Chapter 108

Chapter 108: Chapter 108

Selena

The first thing I noticed when I opened my eyes was the smell.

It was everywhere.

It clung to the walls, the floor, and even the thin clothes covering my body.

The air inside the cell was so foul that I could barely breathe without feeling nauseated.

My nostrils had become blocked from the overwhelming stench, and my throat felt dry and uncomfortable.

I shifted slightly, immediately regretting it when my body reminded me how weak I had become.

I felt disgusted.

My clothes were dirty, my hair was tangled, and I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had enough water to properly wash myself.

The cell was cold and damp, and the unpleasant mixture of waste and decay made it difficult to think clearly.

I dragged myself into a sitting position and pressed my back against the wall.

How long had I been there? I had lost track of time.

The sound of footsteps approaching made me lift my head. A guard walked past the cell, his boots striking the stone floor.

"Please!" I called immediately.

He continued walking. "Please, I need your attention!"

He stopped eventually and turned his head toward me with an irritated expression. "What?"

I crawled closer to the bars, gripping one of them with my fingers.

"Can you please move me to another cell? I can’t stay here. The smell is unbearable, and I can barely breathe."

He stared at me as though I’d asked him to give me the entire slaughterhouse. "You’re staying where you are."

"Then can I at least have some water?"

He looked around and spotted a small basin lying near the wall. Without saying anything, he picked it up, unhooked his chausses and began urinating into it.

My mouth fell open. "What are you doing?"

He didn’t answer.

I watched in disgust as he finished, then brought the basin toward the bars and placed it just close enough for me to see its contents.

"There’s your water."

I recoiled. "Are you out of your mind?"

He laughed. "Be grateful I brought you anything at all." Then he walked away, leaving me staring at the basin.

For several seconds, I couldn’t move.

I had never imagined that anyone could treat another living being with such cruelty simply because they had the power to do so.

I turned my face away, pressing my lips together as my stomach twisted.

Eventually, I crawled back into the corner. I wrapped my arms around my knees and lowered my head.

For the next few minutes, I didn’t cry or speak. I simply sat there, feeling something inside me slowly breaking.

I had been brave when I first arrived at House Hawthorne. I had convinced myself that I could find a way out, that I could gather enough information to expose them and rescue the innocent girl.

But what if I never got out? What if this was where I ended?

My thoughts became increasingly difficult to control.

Would I ever see Kael again? Was he even back from his journey yet?

Perhaps that was why he hadn’t come looking for me. Maybe he was still somewhere in Redgrave, completely unaware that I had been taken from the castle.

Or perhaps he knew and was simply unable to reach me.

My chest tightened.

What about the innocent girl? What would happen to her if I failed?

Would the Hawthornes eventually send her to the vampires?

And my group? Were they still meeting? Had they discovered I was missing? Was anyone looking for me?

I closed my eyes. I didn’t want to think anymore.

"Selena..."

My eyes opened and I lifted my head slowly.

The voice had been so faint that I initially thought it was another unpleasant trick of my exhausted mind.

"Selena..."

I swallowed. "Who’s there?"

There was no immediate response. I looked toward the bars, then at the dark corners of the cell.

Perhaps I was hallucinating.

The lack of proper food, clean water and sleep was beginning to affect me. It wouldn’t be surprising if I started hearing things.

"Selena!" This time, the voice was louder.

I stiffened because something about it sounded so familiar.

"Who’s calling me?" I asked.

"It’s me."

I leaned forward. "Who?"

"Sally."

My heart seemed to stop. "Sally?"

"Yes! It’s me!"

For a moment, I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

I moved closer to the wall separating our cells, pressing my palm against it as though I could somehow reach her.

"Sally? What are you doing here?"

"I’ll explain everything. Just tell me you’re alright."

I almost laughed at the question. "Do I sound alright to you?"

A small chuckle came from the other side. "At least you’re still capable of being sarcastic."

I shook my head, struggling to process her presence. "How did you get here?"

There was a brief silence before she answered. "I was working in the slaughterhouse a few hours ago."

"The slaughterhouse?"

"Yes. I was brought here with a batch of other people. I thought you might be somewhere around here, so I decided to get myself into trouble. I was hoping they’d bring me to the cells."

I frowned. "You deliberately got yourself into trouble?"

"What else was I supposed to do?"

I stared at the wall.

"Sally, how did you even know I was here? Nobody knows the Hawthornes took me. I don’t think anyone outside this place knows where I am."

Her response came with genuine surprise. "The Hawthornes took you?"

I blinked. "You didn’t know?"

"No! I didn’t even know they had you. I only suspected something was wrong because I hadn’t seen you in the castle for an entire day before I left."

I pressed my lips together. "So you left the castle looking for me?"

"No." Her answer came so quickly that I almost laughed.

I shook my head. "Then why are you here?"

"I came looking for my sister."

I stared at the wall again. Her sister?

I knew Sally had a sister, but she had never spoken much about her. In fact, I couldn’t remember her mentioning anything about what had happened to the girl.

"What do you mean?"

"I’ll explain everything after we get out of here."

I let out a tired breath. "You’re talking as though escaping is guaranteed."

"It is if we believe we can."

"Sally, look around you. We’re locked inside a filthy cell in a slaughterhouse. I can barely stand, and I don’t even know how many guards are stationed outside."

"Then we’ll find a way."

I shook my head, but I couldn’t stop the small smile that appeared on my face.

Even in a place like this, Sally hadn’t lost her stubbornness.

"Lord Hawthorne will be here in the morning," she continued. "He’s supposed to inspect the new batch of free labourers and collect the people he wants."

I straightened. "Free labourers?"

"Yes. That’s what they call us."

I suddenly remembered the information Eion had gathered and the torn page I had managed to take from the ancestor’s book.

"Do you know about their cheap labour scheme?"

"Of course. I believe that’s how my sister was lured away and eventually sold to the vampires."

My expression changed and I looked down at my hands. "Just like the girl playing Sophia."

There was a moment of silence before Sally sighed. "These people are worse than I thought."

"When Lord Hawthorne arrives, we need to make a run for it!" she said.