Chapter 7 - Aurora's POV

We’re arriving today. The last three days have dragged by slowly. A few hours after leaving the Eternal Flame territory we entered into the country of Dema Mortem, and we’ve been travelling through it ever since. It is my first time ever leaving the Emberi Empire – its widespread cities and quaint little towns have been all I’ve ever known.

If I hadn't spent the last year rotting away in a cell, I would have found this journey to be extremely boring. On the contrary, I’ve been quite enjoying myself. My front seat allows me to watch the scenery outside; a simple joy I didn’t realize how much I missed.

Although, so far, all I’ve seen of Dema Mortem is vast forests. We’ve been following the same small, winding road for days now. Early yesterday the lush greenery turned to a frozen winter wonderland, and the wagons slowed ever so slightly as the horses had to cut a path through deep snow drifts.

The sun is high in the sky and the air is pleasantly cool, which, considering how far north we are, probably means we’re fast approaching the hottest day of the summer, which also happens to be my birthday.

I wish I knew the date so I could know for certain. It's been on the tip of my tongue to ask Adrian and Dimitri, but something keeps holding me back; my basic instinct to not trust anyone, probably.

Fuck it. I only have a few hours of this journey left, might as well ask while I can. “What’s the date?” I blurt out after days of silence. The prisoners look at me like I’m crazy. Maybe I am. Dimitri turns his bright eyes on me but doesn’t answer.

“It's Sunday,” replies Adrian without looking back.

This motherfucker. Did I ask for the day of the week? I huff, “No, like, day of the season?” I clarify, hoping I don’t sound too anxious.

Trying to avoid Dimitri’s gaze is impossible, I can’t ignore the scrutinizing glare he sends my way. When I meet his eyes, he finally says, “Do you have somewhere to be, princess?” His grin is almost gloating. It’s like he knows I’ve been battling over asking them something and now that I have, I lost. No. I’m reading way too much into this. He’s just a dick.

“I mean, there’s a lot of places I’d rather be, but this beats the dungeons.” I say, trying to sound uncaring, but I think he sees right through it.

“Right,” he says, but still doesn’t fucking answer me.

It's Adrian who answers again, “Today should be the sixty-fourth day of summer.”

I immediately work on keeping my face clear of any reaction, but I think Dimitri notices the slight dilation of my pupils. His eyes roam down to my chest, my breathing hasn’t changed, but my heart has picked up its rhythm. I think he can hear it.

I mutter a quiet thanks to Adrian and slump back in my chair, taking slow breaths in an attempt to calm my racing heart. Eventually, Dimitri releases me from his constant glare and faces the front again.

Two days.

Goddess, how am I going to come up with an escape plan in two days? I begin to stress, but then excitement blooms in my chest. Two days! The spells placed on me will be broken in two days. I’ll meet my wolf! Having another consciousness in my head, after all these years alone, will probably be a bit uncomfortable. But I know she has been chosen for me by the Moon Goddess, Selene. So, hopefully she is not a pain in the head.

I’ll also finally have access to what should have been mine since I was thirteen years old. My magic: my mother bound it to my wolf. She made it so I couldn’t have one without the other, and werewolves have to be eighteen before their wolves can come forward.

She didn’t stop there though. No, she insisted that in order to “blend in”, certain aspects of my appearance had to be concealed; the things I loved most about myself – my identity – she changed them.

My black curly hair, the white streak that went through the front left side; a mark that signifies a powerful witch. And my eyes. I loved my eyes. Heterochromia is only present in a true hybrid and looking in the mirror used to make me feel so special; my right eye was a stormy grey, which according to my mother was the exact shade as my fathers. My left eye was a bright blue which represented my witch side and my affinity to the water element.

It’s been over seven years since I’ve seen the true me, since I’ve felt like her really. I shouldn’t be angry with my mother but I am. Her attempts to keep me safe truly backfired. I’ve never been safe. My very existence puts me in danger.

***

It’s late in the afternoon when we finally emerge from the forest. We seem to be at the top of a hill overlooking a massive valley, wherein lies a populous city, nestled between snow-capped mountains. Towers and turrets from the imposing castle looming over the city fill the skyline as we get closer. The castle itself looks to be built into one of the mountains surrounding the valley.

We cross a bridge, and I am able to read the sign at the end of it, “Dema City” is engraved in red lettering, and underneath it reads; “Outer City 5 km. Inner City 17 km.”

It’s not much longer before we come upon the first signs of civilization. Houses are scattered and spaced far apart, and most of the land between them looks like farmland. Although the land is snow covered, there are still rows and rows of vegetables popping out of the white fluffy powder.

The houses soon become more plentiful and the environment in the outer city becomes livelier. I even catch sight of a young girl swinging in a backyard, and a sign leading to a shopping district.

We cross another bridge and enter into the inner city. From what I can see, the houses are too close together, and the streets are far too crowded; the horses are slowed considerably due to the volume of people around. It reminds me of Emberi City back in the empire, with everything too congested and too many faces in the crowds. I left that city as quickly as I could and stuck to the smaller, friendlier towns.

Dema City seems to be at least twice the size of Emberi City. I don’t know how the countries themselves compare in size, but for capital cities, Dema City wins easily.

I take in the sights and sounds, feeling a bit over stimulated by it all. I guess a year in solitary will do that to you.

The tension within the wagon becomes palpable, the prisoners are understandingly distressed over being stuck in the biggest vampire city in the world. They’ll never be able to escape. But me, well, in two days I’m going to be pulling off possibly the first break out this prison has ever seen.

I’ll follow this road back to the Emberi Empire and pay a visit to some old friends. First, the guard who killed Atwood. I don’t know his name, but I know where he is stationed, and I’ll never forget his face, or the murderous way his eyes dilated when he stabbed Atwood in the heart. Second, Doctor Maddox, who treated me after… the incident. I spent ages in my cell thinking about the way he turned a blind eye to my obvious abuse, and withheld pain medication because of what I had done, and my fury over it has only festered with time. Then, I’m going to visit Judge Theodoric, the bastard who sentenced me to life in the dungeons for murder. But is it murder if the life you took was growing inside you?

And for the grand finale, Emberi’s beloved political couple; Gregory and Petra Stallard. I’ll make sure the kids are with Petra’s sister, as they usually are anyway, so I can enjoy taking my time with their parents. By that point I’m hoping they’ll know I’m coming back for them. I can’t wait to see their reaction to what I really am; not their daughter, not their slave, not their whore, but a powerful hybrid who will show them no mercy. 

Then, I’ll be truly free. I can go find my father or build a life anywhere I want. I can go back to the Eternal Flame Coven and find Soleil. I can have friends and a normal life for once.

I’m so consumed by thoughts of living freely, I don’t even notice we’re arriving until the wagons begin to slow. The fence surrounding the massive prison is topped with barbed wire and the gate that opens to allow us passage is heavy and slow.

A lump forms in my throat as I look up at the fortress in front of me. I gulp as I take in the number of guards surrounding the building – the building that is easily twenty stories high, with bars chained to the outside of every window.

The horses come to a halt. Adrian holds the door open as we exit the wagon and Dimitri leads us past a bulky set of double doors and into a reception area. We are instructed to give our name, date of birth, and blood type to a vampire behind a desk. I have no idea what my blood type is, so I just repeat what the prisoner in front of me said.

We’re then led through another door, where a smaller group of vampires in prison guard uniforms are waiting for us. The back of my neck prickles and I turn to see Adrian and Dimitri standing in the doorway staring at me; Adrian with his soft blue eyes that make me melt every time he looks at me, and Dimitri with his weirdly bright green glare, that has really started to annoy me at this point.

Since they make no move to come into the room any further, I assume this is as far as they take us. They continue to stare at me as I’m led down a hallway with the rest of the prisoners until we turn a corner and they’re gone.

Goddess dammit. I didn’t plan on asking them for help but now that I’ve lost any chance to, I feel like I missed an opportunity for an easier escape. Soleil said they could be trusted and for some reason I felt like I could trust her, but now it’s too damn late. 

We’re taken down a narrow corridor and into a stairwell. And we climb. I lose count of how many floors we ascend but I am heaving when we finally stop climbing and emerge into yet another hallway; this one with a door every couple meters.

We’re given a folded prison uniform to change into and directed to our individual rooms – rooms – not cells in the depths of a dungeon. I’m still trying to catch my breath and rub a stitch out of my side when I’m led into my very own room.

It’s small, with a single bed – not a cot, an actual metal bed frame with a mattress – a wooden desk with a chair, a bookcase, and even a window. My eyes are drawn to the door in the corner of the room.

“That’s your bathroom” comes the voice of the vampire who followed me in. He’s tall and handsome, but in a cocky sort of way. His eyes glint with malice as he takes me in, his dirty blonde hair is shaved on the sides but longer on top and slicked back. I don’t like the way he stares at me and I’m immediately uncomfortable. But then I take in the words he spoke and my heart leaps. My own bathroom? Well, fuck me. I might just stay here.

I give the vampire a small nod and wait for him to leave so I can get dressed. He folds his arms over his chest and looks down at me with a sick smirk. “Sorry sweetheart, prison policy. We are required to supervise the new inmates changing when they first arrive. You know, to make sure you aren’t hiding anything.”

He notices my defiant stance and chuckles. “The faster you undress, the quicker I’m gone sweetheart.” He motions to the folded pile of clothes in my hand, “Oh, and there’s fresh new underwear in there for you.” I’m seething as he looks at me with eagerness.

I try to change quickly, my skin burning under his hungry eyes. “It's not often we get female prisoners, especially not ones as appealing as you.” I scoff and he moves toward me. “You know, I could make your life here very easy,” his eyes roam my half naked body, pausing at the curve of my breasts protruding from my bra. “Or… I could make it very difficult,” he continues in a threatening tone.

I unhook my bra and maneuver it off while keeping one arm across my breasts. The vampire's eyes slide down to my stomach and zero in on the scar running across it. He opens his mouth – probably to ask about it – but pauses as he watches me struggle to put on the new bra without letting him see any part of me.

After a few minutes of effort, I manage to get it on, and scurry to change the rest of my clothes, pulling down the shirt desperately to cover as much as possible. The vampire just watches with amusement and a slight tilt to his head. My cheeks flush with embarrassment but the rest of me burns with indignation. Before I leave here, I’m going to kill this fucker just for fun.

Once I’m finally dressed, he makes his way to the door where he points out the opening in the middle; there’s a little sliding compartment door that can be opened from any side and looks just big enough to fit my arms through. “This is where food will be delivered to you. If you need anything, ask a guard when they drop off your meals and they will get it for you… well, within reason of course.” He opens the door, stepping out of my room finally. “Sweet dreams,” he says before closing it with a slam.

I’m alone again. I didn’t realize how much I enjoyed the company of vampires and criminals, but now I’m missing the wagons. Memories of long, dark nights with nothing but the shadows for company come crawling back to me. I give my head a shake. I’m not in that frigid dungeon anymore. I’m countless floors in the sky, in my own room, with my own bathroom, and I will be free in two days.

I open the door to the bathroom and do a double take as I'm greeted by my reflection for the first time in ages. There’s a small mirror above the sink, and I stare into it. My wavy brown hair hangs flat and limp, my eyes are still radiating with anger and my cheeks are still flushed. I look older too. My cheekbones are more defined, but my face is hollow, and my lips are dry and cracked. I’m a far cry from a princess right now.

I splash my face with water and rinse out my mouth, then look away from my depressing reflection and return back to my room. I sit on my bed and sigh in contentment at the softness of the mattress. My initial plan was to brainstorm ideas for my escape, but I find myself crawling under the thin blankets and closing my eyes. Before I have any say in the matter, I’m drifting off to sleep.