Chapter 23 - Thalia
Blood drips steadily from my split lip, each drop marking time like a broken metronome against the concrete floor. The fluorescent lights buzz overhead—that same endless drone I remember from my younger years, the soundtrack to countless "lessons" in obedience.
My arms ache where they're chained above my head, shoulders screaming from supporting my weight. The wall behind me is slick with condensation, cold seeping through my torn clothes.
Everything hurts. But I focus on that pain, use it to stay present. To stay angry instead of afraid—to stay sharp.
Ironically, this is the environment where I’m best versed in survival.
Through the thin wall to my left, I hear Maia's ragged breathing. They’ve beaten her brutally—punishment for that stolen phone call, for daring to reach out to Rafael. For trying to save me when I didn't deserve saving.
All this time, she’s been suffering, and I didn’t come for her. Guilt festers in my gut.
"Still nothing to say?" Yannick circles me slowly, each footstep echoing in the cramped cell. His knuckles are red with my blood. "Come now, Thalia. You used to be smarter than this."
Ha. It’s rich coming from him. When we first met, Yannick wasn’t the Smoke’s leader, just a high-ranked officer in its internal structure. He killed his way to the top. I watched it happen.
Now, he reigns supreme.
I spit blood onto his expensive shoes. It earns me another backhand that makes stars explode behind my eyes, but it's worth it to see him angry.
"I've told you everything," I rasp. "The marriage was a cover. A way to get closer to their Alpha. I was gathering intelligence, just like always—"
"Lies." He grabs my chin, forcing me to meet his cold gray eyes. The same eyes that watched my father burn. The same eyes that watched my childhood ripped from me. "You've gone soft. Developed feelings ." His lip curls in disgust. "Did you really think we wouldn't notice? That we don't have eyes everywhere?"
Stay quiet, I tell myself. Give him nothing.
But then Maia screams—a sharp, cut-off sound that makes my heart stutter.
"Stop," I breathe. "Please, she has nothing to do with—"
"She has everything to do with this." Yannick's grip tightens painfully. "She's the reason you're both here, isn't she? Your weakness for each other? Just like your fathers' weakness got them killed—they just couldn’t seem to let us take you without a fight.”
The words hit like physical blows. I remember that night with perfect clarity—our fathers, best friends since childhood, trying to protect us from the Smoke's recruitment. The fire. The screaming. Yannick's men held us back as we watched our homes burn.
"Now." Yannick releases my chin, stepping back to study me. "Let's try again. Tell me everything about Rosecreek's defenses. Their weak points. Their patrol schedules. Everything you've learned about their Alpha."
I force a laugh, though it makes my ribs scream. "Go to hell.”
His answering smile is terrifying in its gentleness.
"Bring her in," he calls over his shoulder.
The cell door creaks open. Two guards drag Maia between them, her feet barely touching the ground. My chest constricts at the sight of her. Her face is swollen, black hair matted with blood, one eye completely shut. My best friend is one of those people who could have made it as a celebrity, maybe an actress. She just has one of those faces. But now, bloodied and broken, her straight, dark hair sticky against her face, she’s almost unrecognizable.
But her good eye finds mine, fierce despite everything.
"Don't," she croaks. "Thalia, don't give them any—"
One guard backhands her, cutting off her words. The sound of impact echoes off the concrete walls.
"Stop!" The chains rattle as I strain against them. "I'll kill you, I swear to god, if you touch her again—"
"You're not really in a position to make threats." Yannick produces a knife—the last time I watched him kill a traitor, he used that same knife, I realize with nauseating clarity. The blade gleams under the harsh lights as he presses it to Maia's throat. "But you are in a position to make choices. Tell me everything about Rosecreek's defenses, or watch your friend bleed out right here."
Blood wells where the blade meets skin. Maia doesn't flinch, but I see the fear in her eye.
"You're bluffing," I say, but my voice shakes. "You wouldn't kill her. You know I won’t give you anything if you kill her—”
"No one is invaluable." The knife presses deeper. A thin line of red runs down Maia’s neck. "Certainly not a traitor who conspires against her family."
"We're not your family," Maia spits. "We never were—"
The knife slides sideways, opening a shallow cut. Blood trickles down her neck, staining her collar crimson.
"Choose, Thalia," Yannick says softly. "Their secrets, or her life. You have thirty seconds."
My mind races. If I talk, I betray everyone in Rosecreek. Betray Rafael. Paint targets on all their backs. They’ll almost certainly die. But if I don't...
"Twenty seconds."
Maia's good eye meets mine.
Don't , she mouths. Please .
"Ten seconds."
The knife digs deeper. Blood flows faster now. Maia's face goes paler.
"Five—"
An explosion rocks the entire compound.
The impact is so strong it rattles the chains holding me, sends dust cascading from the ceiling. Somewhere above us, an alarm begins to wail. Yannick’s knife swings away from Maia’s throat as he stands straight, staring up at the ceiling in disbelief.
Yannick's radio crackles: "Sir! We have a breach at the north entrance! Multiple casualties—"
Another explosion drowns out the rest. Gunfire echoes through the corridors, getting closer.
"What the hell is this?" Yannick demands into his radio. "Report!"
The response comes through broken, staticky: "It'—the hybrid—he's—"
My heart stops.
Rafael .
No. No, no, no. He can't be here. He'll die here. They'll—
A roar seems almost to shake the building—a shifter’s road primal and furious. More gunfire. More screaming.
Yannick's face darkens with rage. He spins toward me, knife raised. "You led him here!"
"I didn't!" But hope blooms in my chest, fierce and terrifying. "I swear, I—"
Maia’s laughing. There’s blood in her teeth, and she sounds horrible, but somehow, through all the pain and fear, it’s the best sound I’ve ever heard.
Another explosion rings out. And through the din, I swear I can hear Rafael calling out my name.