Page 29 of To Cage a Wild Bird (Divided Fates #1)

I couldn’t see .

The sudden burst of light blinded me, and my pupils contracted painfully from its intensity.

What if it was Hyde, back with his box of tools?

My breaths came in short spurts, my hands going to the floor on instinct, searching for a weapon I knew I wouldn’t find.

When I came up with nothing, I resorted to flinging my fists out wildly, attempting to ward off the threat.

Large hands caught my wrists, holding them tight.

“Raven, breathe. It’s me. It’s okay.”

A cloud of mint and fresh soap enveloped me, blocking out the smell of the moldering cell.

Vale?

Some of the tension left my body, and I stopped fighting.

His warm hands pressed into my skin, large and calloused and sure.

“What are you doing here?” I croaked, my voice a ragged whisper, strained from what must have been days of disuse.

As my eyes adjusted, I realized the illumination was nothing but a sliver of light from the basement corridor seeping through

the cracked cell door.

Vale’s form gradually solidified before me, and his hold on me loosened, though he didn’t pull away entirely. “I heard you

screaming. I—I thought one of the guards might have snuck in here, and...” He trailed off, his eyes darkening.

He didn’t have to finish. The possibility of what a guard could have been doing to me in the darkness of an isolated cell

turned my stomach. I’d seen the looks Mort and Hyde gave me and the other women.

Vale released my wrists, reaching into his pocket and freeing a cloth pouch.

“I’m sorry, it’s not much,” he said, pulling out the contents. “I couldn’t risk bringing an entire tray. The other guards

would’ve noticed and told the warden.”

But the biscuit and pair of ration bars Vale held out to me might as well have been a lifetime supply of credits.

I held my breath, eyes flitting to the door, wondering if this was some new form of torture and Hyde or Larch would barge

in at any moment and rip the gift away just before it passed my lips.

But Vale handed the food to me, his fingertips brushing against mine and sending tingles shooting up my arm.

My brow furrowed, even as I nodded my thanks.

Vale was here, giving me food. Breaking the rules for me again. It was becoming impossible to ignore the cracks in his story.

At first glance, he came off as a staunchly loyal guard—someone who hated rebels and corrected his peers when they weren’t

playing by the rules. He’d sought out a position at Endlock, which had led me to assume he was a true believer in what happened

at the prison and what the Council stood for.

But if that was the truth, why had he broken the rules for me so many times?

He’d been in the Lower Sector after curfew, seeking out a rebel leader.

He was close with August. He’d saved me from death during my first hunt and gotten Jed assigned to my cellblock, and now.

.. now he was making sure I was as comfortable as possible in solitary.

He hadn’t needed to do any of that.

“You’re going to have to keep your head down from here on out.” Vale’s eyes caught and held mine, oblivious to my churning

thoughts. “There are only so many ways I can intervene.”

I shook my head. “It doesn’t make sense.”

“What?”

“ You , Vale. You don’t make sense. You said you saved me during my first hunt because you owed me a debt, but I don’t buy it. I

don’t buy that anyone who decides to work here would concern themselves with returning favors—if you’d let those hunters kill

me, you wouldn’t have to worry about anyone finding out that you were looking for Eris that night in the Lower Sector. Your

secret would’ve died with me. And more than that, I know you think I’m a rebel.”

When he’d first read of my involvement with the Collective, there’d been no mistaking the disgust on his face.

Vale looked away, rubbing his hand over the back of his neck, the muscles in his arm rippling with the movement. I swallowed.

“I don’t know what I think anymore. I looked further into your records after what you said that night in the bathroom, after

you were attacked. Your parents were rebels, but you were still a kid when they were arrested. Became a bounty hunter right

after. There was no proof that you’d joined the rebel cause.”

“Even still,” I murmured, when he finally met my eyes. “I’m a criminal, and you’re a guard.”

And I’d heard him spout the Council’s propaganda several times now.

“I didn’t expect you to help Momo like you did during that hunt,” Vale said instead of addressing my words.

“I didn’t expect a bounty hunter, of all people, to be anything but selfish—to help anyone but themselves.

It got me wondering about the chances of you committing a crime less than twelve hours after your brother arrived here.

About whether you were actually a selfish person or just someone willing to do anything for the people you love. I can understand that.”

“Vale...”

He still hadn’t told me what I wanted to know.

“Are you a rebel?” I asked, before I could convince myself to keep the words inside. I was sick of his evasive answers, and

the idea of Vale being a part of the Collective was the only thing that came close to making sense at this point. Even if

he’d made his disdain for the organization clear.

Vale let out a harsh laugh. “No.”

Fuck. I didn’t know why I’d allowed myself to get my hopes up.

“But I’m not loyal to Endlock, either.”

My mouth flopped open. “Meaning?”

Because there was “not loyal to Endlock” as in the pay and hours are shit so I’d take a job elsewhere if the opportunity arose and “not loyal to Endlock” as in I fundamentally disagree with what they do to people .

“It’s complicated.”

I groaned, covering my eyes with my hands. “Enigmatic is not a good look on you.”

“Liar.”

I heard the smile in his voice and dropped my hands, glaring at him. “It’s not funny. I’m completely in the dark here.”

“I have no love for Endlock,” he murmured, serious once more. “But my position here is... important. I do the right thing

when I can, but I can’t draw attention to myself. Or make Larch suspicious.”

“I don’t understand. You’re not a rebel, but you want to, what, help inmates?”

He arched a brow. “Do I have to be part of the Collective to want to do the right thing?”

I frowned. He was right, but I’d grown up with the Collective and had never thought of there being free agents working against

the Council and Endlock.

“Maybe not, but why help me ?”

“I think you’re worth saving, Little Bird.” His golden eyes searched mine.

My face flushed at his words, momentarily distracting me from the fact that he hadn’t given me a real answer. By the time

I opened my mouth, his eyes had shuttered, and I knew he’d give nothing else away. Not yet, anyway.

“Is Jed okay?” I asked instead.

“He’s fine. He was selected for another hunt, but Gus helped him, and he reached the Blood Tree first. He’s been promoted

to the Middle level.”

A rush of emotions washed over me—panic at the idea of Jed facing a hunt without me, but more potent than that was my pride.

He’d not only survived, but he’d been the strongest on the grounds. He’d have more rations and freedom for the rest of our

time at Endlock.

Vale’s gaze landed on my cheek, where I imagined there was a mottled bruise from where Larch had struck me. His eyes narrowed.

“What happened?” he growled, the venom in his voice making my breath catch.

“It’s nothing.” Nothing he could do anything about, anyway.

His warm fingers caught my chin, tilting my face until the light from the corridor spilled across my cheek. “It doesn’t look

like nothing.”

“Just the price of talking back to Larch.”

He clenched his jaw, opening his mouth to respond, but faint footsteps sounded in the hall, and we both shot to our feet.

Vale’s hand closed around my fingers, the contact a blaze of heat against the chill residing in my bones.

“They can’t find me here,” he whispered. “I’ll bring you more food as soon as I can. I promise.” He squeezed my fingers before

slipping away.

And then he stepped out of the cell, the door sealing shut behind him, leaving me alone in the never-ending darkness once

more.

But I felt Vale’s touch long after he was gone.

One week.

That was how long they’d left me to rot in solitary.

Vale had made another food drop, and I’d found the courage to ask him how much time had passed. Seven days seemed like both too much and not enough.

It felt like I’d been in the dark for years, though rationally, I knew Larch wouldn’t take me out of the hunting lineup for

too long. In his eyes, I was a walking paycheck. What good would I do him wasting away in the basement?

Vale’s news had given me the strength I’d needed to make it through another night—I was getting out today.

A metallic shriek pierced the air as the door was thrust open. Bright, unfiltered light spilled into the cell.

“On your feet.”

Of course, it was Mort, with his ever-present toothpick and leer. Aside from Vale’s face, this was the first one I’d seen

in a week, and it wasn’t a pleasant sight.

I hobbled to my feet, legs shaking.

Mort reached for my arm, impatience deepening the lines on his face. I recoiled, slipping from his grasp.

“I can walk,” I said through my teeth. I’d crawl before I accepted his help. In the dim basement light, I took in my grimy

state—the wet, foul scent that clung to me was as putrid as a Lower Sector back alley. Hopefully, my stench alone would keep

Mort’s crude comments and wandering eyes at bay.

I may have oversold my capabilities because I found myself limping instead of walking. The winding basement corridor seemed

to stretch on forever, each of my steps more stilted than the last, until Mort reached an arm out and slammed me against the

stone wall.

A strangled gasp escaped me, the breath flying from my lungs. I pushed against him, but I was weak, and his arm was like a

vise.

“Get your hands off me,” I snarled.