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Silence greets me as I curse out the last stubborn thing that’s standing between me and Silla.

“Isaac?” says the most precious voice in wonder, and I blow out a breath as I throw the grate away from me.

Tear streaked cheeks are the first thing I see, puffy eyes, and the tiniest space anyone has ever been forced into. Dropping to my knees, I pull her into my arms.

“I’m right here. Gods, I’m so damn sorry,” I whisper, slowly rocking her in my arms. Silla is limp when I look down, and as I shift her to see her properly, her head drops back.

“What’s wrong?” Andrya screeches, attempting to scramble closer, until I glare at her to stop.

Silla’s chest is rising and falling, and I’m surprised that she didn’t lose consciousness sooner.

“She passed out from exhaustion and the adrenaline crash,” I murmur. Grayson is going to lose his ever-loving mind. “What happened here today?”

Andrya pulls a cobweb from Silla’s hair with trembling fingers. “I was in a mood, and Ayden wanted to pull me out of it, so he suggested finding out what makes our recruits tick. Sidney wanted to have a sexual practical lesson, so we decided to also fuck with the rest. Somehow, my brother found out that Silla is scared of small spaces, but…”

“You didn’t realize how much? This is sloppy fucking work, Drya. If you break the minds of all your recruits, you won’t have any spies to offer the Queen,” I snark, standing with Silla in my arms. “This girl hides her fears, guards every feeling, and still you found someone to give up her secrets.”

“She’s a recruit,” Andrya insists, standing with me. Her actions bely her words as she picks up Silla’s hand. “Isaac… her screams made four people cover their ears. Another had to be escorted from class because he tried to help her escape, and Sidney gritted his teeth as he attempted to face fuck his feelings out. Ayden acted untouched, but he zapped so much electricity into the clamps on the inmate gagging on Sidney’s dick that he passed out.”

I’m… there are no words for how I feel about this shit show.

“Is this all because Silla rejected you?” I rasp. Her wide eyes make me scowl at her. “Your pussy isn’t the Gods’ gift to men and women. She was asleep, and couldn’t give you consent. Are you really that hard up that you can’t fuck people when they’re awake?”

Tears glisten in Andrya’s eyes, but I feel sick.

“I need to take care of Silla,” I tell her, shaking my head. “Your feelings about this mean less than nothing, but I will be pressing for her to be transferred out of your section. She should never have been placed here. She’s a Godsdamn genius, and no one’s whore.”

Swallowing hard because I’ve never wanted to strike a woman as much as I do now, I turn away.

“Isaac… I didn’t know,” Andrya moans, quietly beginning to sob again. “I thought that it was just a little fear. The things she said… whoever first put her in the dark should be punished.”

I want to know who hurt Silla too, because you don’t check out the way that she did unless you’ve had severe trauma.

Taking a deep breath, I take quick, measured steps away from the woman who hurt my girl. Silla and I haven’t had that conversation yet, but we will soon. My heart is pounding with worry, and Silla is twitching and shivering in her sleep.

I need to find Gray and Patricia without everyone seeing her.

Ten

ISAAC

There are a few passageways that are okay, only used by the maintenance crew. The entrances are disguised as utility closets, innocuous and small. I only found out about it because I saw someone go inside a few years ago, and I was curious about where they went.

Now, that curiosity is playing in my favor. Opening one of the utility doors that connects to the passages, I quickly walk with Silla in my arms. Her breaths are thready and her skin is clammy.

Pulling out my phone with a grunt, I call Patricia. I don’t necessarily want to put her in a position to keep another secret, but I’m really worried about Silla.

“Hello, Isaac. What can I do for you?”Patricia asks, sounding distracted. I know she’s one of the head nurses for FRC, so she’s typically busy.

“I need you to clear the infirmary of anyone that’s conscious and ambulatory, please. Silla is… fuck, I don’t even think I have the words to explain what happened. She’s unconscious though after a panic attack that I believe lasted several hours,” I explain, holding Silla closer to me as she whimpers.

“Wait… I just saw her today. She seemed fine, outside of getting pushed around by the two idiots that got in a fight in the dining hall. I’m the only one here right now, so bring her to the infirmary. Do you know what caused the attack?” she asks.

Coming to a stop for a moment because I need to think of what to say, I blow out a breath. “Silla’s instructors used the reform camp’s population, I believe, to find out the secrets of their recruits. They trapped Silla in a vent as they continued class, hoping to break her of her fear, is my understanding. She was stuck there for hours, with no light, and they left her there,” I mutter.

There’s silence on the other side of the phone, and I force my feet to keep moving, wondering if I lost signal.

“Isaac,” Patricia whispers brokenly at last, and the tears that I’ve been holding back make me blink them rapidly away. “They’re out of control…”