Chapter 1
Christin
The bars were small, but thick. There was barely any room in between them. It let in a tiny bit of light from the hallway, but none from any window. There was supposed to be a window, it only seemed right, but Christin had to remind herself again that she had no rights. After six months of staring at the same walls, she should have known intimately by now that she had none anymore.
Christin was sent to Carrol Prison because she had been charged and found guilty of murder in the first degree. It was a heinous crime; the death was long and painful. Christin was in the wrong place, at the wrong time, and had been pinned with all of it. She hadn’t done it though. Christin was unable to prove her innocence and before she could take off, Christin was sent to prison. She was sentenced to life, not eligible for parole for at least three decades.
That was unacceptable. Of all the things in her life that Christin had shut up about and just taken, she couldn’t handle that. She would never see her son grow up. He was ten and he had a long time to go to manhood. He didn’t even know what he was or what he was going to have to do to fix what she had messed up by marrying Phillip in the first place.
Every day she tried to figure out her next plan. She’d just gotten out of solitary. The last stint was over three months, because she had almost gotten out. She had smelled freedom for a few moments, before she had guns drawn and trained on her. Christin had almost made a run for it, but she decided to stay for a while longer. She could always leave, but outing herself to the world wasn’t worth it. Christin thought that she might rather rot.
“Lights out!”
Christin looked to the tiny bit of light that was now extinguished. She heard the gasping sounds of those around her. It was like that every night when the lights went out. Many didn’t handle the dark very well. It was different for Christin. Her senses heightened and she could see better. She could hear better. Everything came to life in the night, and she was a quiet observer of it all. Christin almost missed solitary, just for the peace and quiet. Humans were so noisy.
She didn’t sleep much, so she listened to hearts beating, whispered words that were amplified like the talker was right in the room with her. She never heard much of interest, though that night was different. There were always whispers, but this time it was rushed and excited. She heard a quick information dump about a pair of men that were getting out of there tonight. Christin had never heard of them, but the idea of getting out of there had her attention. If she could piggy-back on another person’s escape, she would be able to do it clean, without getting video of her being her true self, the part of her that no one would understand.
Christin looked to the moon for answers, always feeling a draw to it. Now she made a wish, on the moon, the stars, anything that would get her out of there. Her family and her ancestors were obsessed with the celestial parts of magic. Christin had never bothered. Now though, now she hoped that the tall tales she had heard of how powerful they were, were true.
***
She must have dozed off because Christin was jerked awake by a loud noise. It sounded like an explosion to her amplified hearing, and it hurt her ears. Whatever was going on wasn’t normal. It was something big and Christin’s mind at once went to what she had overheard about there being an escape attempt being carried out.
Christin got up, looking around to the others that were still sleeping. The sound had been so loud in her head, but the others didn’t seem to notice. The two people that she had heard talking, the ones that were being rescued from the prison, were up, talking excitedly in hushed tones. No one else would be able to hear them, unless they were something else.
Then, she saw a bright light as something or someone rather, was cutting through a wall with some kind of blowtorch. She was amazed by what was going on and hopeful that it would be the distraction that she needed to get out of there. If they could get their two friends out without being caught, she would be right behind them, making sure nothing happened to get them caught on the way.
Christin was ready. She didn’t know what she was supposed to be ready for, but her body was in a state that was waiting for something. She wanted out of there and so many times she had toyed with the idea of getting her shift on, taking out the guards that jeered and pushed the inmates into horrible things. Christin wanted out of there; she didn’t want to be with such low-quality humans any longer. She was ready to be free once again.
The part of the wall that had glowing edges was kicked in and she could see light flooding in. Several men came through the hole, reminding her of cockroaches being unsettled. In reality, there were four people that slipped in, and they immediately went after the guards.
Since they were in a high-security prison, the guards were not allowed to carry real weapons. They had batons and those didn’t seem to faze the men that attacked and took down the guards. They weren’t dead, but they were not going to be getting up any time soon.
Christin just waited, her body vibrating. Something was about to happen, but then her eyes locked with one of the men. It was dark, but neither one of them seemed to need the light to see each other. Christin didn’t say anything, but she tried to convey her need to leave, silently. She needed to get out of there and like magic, her cell door opened and Christin was for the first time in almost a year, free.
Chapter 2
Phillip
Ten Years Earlier….
“I don’t understand why I have to do this. You know that I will never love her. I am already in love with another, Father. Why?”
Phillip was trying to maintain his tone and his words, but it was hard. What was being asked of him made no sense and it hurt him to even think about it. No matter how he tried to figure it in his head, he wanted to marry Danika. That’s who he loved, not some dragon princess that would probably be afraid of her own shadow. He knew that there was nothing that would make him change his mind. The marriage was not going to happen.
“You know why. We need their money and their power. You know how old the family is, what they will become under the right hand. You’re going to be that guiding hand, Phillip. I just know it.”
Phillip agreed, but he wasn’t happy with any of it, especially not the fact that he was being pimped out by his parents for money and status. How was he supposed to feel about it?
“And it has nothing to do with all the money you owe the Dainis?”
“It’s not that much, Phillip.”
“They came by looking for you earlier. I don’t know how much longer they are going to believe that you just park outside and get picked up. You are going to have to come to terms with them at some point, or it’s just not going to work. You have to pay them.”
“Well, maybe it’s more than a little bit, but not as much as you’re thinking.”
Phillip didn’t want to argue, not about his father’s debts. He never understood why his dad was so worked up with everything. He had enough, had a family, ran a clan that loved him in spite of all of his faults. What more could he want? Why wasn’t he ever happy?
