Digger laughed in my ear. “Settle down, Bandit. We want to watch the show!”
It wasn’t guards that had dragged me away; it was inmates.
“Struggle all you want, pretty lady,” the vamp sang. “We’re finally going to see what’s under that jumpsuit.”
Blind rage overcame Chancey. He roared beside me and started beating the shit out of whoever was within reach, and you know what? I was with him.
I gritted my teeth. Forget my broken ribs and lack of magic. These motherfuckers weren’t getting anywhere near Ivy.
Ivy let out a primal scream of rage. At the same time, I yanked my arms free and grabbed Digger. My hands tangled in the collar of his jumpsuit, and I slammed my fist into his face.
Blood spurted across my front, and he went completely limp in my hands. He was so heavy that I dropped him. I didn’t know what had happened. I wasn’tthatstrong.
All around me, bodies began to drop. People screamed and scattered, but they didn’t make it far before they too fell to the ground.
Wind whipped through my hair, and I realized Ivy was dashing around the room at lightning speed. I knelt beside Digger and felt around, only to find that his throat had been slashed open and torn to bits. Blood spilled out of his lifeless form. Blood began to creep toward me from all angles, the warm liquid soaking into my jumpsuit.
Ivy had killed Digger, killed others…dozens of them.
Guards barked orders at one another, and noxite guns clicked. Ivy was moving so fast that they missed.
Until suddenly, everything stopped. Ivy came to a halt in the center of the room, giving gasping breaths.
“None of you bastards are ever going totouchme again,” Ivy breathed. Their voice was thick, as if blood was pouring from their mouth, tone completely manic. “I’ll die first.”
A noxite gun clicked again. Ivy gasped once before slumping to the ground with a hardthud.
“Take him to solitary!” a guard commanded. “Along with his little boyfriend over there.”
“Fuck you!Fuck all of you!” Chancey screamed. His voice got farther away, and I knew he and Ivy were being dragged off to solitary confinement.
“Andyou,” the guard sneered as he grabbed me and yanked me upright. “We’ve got a better idea for you,boy.”
Panic swelled within me. A guard slapped cuffs on my hands, binding my wrists together. They yanked on my arms, but I slipped in a puddle of blood, and my legs fell out from under me. The guards dragged me away so fast I couldn’t find my footing.
“Dead man walking!” the inmates called out, but my pulse pounded in my ears so loud I could barely make it out. Their chants echoed in my mind, even long after their voices faded down the hall. It all happened so quickly that it didn’t feel real.
Then I finally processed what they’d been saying.Dead man walking…
I was headed to Cellblock 9’s death row.
“No!” I panicked. I tried to break free, but this was it. I was bound by inferichite cuffs and beaten to my utter limit. Right now, lying down in my grave felt like a pretty damn appealing option. I could go numb… dissociate, not feel a thing when they killed me.
Because they would. I was certain of it.
The guards dragged me into a room and hauled me onto a cold metal table. This was my last chance to make a run for it. I tried to struggle free, but it did no good. I searched for my magic deep inside of me. If I could break these cuffs, I could siphon these motherfuckers’ power and tear this place down.
But I couldn’t find my magic. There was nothing I could do.
The guards chained me to the table, then left the room.
My heart pounded like a heavy drum. I couldn’t make sense of my surroundings through the panic. I tried to listen, but I heard nothing. I was in a void, where nothing but this table, these chains, and my frantic mind existed.
Then I heard footsteps. “Have you brought him to me?”
My blood chilled at the sound of the Warden’s voice.
“Yes, sir. We have the Elf prince,” a guard said.
