Page 41 of First Offense

His little nose twitched as he peeked out from his hole, confirming he’d heard me and would stand watch.

Thanks.

He responded by giving me an update on Auric’s location. It seemed he’d found some sort of recently renovated room with windows.

Great.

I tucked my wings into my back and headed down the stairs into the heart of Noir Reformatory.

The prison resembled a living, breathing entity that constantly shifted and changed. A hallway could lead one direction today and somewhere entirely different tomorrow. Portals appeared without preamble. And no known map existed, likely because it would constantly require changing.

Magic thrived in these walls, and not all of it was related to angelkind. While in solitary, I’d learned about some of the other realms inside the entity known as Nightmare Penitentiary. Noir Reformatory was just one wing.

Using the directions from Clyde, I wandered by our cell to the end of the hall and beyond it to a corridor that hadn’t been there this morning.

Fresh paint tickled my nose, the concrete walls recently furnished.

Light shone at the end, indicating the windows Clyde had mentioned. My lips curled down. Those shouldn’t exist this far underground, telling me they weren’t real. Which I supposed meant they’d be similar to the window in our cell that showcased a false view of the ocean.

All right, I thought, tracking Auric’s wintergreen scent.Let’s see what has you so distracted.

13

Auric

I drummedmy fingers against the counter, waiting for the Nora Guard to return. He’d caught me on my way back to the cell earlier, stating he had a package for me from the Reformer.

I’d asked if it was a phone, and he’d shrugged, telling me to follow him and find out.

So I’d followed, and now I stood in this recently renovated reception-like lobby with fake windows and too-white floors.

There’d been some sort of scuffle with a prisoner that had distracted him, leaving me to wonder if he even remembered leading me here. I didn’t have a watch to know how long it’d been, but each passing breath left me more uneasy.

Why is this taking so long?I wondered, both at the guard and my current situation. This was supposed to be a quick fix.

Guard.

Reform.

Return.

Leave.

The princess would continue her courting season with her myriad of suitors, and I would disappear from her life for good. Yet I wasn’t even successfully through with phase one—guard—because I was standing here waiting for that damn Nora to return. Which left her alone in a prison full of murderous sinners.

She’s fine, I reassured myself.

Except I had no real way of knowing that. I’d left her eating with Novak in the cafeteria. Not that she’d seen me. I’d purposefully remained out of view, curious to see what she would do with her tray of unsatisfactory food.

Novak had known I was there. Despite the century lost between us, he still understood my cues. And even while I didn’t fully trust him, I knew he wouldn’t allow anyone to harm Layla. She was just as compatible with him as she was with me, which created a huge problem between me and Novak but also ensured she had two protectors.

I blew out a breath, counting seconds that turned into minutes.

This was ridiculous.

While I knew Novak wouldn’t let anyone else touch or hurt Layla, I didn’t trust him not to do something.

He was a sadist. Dark. Menacing.Violent.