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“What happened?” Ayden rasps. His voice is fucked from when they pulled all of his toenails off with pliers last week. He tried so hard to keep from screaming, we all did, since we know Silla can probably hear us as well.

So we hold it in, but it just drives our “caregivers'' to hurt us more. So the stifled screams still affect our voices. We’re being kept in a large chamber, hung on the wall with chains. Yet, we could still hear Silla’s voice as she screamed. It almost became our reminder that she was alive, even though it pains us to know they are hurting her.

“Shit,” Andrya whispers. “Please be alive. Gods, if you’re there, please hear me.”

I don’t have the heart to tell her that I think they’ve turned away from us. If we ever had their ears, they no longer listen.

And now we’re back. Every day that month we tried to hear a whimper, a scream, anything from the direction Silla was in the dungeon. I started praying for a miracle, because Drizella Tremaine is too bright a light to be gone from this world.

“Warden?” Isaac asks, bringing me back to myself. Nodding, I turn to look at him.

“What’s going on?” I ask.

“There’s a girl that’s fighting the nurse. She doesn’t want to submit to the physical assessment,” he says softly. While Isaac has always been the technical point person for intake, I asked him to help me make things run smoothly.

“Explain to her that if she doesn’t submit, we will make her and hold her down. It will be decidedly less pleasant.” I sigh. All of our recruits go through a physical assessment, because we don’t know what section they’ll be placed in. “I can assure her that prison is a lot less comfortable.”

We disappeared in the middle of the night eight months ago, and Queen Cinder replaced us without a thought. I have no idea why we’re back here today. Instead, I’m grateful to be out of that hellhole since I’m very sure Silla is now dead.

There was no reason to be strong after Silla went silent. So we stopped fighting, and eventually the guards got tired of torturing us, leaving us alone for several weeks.

Queen Cinder came in two days ago to tell us we’d be returning to our previous posts, and then sent in her goons so we’d be reminded of what could happen if we fucked up. There was no time to ask about our beautiful girl.

“You got it, Boss,” Isaac grunts, walking away. The five of us have changed. I don’t think you can live through eight months of torture unscathed.

We have one of the largest groups incoming that we’ve ever had. Apparently, we haven’t had a new class since we were taken into custody, because no one could handle it. Instead, they muddled through and worked on getting assets graduated into the field.

Our work isn’t as easy as it seems, which actually explains why we’re back. The Queen of all of Forbach couldn’t find a replacement for us.

The next four hours are busy, but soon the inmates all have dinner and are tucked into their rooms. The five of us are tighter than ever after our experiences, a fact I don’t think Cinder expected. She’s reinstated the budget for FRC, and my room hasn’t been touched since I left.

Unbidden, the twins, Sidney, and Isaac are waiting in my bedroom with the unopened bottle of whiskey I had stashed there during what feels like a lifetime ago. It’s been waiting to be opened for over a year now. After the five of us were treated to the departing gift of a fresh beating to remember our time in Cinder and her guards' care, we all needed something to numb the pain after a long day. The guards avoided our faces, and the long sleeves and pants hid the rest of the bruises.

Out of the five of us, ‘Drya had the worst of it. The guards that weren’t beating us pulled her from our chamber, grumbling that their favorite hole is no longer available to fuck. It was another nail in the coffin to our hope that Silla might be alive. Shifting uncomfortably, ‘Drya winces.

“What do you need?” I ask softly. She’s never begged for mercy, even when it was her screams we heard early this morning.

“To forget,” she mutters. “I managed to squeeze in a quick appointment with Patricia for shots of antibiotics, new birth control, and an overall health check. I’m fine, but needed a few stitches. I’m exhausted.”

Nodding, I take the bottle dangling from Sidney’s fingers, unsurprised that they waited for me. Trauma brings people together, as does loss. Even if Silla isn’t dead, she’s lost to us. Maybe it would be kinder if she was, all evidence that I have points to it.

“Should I mention that you shouldn’t be drinking with your antibiotics, ‘Drya?” I ask drolly as I grab glasses and open the bottle.

“No, Sir,” she says saucily, and I ignore the jump of my cock. It’s been a long time, however my heart isn’t in it. A certain beautiful, sea green-eyed girl used to call me this all of the time, and I think my dick is remembering how pretty of a brat she was.

Fuck, I miss Silla so damn much, for many reasons.

“Retract the sass,” I chuckle instead, pouring whiskey into the glasses. Turning, I pass them out, collapsing into an armchair with a sigh.

“Gods, I guess this is our life now,” I mutter, enjoying the burn of my drink as I take a sip.

“It’s depressing is what it is,” Sidney agrees. Isaac just looks sadly into his drink, and I have to say that it hurts the most to look at him. Today he’s pushed hard to keep the boss/subordinate roles, and I wish I had been able to protect everyone better. I blame myself.

“Why did Queen Cinder do all of this, just to throw us back into FRC as if we were never gone?” Ayden asks.

“I don’t think she realized how important we are to this place. She acted out of anger, deciding that anyone could take over. There’s a mile long docket of information for me to go over tomorrow of do’s and don’ts. The Queen didn’t take anyone new while we were gone, just focused on getting those here graduated and into the field,” I explain, trying to get comfortable. Now that I’ve finally stopped moving, my ribs hurt a lot more for some reason.

“Walking through after intakes, this place feels both empty and full,” Isaac grumbles. “All of my students are gone. We don’t release them all at once for a reason, it’s a damn waste.”