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"What is she thinking?" a familiar voice mumbled to my left. I turned to see Jaiel talking to himself, watching me work. "She's going to work herself to death!"

Footsteps sounded behind me, and I spun to see a trio ofother Agent trainees approaching. Their eyes were glued on me.

Jaiel's shoulders tensed as he noticed them.

"Now, she'd be fun to fuck," the shorter of the men said, jabbing the other one in the gut.

I didn't recognize either of them, but the way they leered at me made my skin crawl.

Jaiel's chest rumbled, but they were too focused to notice him.

"I bet she'd fight me real nice as I fuck that cunt. Probably have to rough her up a bit to make sure she kept her mouth shut, but that would just add to the fun."

"Yeah," agreed the other two.

Bile rose in my throat. What the fuck?! I moved towards them, reaching for a dagger I didn't have, but Jaiel was there already —

Shadows swirled from his palms, slamming the men against the ground, as he approached.

"You know, I should probably go through the right channels to handle you," he said, pulling his sword from its sheath. "But it's hot today, and I'm in a fucking bad mood."

He stabbed one, then the other, and then the last.

They gurgled, blood spilling from their throats, eyes going blank in an instant.

Jaiel just wiped his blade, then turned to watch me again.

Holy fuck …

Another door appeared in front of me.

Shaken, I yanked it open.

Jaiel stood in front of me, tray in his hands as he lookedover the mess hall, obviously looking for someone. People waved to get his attention, but he ignored them.

His eyes tightened as he found what he was looking for, and I followed his gaze. Past me sat at a table in the corner, eating alone.

Jaiel frowned, shaking his head. He looked … worried.

Then he pasted on that familiar grin he always wore, and walked to my table.

"Well, hello, Princess. Mind if I join you?"

Past me glared at him but shrugged.

Gods, I remembered that. I'd pretended to be annoyed, but in truth, I was grateful to not be alone. Lynn had been away, and the other Agents wanted nothing to do with me —

Jaiel made a joke about how he bet I tasted far better than his food, and I told him to fuck off … just as I always did.

He laughed, and I'd swear his shoulders relaxed a bit. And maybe that fake smile of his became a bit more … real.

The thought made my chest ache and my eyes swim.

A cloaked hand touched my arm. "One more memory."

I forced my gaze from the familiar scene to the next door.

Taking a deep breath, I stepped through … onto a sandy shore, watching as Jaiel frantically rowed a dinghy to shore, choppy waves constantly crashing over him.