Rewriting memories is something most Cavese could never do.
Luckily for me, I’m not like other monsters.
His eyes flare for just a moment before they settle into a calm acceptance, and he nods. He leaves the room without a word, and I tuck the card into my pocket before making the walk back to the cell block.
Gideon is pressed against his cell door, and I slow my pace as I pass the keycard through the bars.
“Wait for my cue,” I mutter, and he scrambles to shove it into his waistband as I continue on my way.
The Lu’Mite guard circles around the laundry room, no wiser to what happened, and I make several more trips back and forth until the supply truck is cleared out.
“I’ll grab the crates from my side,” I shout at Leuce as she wheels back to the kitchen with her empty cart, and she gives me a thumbs up without sparing me a glance.
Now comes the hard part.
On my first pass of the cell block, a different guard is on his rotation, then on the second, voices echo from the break room. It’s too risky when I don’t know where they’re headed. My nerves ramp up as my window of opportunity shrinks, and I’m realizing I might fail as I return to the laundry to load the final crate.
I push into the cell block, and the Fates are on my side.
The coast is clear, so I move faster as I meet Gideon’s eye. “Now,” I hiss, and he swipes the card over the lock.
A few heads turn in our direction, and outraged shouts echo as Gideon scrambles inside the crate. I pull his cell shut, thankful he had the foresight to make his bed look occupied, then settle the lid as the inmates grow louder.
The furious yelling is indecipherable by the time we reach the door. Two guards meet me there, peering around me at the ruckus.
The one in front sighs. “They always get worked up on supply days.”
“Yeah,” I drawl as I nod over my shoulder. “One of them flung something at me, and I didn’t stick around to see what it was. I’d maybe give them a minute to settle.”
He grunts as he holds the door open for me, and I try not to show the strain of pushing a two-hundred-plus pound man instead of an empty crate.
“Thanks for the heads up,” he says. “Shift change is in an hour, and I might conveniently forget to do my last round so I don’t have to clean it up.”
“Secret’s safe with me,” I promise.
He huffs a laugh and gives me a two-fingered salute before both guards return to the break room. The rest of my path is clear.
“Kitchen’s done!” Leuce yells.
I roll the cart towards the truck, nodding back towards my wing of the prison. “There are two left in the janitor’s closet.”
“I’ll grab one, and you come after me for the other,” she calls over her shoulder, already walking away.
I hurry to offload Gideon’s crate onto the truck floor with a loud thunk. After a glance behind me to make sure I’m alone, I lift the lid.
Gideon glances up at me, wincing at the crack of light that shines into the dark box.
“Are you getting enough air?” I ask.
“Yeah. How—”
“There’s no time,” I hiss. “Stay here and stay silent until I say.”
I don’t even wait for his nod as I drop the lid and hurry to grab the last of our load. Leuce doesn’t bat an eye as we slam the roll-up door closed, but I can’t let my guard down as we climb into the cab.
Halfway back, I spot the alleyway we’ve planned for the extraction.
“Hey, Leuce?” I grip her forearm and call on my magic again. It takes more coaxing this time, but obediently penetrates her mind. “Pull over between those buildings.”
