Page 1 of Rebel Fae
Chapter One
This place had honedme like a knife.
I was sharp and tense as I moved down the food line, gripping my hard plastic tray in both hands, my eyes roving around, keeping track of every unsavory inmate. There were many of them, males and females with edges much sharper than mine. One look at them and you knew you’d best stay away.
Today, every type of Supernatural wore a different-colored prison jumpsuit. This was new. Just two days ago, everyone had worn the same baggy beige shirt and pants. Now, vampires wore red, shifters blue, witches and warlocks green, and fae bright orange.
I hated it. Urine color would have been better than this hideous shade. Besides, they were hard for me to put on. Wings! Did no one think of that?
The dining hall was an expansive area with a host of tables, accompanying benches, a low ceiling, and walls painted a drab gray. The food line was in the rear of the room and moved at a steady pace. This was the only place where males and females could mingle, though we still had to eat at separate tables. Guards stood around the periphery, glaring with ill-intent, to make sure everyone stayed in line.
I took another step forward. Arryn was in front of me, standing on her tiptoes, trying to see what was for lunch. Every day, she still hoped there might be something different to eat, but it was always the same: runny mashed potatoes, mystery meat in brown gravy, mushy peas from a can, a square of red gelatin, and a buttered bread roll—the only halfway decent item.
When we got there, Arryn—an orphan, ten-year-old fae girl who I loved like a sister and got stuck here with me when our attempt to flee went horribly wrong a few weeks ago—handed her compartmentalized tray to the server.
The little fae sighed in disappointment. “It’s the same again.”
I nodded, without looking in her direction. My gaze still scanned for potential threats. “Yes,melthelel.”
When I glanced left, I noticed my cousin, Sinasre, entering the dining hall. He took stock of the room the same as me. His orange jumpsuit nearly matched his hair color. It wasn’t a flattering look. As soon as he spotted me, his expression grew tight and full of meaning, which made me realize he’d been looking for me. It appeared he had something to tell me.
My heart sped up? Did he have news? An escape plan? It was all I thought about, a way to get out of here. I tried to figure out how I could approach him since I couldn’t mix with the males. The guards at the edges of the room were always watching.
“Ow!” Arryn exclaimed.
My head whipped around to see what was wrong. A young man dressed in blue, one of the shifters, was standing next to her, a hand gripping her skinny arm. He leaned forward and hissed something in her ear, then snatched the bread roll from her tray.
“Hey!” I snapped. “Give it back.”
“Give what back?” He pulled a face and looked me up and down as if I’d gone crazy. He began walking away.
“I said give it back, youasshole.” I had learned to curse in English since it was much more effective here.
“Keep the line moving,” the server called from behind the heated food pans.
I ignored him, even if he was an inmate the guards trusted and would sound the alarm. They might put me in solitary for this, but the thing was… I couldn’t allow the inmates to bully Arryn. They had to understand that if they messed with her, they had to contend with me. A furious and determinedfae bitch.
“I won’t repeat myself,” I snarled, gripping my tray in one hand and giving myself enough room to swing. “You give her food back or I’ll split your head open.”
The shifter snarled in turn, crouching slightly. He showed no intention of doing what I’d asked and looked ridiculous in his ready stance with a tray of food in front of him. He couldn’t shift since the prison blocked that power, but he could still fight me, tall and broad as he was.
“It’s fine, Tally,” Arryn said in her small voice. “I don’t even like the rolls.”
It was a lie. I always gave her my roll because she loved them so much. She needed all the calories she could get. She was waif-thin, never fully recovered from The Bane’s toxic attack on our land. No one would steal her food if I could help it.
The shifter huffed and gave us a look that seemed to sayyou two are pathetic. Well, he had another thing coming. This fae kept her word.
“Dammit, no fighting,” the server called as he set down his ladle and began removing the apron he wore over his front. He gestured toward the guards that stood in the periphery of the dining hall.
Acting before they reached us, I swung my tray upward and hit the bottom of the shifter’s plate. His food jumped up, gravy and mashed potatoes flying into the air and landing on his face. He cursed, hands wiping at his eyes as he tried to clean the sloppy mess.
Taking advantage of his disorientation, I grabbed my tray with both hands and slammed its edge against his head. He stumbled sideways, slipped in a puddle of gravy, and fell face first.
A group of blue-clad shifters rose from a nearby table and headed menacingly in my direction. Each type of Supernatural stuck together to defend their own. Too bad there were only three of us fae, one of them a helpless child. A few of the shifters formed a line, blocking the guards that were attempting to come in and break up the fight. It seemed they wanted a piece of me before they locked down us. Well, let them come and try.
My wings whirred behind me as I crouched, tray in hand. I could fly up and stay out of their reach, but I had to teach them a lesson. No one messed with us. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Sinasre rushing toward me. In Faerie, my cousin had always had my back, and I always had his. Here, it wasn’t any different.
Another shifter with shoulders as wide as a door pushed everyone aside.
