“I’m paid to be empathetic, Emmitt. These aren’t animals. They’re people.”
“Chhhh. Too sympathetic for your own good. We saved your life by killing that demon. You should be thanking us. That’s six months of work—”
“You mean six months of torture.”
“What the fuck is wrong with you, Mercer?” Emmitt yelled. “You knew the drill coming down here. Fuck! Today we’re celebrating. Literally, we’re throwing a ding-dong-the-dragon-is-dead party, and if you shit on our parade, I’m taking it to the higher-ups. You don’t belong down here. This is where the real work happens. Shut your fuckin’ trap, bitch, and be happy there’s no need to worry about Vyr’s fire anymore. All of our lives just got a ton easier.”
“And his life?”
“Is over. He’s one person, though. One. He’s an easy sacrifice.”
Riyah swallowed bile and tried to compose her face as Emmitt pushed the intercom and said, “The lair is clear. Bring him on in.”
“Since the dragon is dead, I think he should have more privileges now.”
“Good God, woman, what are you talking about? This is prison, not the Ritz.”
“Exactly, and all the inmates upstairs are getting meals together and yard time together. They aren’t alone all the time. He can’t even shift anymore, right? Look at his face, Emmitt. Really look at it. Someone hit him, and he’s not healing.”
“What about ‘his life is over’ is confusing to you?” Emmitt was staring at her like she’d lost her mind. “There will be an accident in here. Vyr isn’t getting out. Keep pushing, and you won’t get out of here either. You’re feeling mighty risky to the New IESA program right now.”
“Don’t you threaten me. I took the same oath of silence you did. I’m allowed to ask questions, though. That’s my job to get the inmates in a safer mindset to make your job easier. That’s what I’m paid for. Vyr is helpless, like you said, yet the program still wants him eradicated.”
“Because we’re exposed the second he tells anyone what it’s like in here!” Emmitt barked. “And it’s not just my ass on the line, or Butte’s, or any of these guards, or the New IESA. It’s your ass on the line, too. You get that, right? You understand you were a part of this? Maybe the biggest part. Think about it, Mercer. You came in, settled the dragon immediately, we all saw it. You were a fucking monster-whisperer, stuck that needle in him, gave him that monster dose of dragon killer, and then the Red Dragon died. You’re just as guilty as the rest of us, if not more. His eyes being frozen like that?” Emmitt jammed his finger at the screen where Vyr was still staring directly at the camera. “Your fault. That black eye not healing? Your fault. The accident that will happen? Also your fault.” Every accusation felt like the lash of a whip against her heart. “Careful where you step around here, Princess. There’s landmines everywhere, and I’m the biggest one. No more questions. Vyr doesn’t get special privileges. He’s done. Give me two days, and we’ll be tossing the corpse. And daddy dragon can’t do shit about it because he was the one who helped put Vyr in here in the first place. We. Win.”
We win? The New IESA wins? Winning by murder. Disgusting. She dared Emmitt to try for an “accident.” She would turn him to ash in a second. Riyah smiled coolly. “Whatever you say, boss.”
“Fuckin’ attitude,” Emmitt muttered, giving his attention back to the computer. “This is why I told them not to hire girls down here. Sentimental idiots, all of you.”
She could literally pop his head like a grape right now and never lose an ounce of sleep.
“As much as I would love to see that, I don’t want you skipping over to the dark side, Badass Princess.”
Riyah let off a relieved sigh and embraced the headache. That pain meant she wasn’t alone. She would take a headache for the rest of her life if it meant Vyr was okay. Which…from the looks of him as the guards brought him in, clad in handcuffs and chains around his ankles, limping badly and sporting a completely dead look on his face, he wasn’t okay, just like he’d said.
She wanted vengeance. She wanted justice. She wanted to punish every guard who had ever laid a hand on Vyr or shot him with drugs or operated on him. Soon.
Right now, she just needed to be here for Vyr and bring him back from the brink. At some point between last night and now, he had quit fighting completely. She didn’t know what had happened, but she would find out if she had to scour every inch of video footage.
The camera streamed directly to Damon’s technical team, so she took the clipboard with her as she left the observation room. At the door, Emmitt asked, “Where are you going?”
“To welcome Vyr back to his lair.” She gave him a ghost’s smile. “I’m gonna make his last days bearable.”
“Why?” he gritted out.
“Because it’s the right thing to do.” Riyah let the door swing closed behind her and barely resisted the urge to collapse that observation room on top of Emmitt.
She made her way through the two card scanners and pulled open the door to Vyr’s lair.
The guards were just leaving. They gave each other a high five. She didn’t even what to know what that was about because she was really close to snapping already. Even she could smell the magic coming off herself right now.
Vyr’s eyes went wide as he watched her approach with her clipboard clutched to her chest. “Riyah, you look hot as fuck, but your hair is floating, and there’s no wind in here.”
She closed her eyes for a three count and focused on containing her anger. As she passed the metal chair she’d done her interview in, she dragged it with her, scraping it loudly along the floor.
“Let me see,” she murmured. She angled the clipboard on the leg of the chair and sat down, reached for Vyr.
He winced away. “I hate you seeing me like this.”
“Is there audio?” she asked.
Vyr blinked those silver dragon eyes and murmured, “Not anymore.”
“What happened?”
“Doesn’t matter.” His voice echoed with hollowness.
“Don’t push me away.”
“Riyah, it’s best this way. I know what’s coming. I can hear their thoughts so loud. And I’m tired. I’ve existed for thirty years with everyone thinking I’m evil. Doesn’t matter the effort I put into keeping good people safe. I lost the dragon. Lost the biggest part of me, and now there’s this hole. It’s growing bigger and bigger, and now all I feel is…”
“Is what?”
“Emptiness.”
Her lip quivered, so she sat back in the chair, blinking hard because it wouldn’t help Vyr if she cried right now.
“If everyone wants me gone so bad…okay. I don’t really want to live a life where I feel like this anyway.”
“What about me?” she asked. “I’ll be alone if you leave. Really alone. I want more.”