by T. S. Joyce
“He doesn’t know sign language either,” Torren said from the floor. “He just likes to annoy everyone and pretend he does.”
She studied the picture of the smeared red penis someone had drawn on the back wall. “Is that…is that drawn in blood?”
“It’s not weird,” Nox said through the glass. “Torren and I got in a fight, and I had extra blood. This room is fuckin’ boring. All white? Whoever the decorator of this place is, I want their name and number. I have formal complaints.”
Riyah huffed a laugh—the first one today.
“You’re Riyah, right?” Nox asked.
The behemoth on the floor rolled his head toward her and narrowed his eyes, then stood smoothly and came to stand beside Nox.
“I am. I can schedule a counseling session with you if you feel like you need to talk,” she said smoothly, in case the camera up in the corner could pick up audio.
“Oh, I feel super feely,” Nox assured her. “I probably need, like, thirty years of counseling. Can you pencil me in? Torren, too? He’s super-violent right now and needs to talk about his feelings also.”
“Yep,” Torren said blandly. “I have lots of feelings.”
With a sympathetic nod, she said, “I completely understand. It’s a big adjustment coming into shifter prison. How did you two end up in the lower levels?”
Nox grinned. “Fighting.”
“Each other?” she asked.
“Fighting everyone. This is like time-out for the super baddies, huh. They gave us lunch, and I was excited because I thought it was mashed potatoes, but nope. It was gruel. I mean it tasted fuckin’ delicious, but it was definitely not mashed potatoes. Can you put in a request for steak? I like mine rare. Like…just walk the cow by the fire. And we need some veggies so we don’t get scurvy.”
“Scurvy. Like what pirates used to get when they didn’t have enough vegetables on long trips…stealing…”
“Say booty,” Nox said through a grin.
Riyah sighed and repeated, “Booty.”
“Yep! Have you talked to the girls?”
“Shhh.” She shushed him low through clenched teeth as she gave a quick glance up at the camera.
“Oh, that camera has no audio. We got put in this cell on purpose.”
“On…purpose.” What the heck? “You know how to work the system in here?”
“Hell, yeah. When you request the steak, can you ask Euless about it in the cafeteria? He’s one of ours. He won’t spit in it.”
“Oh.” She blinked slowly. “Sure.”
“Thanks, Ri-Ri,” Nox said.
Torren rolled his eyes and muttered an apology for Nox.
“I’m going to see your alpha.”
Torren perked up and pressed his hands on the glass. “How is he?”
“Dude, I already told you he’s fine,” Nox said. To Riyah though, Nox shook his head slightly and gave her a warning look with his eyes.
“He’s doing okay, considering,” she said. It wasn’t a lie. She knew better than to try those with shifters.
“Considering what?” Torren asked, straightening his spine.
Nox was standing there with his eyes gone round, lips pursed, and shaking his head jerkily. So she shouldn’t tell Torren that Vyr lost the dragon?
“I’ll ask about the steak. See you soon,” she blurted out and walked away without looking back.
On one of their late-night talks, Vyr had spoken of Torren like he was a flesh-and-blood brother, and if Nox didn’t want Torren to know how bad it was for Vyr, she needed to listen. She’d done her research on Vyr’s crew before she accepted this job, just to see what she was in for. And to get a better feel for Vyr. The people an alpha gathered under him said a lot about the kind of person they were. Vyr had gathered some very loyal friends. And Torren had pledged himself to protecting the Red Dragon from age seven. If he was having a violence problem in here, she didn’t need to set him off with gory details. That would only get him and Nox hurt in that little cell. She made a mental note to bring Nox in for counseling first to better understand how to handle Torren’s session afterward.
She swiped her card at Emmitt’s observation station, careful to keep her clipboard hugged to her chest so the camera could catch everything.
“What are you doing here?” he muttered from his rolling chair as he watched footage of two guards escorting Vyr up an elevator. Vyr stared directly into the camera, and it hurt to witness the emptiness there. Two dragon eyes, frozen into his face. Vyr swayed with the movement of the elevator, unblinking. The scar on his head was stark and red, and he had a black eye that wasn’t healing.
“What happened to his face?”
Emmitt shrugged. “Dragon extraction was successful. Now he doesn’t heal like he used to.”
“The dragon is…dead?”
“Dead as a doornail. Look at those eyes. He’ll look like a freak for the rest of his life, but the world is safe.”
Stay calm. Stay steady.
“I guess I’m still confused about this place,” she murmured, sitting in the other chair. She rested the clipboard on her thighs and swung back and forth slowly in the chair. “Do we have to take the animals out of all the lower level shifters?”
“Nah, just the ones we want to duplicate. And when we get monsters like Vyr, it’s better for everyone if they just disappear. He’s helpless now. Look at him. You saw those videos of him burning Covington to the ground? And him blowing up police cruisers the day Butte brought him in? Well…now he’s just a man.”
“Who was sentenced to a year in prison. Not a cleansing.”
“Who’s gonna miss the Red Dragon?” he gritted out, ripping his gaze from the screen and glaring at her. “You?”
“I’m paid to be empathetic, Emmitt. These aren’t animals. They’re people.”
“Chhhh. Too sympathetic for your own good. We saved your life by killing that demon. You should be thanking us. That’s six months of work—”
“You mean six months of torture.”
“What the fuck is wrong with you, Mercer?” Emmitt yelled. “You knew the drill coming down here. Fuck! Today we’re celebrating. Literally, we’re throwing a ding-dong-the-dragon-is-dead party, and if you shit on our parade, I’m taking it to the higher-ups. You don’t belong down here. This is where the real work happens. Shut your fuckin’ trap, bitch, and be happy there’s no need to worry about Vyr’s fire anymore. All of our lives just got a ton easier.”
“And his life?”
“Is over. He’s one person, though. One. He’s an easy sacrifice.”
Riyah swallowed bile and tried to compose her face as Emmitt pushed the intercom and said, “The lair is clear. Bring him on in.”
“Since the dragon is dead, I think he should have more privileges now.”
“Good God, woman, what are you talking about? This is prison, not the Ritz.”
“Exactly, and all the inmates upstairs are getting meals together and yard time together. They aren’t alone all the time. He can’t even shift anymore, right? Look at his face, Emmitt. Really look at it. Someone hit him, and he’s not healing.”
“What about ‘his life is over’ is confusing to you?” Emmitt was staring at her like she’d lost her mind. “There will be an accident in here. Vyr isn’t getting out. Keep pushing, and you won’t get out of here either. You’re feeling mighty risky to the New IESA program right now.”
“Don’t you threaten me. I took the same oath of silence you did. I’m allowed to ask questions, though. That’s my job to get the inmates in a safer mindset to make your job easier. That’s what I’m paid for. Vyr is helpless, like you said, yet the program still wants him eradicated.”
“Because we’re exposed the second he tells anyone what it’s like in here!” Emmitt barked. “And it’s not just my ass on the line, or Butte’s, or any of these guards, or the New IESA. It’s your ass on the line, too. You get that, right? You understand you were a part of this? Maybe the biggest part. Think about it
, Mercer. You came in, settled the dragon immediately, we all saw it. You were a fucking monster-whisperer, stuck that needle in him, gave him that monster dose of dragon killer, and then the Red Dragon died. You’re just as guilty as the rest of us, if not more. His eyes being frozen like that?” Emmitt jammed his finger at the screen where Vyr was still staring directly at the camera. “Your fault. That black eye not healing? Your fault. The accident that will happen? Also your fault.” Every accusation felt like the lash of a whip against her heart. “Careful where you step around here, Princess. There’s landmines everywhere, and I’m the biggest one. No more questions. Vyr doesn’t get special privileges. He’s done. Give me two days, and we’ll be tossing the corpse. And daddy dragon can’t do shit about it because he was the one who helped put Vyr in here in the first place. We. Win.”
We win? The New IESA wins? Winning by murder. Disgusting. She dared Emmitt to try for an “accident.” She would turn him to ash in a second. Riyah smiled coolly. “Whatever you say, boss.”
“Fuckin’ attitude,” Emmitt muttered, giving his attention back to the computer. “This is why I told them not to hire girls down here. Sentimental idiots, all of you.”
She could literally pop his head like a grape right now and never lose an ounce of sleep.
“As much as I would love to see that, I don’t want you skipping over to the dark side, Badass Princess.”
Riyah let off a relieved sigh and embraced the headache. That pain meant she wasn’t alone. She would take a headache for the rest of her life if it meant Vyr was okay. Which…from the looks of him as the guards brought him in, clad in handcuffs and chains around his ankles, limping badly and sporting a completely dead look on his face, he wasn’t okay, just like he’d said.
She wanted vengeance. She wanted justice. She wanted to punish every guard who had ever laid a hand on Vyr or shot him with drugs or operated on him. Soon.
Right now, she just needed to be here for Vyr and bring him back from the brink. At some point between last night and now, he had quit fighting completely. She didn’t know what had happened, but she would find out if she had to scour every inch of video footage.
The camera streamed directly to Damon’s technical team, so she took the clipboard with her as she left the observation room. At the door, Emmitt asked, “Where are you going?”
“To welcome Vyr back to his lair.” She gave him a ghost’s smile. “I’m gonna make his last days bearable.”
“Why?” he gritted out.
“Because it’s the right thing to do.” Riyah let the door swing closed behind her and barely resisted the urge to collapse that observation room on top of Emmitt.
She made her way through the two card scanners and pulled open the door to Vyr’s lair.
The guards were just leaving. They gave each other a high five. She didn’t even what to know what that was about because she was really close to snapping already. Even she could smell the magic coming off herself right now.
Vyr’s eyes went wide as he watched her approach with her clipboard clutched to her chest. “Riyah, you look hot as fuck, but your hair is floating, and there’s no wind in here.”
She closed her eyes for a three count and focused on containing her anger. As she passed the metal chair she’d done her interview in, she dragged it with her, scraping it loudly along the floor.
“Let me see,” she murmured. She angled the clipboard on the leg of the chair and sat down, reached for Vyr.
He winced away. “I hate you seeing me like this.”
“Is there audio?” she asked.
Vyr blinked those silver dragon eyes and murmured, “Not anymore.”
“What happened?”
“Doesn’t matter.” His voice echoed with hollowness.
“Don’t push me away.”
“Riyah, it’s best this way. I know what’s coming. I can hear their thoughts so loud. And I’m tired. I’ve existed for thirty years with everyone thinking I’m evil. Doesn’t matter the effort I put into keeping good people safe. I lost the dragon. Lost the biggest part of me, and now there’s this hole. It’s growing bigger and bigger, and now all I feel is…”
“Is what?”
“Emptiness.”
Her lip quivered, so she sat back in the chair, blinking hard because it wouldn’t help Vyr if she cried right now.
“If everyone wants me gone so bad…okay. I don’t really want to live a life where I feel like this anyway.”
“What about me?” she asked. “I’ll be alone if you leave. Really alone. I want more.”
“More what?”
“Time. I want you to kiss me, hold my hand, take me out for coffee, and stay up all night talking while you’re actually lying beside me. I’ve never felt this way about anyone before. It was instant for me. I should’ve been scared of you, right? Well, I wasn’t. You always make me feel safe, even locked in here. I want to see Mr. Diddles and see your mountains. I want to be part of your crew. I want you to stick around because, to me, it doesn’t matter if you have the dragon or not. To me, it only matters if you’re here. With me. The princess and the dragon. A fairytale…except that’s not us, is it? Not really. We were built in similar ways that made our edges too rough for anyone else to handle or they would get cut. But we don’t cut each other. We fit. Now you go. What do you want?”
Vyr ran his hand over his cropped hair and then leaned forward, grabbed her chair, and scooched her closer until her knees were between his thighs.
“No touching!” Emmitt said over the intercom.
Riyah flipped off his observation room, her gaze never leaving the exhausted lines of Vyr’s face. “What do you want, Vyr?” she asked again.
“I want my dragon back. I want to be whole because I want to keep you.”
God, what those words did to her insides. As she filled with warmth, she raised her hands, palms facing Vyr. He searched her eyes and then slid his much bigger hands against hers and then intertwined their fingers.
“I have a surprise for you,” she whispered.
His ruddy eyebrows drew down. “What is it?”
“Come lay on the floor with me.”
“Wait, are you wanting to fool around in here? We can.”
“Dear lord, do all of your thoughts revolve around sex?”
“No. Yes. Look at your shirt! Your tits are all squished together, and I can see the edge of your bra. I wish I could push you against the wall and fuck you from behind until you’re screaming my name.”
Well, she needed to add that to her list of wants. Riyah offered a slow, drunken blink. “Hooooly wow.” She cleared her throat once, twice. Opened her mouth but nothing intelligent came out. Just a soft gasp. Smooth. She cleared her throat once more and tried again. “Back to the surprise. Come on. I put a lot of work into this. Mostly because Emmitt is a stubborn anus and fought everything.”
“What did you do?”
She laid down on the cold concrete right in the middle of the room and patted the space beside her. He limped over to her and laid down too, crossing his hands over his stomach.
Riyah smiled over at him and asked, “Are you ready?”
Vyr looked confused, but so handsome, staring unabashedly back at her, allowing her to look right into his frozen dragon eyes. He had a week of red facial scruff, and the freckles across his nose were stark. She’d never wanted to kiss a man so badly.
“I’m ready,” he murmured in that deep voice of his.
Riyah closed her eyes and cut the lights. But she could still see him in the glow of the hundreds of plastic stars she’d taped to the ceiling. It had taken her hours to get it just right.
“Riyaaah,” Vyr drawled out softly.
“Remember when you told me what you missed the most?”
“The sky. The stars.”
“Yeah, and you said you liked to imagine them smiling down on you, even if you couldn’t see them. And that they were smiling because they could see better things coming for you.”
&nb
sp; Vyr lay there unblinking up at the ceiling. “Yeah, I remember.”
“Vyr. I’ll be your star. I believe in you. I’ll wait with you while better things are coming.”
He stared up at the words she’d written with some of the stars. “I’m yours,” he read aloud.
She smiled. “You just said you wanted the dragon back so you could keep me. Well…dragon or no, you have me.”
Vyr slid his hand from his stomach and pulled her fingertips to his chest, right over his drumming heartbeat. He pressed her palm there and kept his hand on her like he didn’t want her to pull away.
On a breath, she whispered, “You have me, so trust me.”
Any second, the guards would storm the room and ruin this, but this is what they had. Stolen moments. Stolen touches. And she didn’t care what anyone thought. Only what Vyr thought. She didn’t care about consequences or judgement. She cared about one thing—the man beside her, who was smiling…smiling despite everything that had been done to him.
He lifted two fingers up at the ceiling and whispered, “Look, Riyah.”
The stars came off the ceiling and floated there above them, like real stars in the night sky. They rotated slowly, moving this way and that in different patterns until words formed. It was an I, a heart with a jagged crack down the middle, and a U. And as she watched in awe, the crack in the heart disappeared.
A tear slid from the corner of her eye down her cheek and made a tiny splat on the concrete.
Vyr rolled his head to the side and gave her a crooked smile. God, he was stunning, his dragon eyes glowing under the lights of the floating plastic stars, his smile for her certain, even though he must’ve been falling apart on the inside. “I feel steady around you.”
“What do you mean?” she asked. “And where the hell are the guards?” She propped up on her elbows and stared at the observation room mirrors across the room. They should’ve been in here tearing her and Vyr apart about now, but no one had even knocked on the window and told them to cut it out.
“Oh, I put them all to sleep,” Vyr said.
“W-what?”
“Oh, I can put people out. All the guards are on the floor right now. I made sure Emmitt hit his head on the way down because I can’t fuckin’ stand the way he talks to you.” Vyr’s smile turned wicked.