Page 357 of Hunters and Prey

Dante arched a brow and released me, putting some distance between us. He tucked in his chin, eyes trained on my face. “Talk to her,” he said softly.

My insides responded to his voice with a lurch. “Okay, I’ve turned away. Can you tell us what this place is? Where are we exactly?”

The clatter of metal followed as she continued to serve. The room had fallen into utter silence as all the Skins waited for the information.

“They renamed it the arena after considerable modifications. But it used to be called the complex until a month ago,” the branded girl said. “You’re not the first batch of Skins to be brought here, just the first to be announced to the general public.”

Dante’s brow furrowed. “What happened to the others?” he asked. His voice carried easily, even though he barely raised it.

“Most of them are dead. My mother used to work here when it was called the complex. She told me about the red sector. About the Skins who went in but never came out. Skins who’d been reaped from the Outlands, and ones that had come here willingly to sign into servitude or into the army. So many were brought here.”

“And?” Dante asked. “What happens in the red sector?”

“What do they do?” Jasper asked from his position seated on a mattress.

“I don’t know,” the girl continued. “My mother wouldn’t tell me, even when I pressed her for details. Then one night, she didn’t come home.” She paused as if gathering herself, and when she continued her tone was breathless with the memory. “My mistress woke me late at night, she told me there had been an accident and that Mother was dead. That was almost a year ago. Since then, they’ve made modifications to the complex and recruited new staff. I implored my mistress to allow me to work here.”

She was looking for answers. “You don’t believe what happened to your mother was an accident, do you?”

“No.” Her voice wobbled. “In those last days before her death, she changed. She was frightened all the time. I believe she saw something she shouldn’t have.”

“You think they killed her because of it?” Jasper asked.

“I don’t know. My mother was trying to protect me just as my mistress is now. But I have to know for sure. I have to find out what it is they’re doing in the red sector.”

“And then what?” Dante asked. His tone was demanding but not unkind. “What will you do with this information if you find it?”

A tray clattered sharply against the ground.

“She’s flustered,” Helgi muttered. “She hasn’t really thought that far ahead.”

“I ... I just have to know.”

“They’ll kill you too,” Dante said candidly. “Just like they killed your mother.”

There was no malice in his amber eyes, only empathy. He was right. She was playing with fire, but if we worked together, maybe she could get the information she needed, and we could all get out of here.

The hatch scraped open behind me, and I turned and crouched by the bars as she slid a tray through the hatch into our cell. She kept her lids lowered.

“What’s your name?” I barely moved my lips.

She slowly raised her gaze to meet mine. “Sophia. My name is Sophia.”

“Listen.” I took the first tray. “Help us get out of here, and we can help you get the information you need and get you out of Draco City. We can take you with us.”

Eyes widened in horror, she dropped the second tray as if it were scalding hot. “Leave the city? Why would I want to do that? My mistress is kind. I’m content here. I just wanted to know what happened to Mama.” She shoved the tray through the hatch and pulled away from the cell. “I can’t help you. This was a bad idea. Talking to you was a bad idea.”

“Then why the fuck did you?” Helgi snapped.

Sophia blinked at her in disconcertion. “I don’t know. I guess ... for a moment, I thought we were the same.”

I reached for her, not caring about the cameras, because we were losing her, a potential ally. “We are the same.”

Her expression hardened. “No. We’re not. You’re prisoners in a cell, and I’m free.”

Fire lit in my chest. “Yes, we’re prisoners. But so are you. You just carry your cell as a brand on your forehead.”

She flinched as if I’d slapped her, and then turned on her heel and began to stride toward the exit.

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