“You should leave,” He stated softly his eyes tracking Vaughn’s frustrated expression. There was an air to Dimitri that was completely lethal and insane. I mean he was fucking dangerous as hell and I found it attractive. Really attractive. I knew he couldn’t be that much older than myself but he seemed like it. There was an age to his soul that I didn’t think anyone would ever understand. I wanted to though. I wanted to understand him.
“I don’t want you alone with my fucking mate,” He snarled as Dimitri’s lip twitched in amusement.
“Trust me, kid. I’ve been alone with your ‘mate’ more times than I can count in the past six months, I’m telling you to get out for your own fucking good. I’m not in a very forgiving mood but because she would be pissed, I’m giving you a chance. Only one.” Dimitri spoke quietly with exhaustion evident on his face.
Vaughn looked over my expression but I moved my gaze away as he muttered under his breath and straightened himself. “Valentina, remember what I said.” He was gone then, I wouldn’t lie, I totally checked out his cute ass as he walked out. Dimitri tilted my chin up and smoothed his rough hand down my neck.
“What did he say?” He asked his tone soft and completely undemanding. The man made my head spin and I tried to not look too deep into Dimitri’s mental health and his habits because I had a feeling what I found there would change things.
“He said that Drake apparently is on the board of directors for the prison,” I growled as my skin heated again, “and that he’s been trying to get my case looked at without being suspicious.”
Dimitri searched my expression and he nodded turning to go sit on my bed, kicking off his large shoes. This wasn’t unusual for the two of us. Every night we fell asleep together because he worried someone would break in and every morning he met me at breakfast with blood staining his clothes and hands. I didn’t question what he did because I knew that the man was loyal to a fault and that was really what mattered to me. Loyalty. I had thought Drake was trustworthy once… and that was why my trust would never be given easily again. I went purely on my instinct now, none of this bullshit where someone ‘convinced you’ to trust them. No. If I trusted you it was because I felt like I could. End of fucking story.
I washed my face and pulled back my hair into a loose bun, tendrils falling down. My hair was really long when straightened but now it was currently it hit my shoulder blades. I looked over my angled face, full lips, dark brows, and tired blue eyes. Tomorrow would be the same fucking shit again, a slow cycle that was eating away at my soul.
“You look stressed,” Dimitri commented his unlit cigarette hanging from his lips. I scowled at it because he was a human so he shouldn’t smoke. It could kill him.
“Just tired of this bullshit,” I muttered before tumbling into the bed and curling up with my head on his arm smelling the rich scent of leather on his skin. His eyes were a pair of deep soulless orbs that I had grown to love, his lashes thicker and longer than most girls I knew. His face wasn’t handsome in a traditional way but it was rough and masculine, his lip scared so that there was a fine white line running through the left side. Tattoos crawled across every surface of his olive skin tone and his dark onyx hair was messy and far longer than it had been six months ago, reaching past his collar. He was the exact opposite of Vaughn in every single way. How did I find both of them so attractive?
My ponytail band snapped as my hair fell around me and I scowled. He pressed his nose into my hair and inhaled as I flicked my wrist, drawing the flame from the lantern on the wall towards me as it melted into my skin. A useful trick when I didn’t want to stand up and turn the lights off, right?
“Get some sleep, Valentina,” His voice was soft and melodic in my ear. Almost like the man had magic, my body relaxed and I fell asleep against him, my form lying right against his own.
Maybe tomorrow I would find a way out of this goddamn place.
∞∞∞
“Val!” A small young voice screamed, “Run!”
“Clara?” I called out my voice echoing in the stone basement. I pushed open a wooden door and my eyes widened at the sight of the nearly lifeless body of my little sister, her screams echoing. Run. I should run. Who had done this to her? A hand came around my throat and the last thing I remembered was Drake’s cruel words.
“Too late.”
I woke up screaming my mind filled with the horror I experienced every night. My eyes stung and hot tears flew down my cheeks as I gripped the sheets underneath me, the spot next to me cool in the early morning dawn. I swallowed down the memory of Clara’s little face and her horrible pain. She’d been so young. Not even in 6th fucking grade. Fuck.
This was going to be a shit day, I could tell already. Finding out the chances of me getting out of here are slim to none last night probably didn’t help if we were being honest.
Then the room grew even cooler as a crimson shadow floated in front of my prison cell. They were sort of beautiful in an odd Harry Potter Death Eater meets Crimson Peak type way. I shivered yet no fear crossed me, oddly enough, as my eyes focused on the figure that seemed to hesitate before moving closer. I found myself standing as I moved closer, my eyes moving over the ghostlike figure and before I knew it I was standing nearly face to face with it. Maybe I was dreaming?
My breath caught and my tears turned to ice as the red smoky texture surrounded me and brushed my skin in a soft comforting way. I closed my eyes and with a startled exhale the creature was gone, my hand wrapping around the iron post in front of me, a bit sad to see it go. Was that how lonely I was? That I was taking comfort from a goddamn magic eater? Christ. I had problems.
I had no idea how long I stood there but eventually, I took a shower that was ice cold and removed any sleepiness from my body, making me feel alert, if not a bit bitchy to be honest. I towel dried my curls and pulled on a pair of black pants with black boots and a striped top. Normally I would attempt to dress a bit more badass but you can understand why I wasn’t really ‘feeling’ it today.
With an inhale I opened my cell door and let it slam shut behind me. I walked along the quiet halls and came to the door that I knew to be Milo’s room. No one was up yet and anyone who did see me avoided eye contact. The guards on either side of the hallway gave little notice to me as I opened it and found my friend leaning against his iron bars, sitting on the floor as if he knew I would arrive. I did most mornings. I let it close as my lanky insomniac friend stood and looked over me, his purple eyes always a mixture of heat and not completely there. I wasn’t positive where his mind was most of the time. His white blonde hair was messy with streaks of lavender in it, always looking like he’d run his hands through it a million times.
“You look like you had a terrible night's sleep,” He noted with speculation and concern.
“You look like you never sleep,” I teased back my lips tilting up. He wasn’t positive why he couldn’t sleep but he thought it was maybe because of the visions and dreams.
“I didn’t mean you looked bad,” He stated softly approaching, “I just mean that you… you look exhausted and I could hear you screaming.”
I scowled as he neared me but didn’t touch me, “Cupcake.”