Page 5

To start, aside from the first, the rats were harder to find than usual. The screams of the prisoners resumed, amplified when the whipping began. The halls of Greymere must’ve been engineered to carry sound especially easily, because no matter where I went, I couldn’t escape it. It wasn’t that the screaming was so unusual. After all these years, I could normally ignore it.

But not today. Instead, one question ricocheted back and forth over and over.

Was he screaming?

I couldn’t picture it. Even when he tried to order me to release him, his voice had barely risen above its low purr.

Did he really think I would throw everything away to help him?

Perhaps he was simply desperate to escape his fate. They were whipping him. That, I didn’t doubt. The woundson his back would be barely sealed with the salve. A single stroke would tear apart any healing that had come from last night. Could you kill a vampire that way?

Why even capture a vampire? In all my years at the prison, I’d never seen one. All I had seen was every manner of witch be driven mad.

If he doesn’t die, will he go mad too?

“Look who finally decided to show up.”

I stiffened at Nelson’s voice, cursing the vampire for dominating my thoughts so completely I’d failed in my main task.

My official job was to find the rats. The real one? To avoid Nelson by any means necessary.

I couldn’t say what Nelson did during the day, except that it seemed to be the same thing he did during the evenings: make everyone around him miserable. The air soured from the scent of alcohol on his breath. Nelson had gotten his hands on some spirits. Thatalwaysmade for a worse encounter.

He saw the rat in my hands and snatched it from me. I forced my fingers to loosen, letting him take it.

He lifted it, testing the weight.

“Scrawny.” He gave me a look. Did he want me to seem impressed at his powers of observation? We were coming out of winter.Allof us were starving. “You’ll need to find more. Fatter ones.”

“Therearen’tany more. They’re all scared of the damned bloodsucker!”

The words flew from my mouth before I could stop them. For a moment, we just stared at each other. When was the last time I’d talked back to Nelson?

“Oh yes, the bloodsucker you spent the evening with. The guards have been busy with him again today. Maybe you should pay another visit to him tonight.” He gave me a meaningful look.

This time I said nothing. I forced myself to lower my eyes. I didn’t need another sleepless night. Nothing could be worse than another evening in the cell with that awful creature.

He tightened his grip around the carcass. “I’ll take this for my luncheon. Maybe it’ll make you realize you can’t slack off under my watch.”

A whole rat for himself. My entire morning’s work.

I bit down on my tongue so hard it bled. Nelson turned, and I should’ve been relieved it wasn’t worse. Instead, anger rolled through me. Indignation. Feelings I’d do well to forget.

“It’s not forever.”

I meant the refrain to comfort myself, but Nelson heard it even over the choir of screams that rolled down the hall.

“What was that?”

Nothing. That’s what I should have said.

But this time I raised my gaze, forcing myself to really take a look at my bully. I’d spent the night in a cell with a vampire, argued with him,defiedhim. Somehow, Nelson didn’t seem quite as scary by comparison. Wherethe vampire was tall, Nelson’s shoulders slouched like he was always falling towards you. His hair was matted, the same dark dirty brown like all of ours was, because even his elevated position among us didn’t allow for bathing.

“It’s not forever,” I repeated. “My sentence. I only have three years left. Then I’ll be released from this place. You’ll still be here, still taking rats, but I’m going to be free.”

I braced for the slap. For the fury. In that moment, I even convinced myself it would be worth it.

But Nelson didn’t slap me. His face didn’t contort with rage.