t move. “Hey, don’t you dare pull this stunt on me. Get up or I swear I’ll hit your head if I manage to reach you,” I choke out, coughing through the thick air. No, no, no… she can’t die.

I don’t know how it happened, but I’m sure I saw one of the rogues dash toward me—the cell gate was open. That means one of the guards did this, and Rhea must’ve used her magic to protect me even though the suppressor could’ve killed her.

Minutes ago, two of them had been standing there. I couldn’t make out their figures because of how dark it is here. Even though our eyes are sharp in the dark, Blackridge is a different kind of hell since our wolf power is suppressed. I heard them whispering about Kael leaving for Moonshard urgently, and I’d dropped my plan to cause trouble. It wasn’t possible anymore if he’d already made it to the gate.

Rhea started mocking me for giving up easily when we heard that snarl—one that sounded exactly like the one Kael had shown me earlier. Its eyes glowed bright gold, like a burning furnace, and before I could even react, it was on me. I only heard Rhea scream my name before the rogue hit the wall of the cell hard, and she let go of her magic.

“Rhea?” I yell again, tears prickling at the back of my eyes. I can’t lose her. Even if she’s going to spend the rest of her life here in Blackridge, it’s fine. Because as long as she’s here, it’s not so lonely. She’s all I’ve got—family, friend, both.

“You can’t risk your fucking life for me again, Rhea! Get up!” I shout, my voice cracking, but she doesn’t move. She’s lying flat, her chest barely rising.

“What the hell happened here?”

That voice.

I lift my head, and for the first time, I’ve never been so happy to see someone—especially him.

“Please… please check on Rhea, she’s not moving. I’ve been calling her,” I stammer, fighting the raw fear burning in my stomach.

He wants to say something, but when he follows my gaze, he rushes to her side. Stephen storms in right after. “Take her,” Kael orders.

“Where are you taking her?” I yell, but Kael shoots me a glare that makes my stomach twist. My body tenses immediately.

“You sure live up to your record, Lala Robinson,” he growls, walking toward me. His strong hand grabs me by the upper arm like I weigh nothing.

“What do you mean?” I ask, confused, but he just keeps glaring at me. Wait—he thinks I did this?

“Just a few minutes my eyes are off you, and you cause trouble? I told you escape here is useless.”

I shut my eyes and bite down on my lip to stop myself from saying something stupid. When I open them again, he’s still glaring down at me like I’m the reason the whole place is burning.

“The hell are you saying?” I shoot back. “I was attacked by a damn rogue!” but his expression tells me everything—he doesn’t believe me.

His eyes narrow, jaw flexing like he’s holding back a dozen curses. He looks at the broken gate, then back at me.

Fine. Let him think whatever he wants. Why do I bother explaining? At least now I have his attention.

I straighten, ignoring the ache in my shoulders, and meet his gaze. “Well, seeing this look on your face isn’t so bad,” I say, half-smirking.

He stares for a moment before exhaling roughly. Then he reaches for the chains on my wrists and unlocks them. The moment they click open, my entire body feels lighter, my skin burning from the sudden rush of relief. I don’t say it out loud, but I thank him in my head.

He doesn’t let go though. His hand stays clamped around my arm as he drags me along with him.

“Where are you taking me now?” I ask, trying to match his steps even though my legs are barely steady.

“Somewhere you can’t burn the place down,” he mutters without looking back.

I roll my eyes, too weak to argue. The hallway feels endless. The sound of boots echo against stone, my bare feet making light slaps on the cold floor. I can feel eyes on me—guards, maybe, or shadows I’ve learned not to care about.

When we stop, Kael pushes a heavy door open. I blink at the space—it’s bigger, quieter, cleaner. It looks nothing like a prison cell.

His private quarters?

He gestures toward another door. “Go clean up.”

I hesitate, scanning the place. “You’re serious?”

“Five minutes,” he says, crossing his arms. “You smell like a burnt corpse.”

I huff. “Wow. Thanks for the compliment.”

“What if I decide to take ten?” I mumble.

He tilts his head slightly. “Then I’ll drag you out myself.”

I raise both hands in surrender. “Fine, fine, five minutes.”

I move anyway, dragging myself toward the bathroom. The moment the steam hits my face, I almost melt. Hot water. I haven’t felt this in forever. I turn the tap and step under it. The heat stings my skin at first, then slowly turns into something else—something that feels close to human again.

It burns against my wounds, even the ones that were starting to heal, but I don’t care. I can feel the dirt washing off, layer by layer, and for a few seconds, it feels like the cell doesn’t exist.

It’s the first real bath I’ve had since I got here. Even the time I escaped a week ago, all I had was freezing stream water and fear. I dip my head completely under the stream and stay there until my lungs burn, then come up gasping.

Five minutes. Damn him. I wish I could stay longer.

When I finally shut the water off, steam swirls around me. My reflection in the mirror catches my eye. I stare.

The reflection that stares back doesn’t feel like me. My hair—short, uneven, like it was hacked off with a blunt knife. My face is pale and worn. I’m 30, but I look like I’ve lived three lives and none of them were kind. My skin bears every memory I try to forget.

I press my fingers on the foggy glass, “Where can I find you?” I whisper, where else am I going to look for you?

I sigh and turn sharply, refusing to let whoever was staring back at me get into my head.

He said five minutes. I’m sure my time’s almost up.

When I open the door, I bump right into a wall—no, a hard chest.

I stagger back, almost falling, but strong hands catch me before I hit the floor.

“Careful,” Kael says, his voice low.

I blink up at him, water still dripping down my body. He’s standing too close, his eyes scanning my face like he’s trying to read something written there.

“What? Never seen a clean prisoner before?” I mutter, trying to sound normal even though my chest feels like it’s going to burst.