“A group of brothers from different mothers who have been here longer than anyone else I know. I don’t know what they did, but they serve part of their punishment by working for the warden as trackers. They might have even helped bring you in. They go by Hawk, Gunner, Ace, and Yeti.”
A laugh escaped, but I couldn’t help it. Those were the most ridiculous names I’d ever heard.
Anthony glanced around as if he was worried someone might be listening in on us. “Don’t ever laugh in front of them. Seriously. You need to stay far away from those guys. You missed dinner tonight, but I’ll help you out as best I can in the morning for breakfast.”
He glanced longingly back at his magazine and I realized I was interrupting his quiet time, so I said my thanks and stepped back down to the floor. Then, for the first time, I really took in the cell. There was the urinal I’d already made friends with when I’d been tossed into the room. Next to that was a single shelf with soap and one small hand towel sitting on it.
On the next wall were a few drawings made from some sort of coal or pencil. I wanted to ask Anthony if he had drawn them, but by the time I turned back around he was hiding beneath his blanket, and I took that as a sign to leave him the hell alone.
He had already been nicer than I could have dreamed of, so I decided not to push my luck and moved toward the cell bars before quickly realizing my mistake.
Men from the cells across from us stared at me—half with lust in their dark eyes and the others with sneers. My hands instinctively went to my hips. I was no stranger to the street and had a few tactics up my sleeve that kept most people away. While I’d never been involved in anything that broke the law, I’d held my own against the local bullies when living in the group homes.
Their gawking didn’t stop until one of the guards slammed a metal rod against a pole and demanded everyone to their bunks as the lights started to go out. When the men across from me didn’t budge, I decided I needed to be at my best tomorrow more than I needed to compete in a staring contest, so I turned back for my bed.
Anthony was out from under the blanket and watching me, though he didn’t say anything as I crawled onto the lumpy mattress. The blanket was wool, thin, and likely wouldn’t keep me warm, but it would have to be good enough. Forcing my eyes closed, I did my best to shut my mind down and thought of nothing other than how many days I might need to survive in order to get the hell out of Mandora.
Waking up to metal banging against our cell bars wasn’t the most fun way I’d welcomed a new day. Though, I tried to make the best of it, because apparently, Anthony was a morning person. If I didn’t strive for some sort of happiness, my crankiness was going to take over and I’d end up stabbing my first friend in this shit hole.
Peeing was a bit of an issue for me in the cell, but when Anthony noticed me bouncing back and forth on both feet, he offered to stand with his back to me and blocked me from view on the outside while I took care of business. He was like my prison knight in shining armor, only there was no attraction there, only appreciation.
When I was done, I remembered there was no mirror in the cell, so I had no idea what my tossing and turning had done to my thick mane. I decided to try to braid it before realizing I had no hair tie. My golden locks were already braided, but they wouldn’t stay that way for long if I didn’t find a way to bind the end.
Anthony surprisingly came to my rescue. “Watch out,” he whispered before wrapping his hand around the ends of my hair. When he stepped away, I grabbed my braid to find there was now a band around it.
“Thank you, how’d you do that?” I asked, because I had no access to any of my magic just as the guards had said. If anything, I was feeling a little sick to my stomach at the change of environment. Or maybe it was nerves, but I wasn’t going to admit the possibility of the latter to anyone out loud.
“After you’ve been here a month or so, it’s easy to find the loopholes. I can’t use a ton of magic or else I’ll be busted, and the punishment usually ends with a smashed-in face, but something like this is nothing for me.”
Considering my abilities were already meager even when they weren’t bound, I wasn’t going to hold my breath that I’d be able to access my powers inside Mandora and take advantage of any loopholes, but oh well.
He tugged on my elbow. “Come on. We want to be among the first to arrive or you may not have enough time to eat. All eyes will be on you anyway, so the quicker we are, the better chance you have.”
My stomach rumbled at the mention of food, and I easily kept pace with his long strides. Anthony had legs almost as long as I was tall and considering he accessed his magic so easily, I assumed he was fae, but his hair was kept longer over his ears, meaning I had no way to verify unless I outright asked.
He was making nice with me, so I decided not to pry just yet. Plus, we were on a mission, and I'd be devastated if we failed, because I'd had no caffeine or food in over twelve hours. The longer I went without, the more I wanted to punch someone in the throat.
We continued past more than twenty cells before we arrived at a staircase that led us to the lower level where food was served. It wasn't just a cafeteria but the indoor common area for all inmates, Anthony explained while we moved through the room.
"We eat and hang out inside for an hour. Once breakfast is officially over, we're forced outside, regardless of the weather. Then, we come back in for lunch. Some of us go back outside after that and some work around the prison or for the warden. It depends on why you're locked up." He eyed me like he hadn't believed me when I'd previously said I didn't know what I'd done.
Hopefully I would find out something from the warden later that day. Preferably after I'd had my breakfast that came with caffeine. I was praying to all the gods that coffee was served in this joint. Otherwise, I was going to die for sure. I could not be held responsible for the words that left my mouth when I was denied my liquid gold.
The stairs fed right into the common area, and there were tables spread out everywhere with a counter in the far back of the room that we were supposed to get food from. Other prisoners were coming in at the same time as us from different sets of stairs, so Anthony tugged harder on my arm and was practically carrying me by the time we arrived at the food line.
"The worst inmates eat at different times, but it doesn’t mean there aren’t bullies in our assigned group. Don't take more than what you can eat in just a few minutes," he snapped. His entire demeanor had changed.
Gone was the relaxed man I'd met the night before, and in his place was a fierce-eyed and tense-jawed fae. His hair flicked back as he nodded to another inmate, and I confirmed what he was when I spotted his pointed ears.
The dude he nodded to stared at me for an extra few seconds but continued on to get his food. Surprisingly, there was very little attention spent on me as everyone grabbed sustenance, and I realized Anthony hadn't been lying about needing to rush.
I followed the line and grabbed a croissant roll, hard-boiled egg, and several slices of bacon. When I got to the end of the line, I'd already eaten all of my bacon and spotted the coffee. When I reached for it, Anthony shook his head. "Don't touch that. It's for the Fabled Four."
"You're kidding me, right?" I groaned, already feeling the caffeine withdrawals in effect.