“Sit back down, Caleb.”
“Or what?”
Dominic huffs in what I presume is frustration—that makes two of us.
“What do you want?”
“I want to get the fuck out of here.”
“I can’t help with that, unfortunately.”
I clench my teeth. “If you want this life, then continue going the way you are, but if you want something different for yourself, when the time arises, you’ll know what to choose. It might be the only opportunity.”
Dominic’s forehead creases. “You’re talking in riddles.”
“And you might not be as stupid as I thought.”
Before he says anything more, I walk away from the cell bars and tuck myself in the corner where Fi and Lula are watching me.
“What the hell was that?” Fi says under her breath.
I shrug. “An attempt to get someone on the inside on our team.”
“That was bad,” Lula blurts. “Like really bad.”
I huff out a laugh before my determined eyes meet hers. “We’ll see.”
The waitfor the next sacrifice feels like years. Ryker appears, and everyone is deathly silent. His heels tauntingly click against the floor. Everyone cowers in the back of their cells, not wanting to be seen by him. No one wants to be next.
“Who will be my sacrifice today?”
I lock eyes with Dominic, who averts his gaze within a second.
“Whose blood will I drain?” Ryker flashes his teeth.
The intense fear in the room can be tasted. My spine stiffens when he pauses directly outside of our cell. Ryker turns towards us sharply before peering inside. His eyes flick over me and settle on Fi and Lula behind me.
No.
“I’ve heard you’ve taken a liking to my son,” Ryker says towards Lula, and I tighten my fists.
Lula doesn’t respond, doesn’t move.
“Not sure what there is to like,” he sneers. “He’s worthless.”
Ryker clicks his fingers, and Wes starts to unlock the door. I stand up abruptly, but he shoves me to the side before I can even blink.
“Young blood is always the best,” Ryker purrs in a voice that would make anyone's skin crawl.
Lula pushes herself further into her mother’s arms as they both scream out in protest, but she’s grabbed by two of his guards.
“Don’t, please,” Lula chokes out as she reaches out for Fi.
Ryker holds her face roughly. “Come on, sweet thing,” he says with a feral grin. “It’s time to sacrifice yourself to me.”
61
CALEB
