Unknown Darkness (Dominions Book 2)

Chapter 20: Selena

Selena hadn't moved from the center of her cell since her dinner with Gedeon. The tears that once fell down her cheeks were long dried up, and her heart felt numb. She stared at the never-changing cell wall.

She didn't even have it in her to talk back to Delmar when he arrived with his daily taunting.

"As much as I enjoy absolute silence," called Ander from the cell over. "I don't. Can you please fill me in on what's happening?"

She ignored him. It wasn't the first time that Ander had tried to talk to her. There had been two meal servings since she was back in her cell, so she's assuming it was the evening after she entered Gedeon's private chambers. Her muscles ached from laying on the cold hard ground, but she couldn't bring herself to move.

He was right there.

She felt him in her arms. She pressed her lips to his. Everything she wanted was so tangible at that moment. Was it even real? Was that Judah? Was that her friends sitting in Elle's living room?

Or was it a trick by Gedeon?

Selena felt a small object being thrown at her head. She didn't move. Didn't try to swat it away. She simply allowed it to hit her in the head over and over again. The clickity-clack of the rock bouncing on the cold stone floor echoed in the silent room.

Clickity-clack, clickity-clack, clickity-clack.

The sound of the rocks annoyed her more than the actual rocks hitting her. She bit her lip in frustration and shifted her position to cover her ears with her hands.

Clickity-clack, clickity-clack, clickity-clack.

"Ander, I swear if you don't stop throwing those damn pebbles you're going to regret it."

A gasp from the other side of the wall made her roll her eyes. "Oh my word, she speaks!" Ander celebrated on his side of the cell. "Goodness, it's an absolute miracle. Tell me, Selena, what in the world gave you this newfound ability?"

She sat up from her spot in the cell and her hips protested. She straightened out her back and it cracked with each stretch she did. She stood up and began to stretch her legs out. The same cracking that came from her back came from her knees, then her arms, and her neck. Then she looked at the hole in her cell.

"Can't you just let a girl wallow in self-pity?" she asked as she stomped over to their shared wall. She placed her face in the hole that served as a window between them. Ander placed his face on the other side. If she reached out she could touch him. The thickness of the wall was about three feet.

"Not when it leaves me bored," Ander responded. "All of that pity would have been delectable if I still hated you, but as much as I hate to admit it you've grown on me."

Selena resisted the urge to smirk. Looking back, she didn't know how she would have made it through her time here without Ander and his midnight conversations. If she were just alone in her thoughts the silence would have driven her mad. They were enemies outside of these walls, but here, they were prisoners to the same man. Two peas in an extremely tripped-out pod.

"I guess talking with you hasn't been horrible," she replied resting her chin on the stone. "I'm guessing you want to know what happened?"

"Duh," Ander replied. "You know I'm a nosey asshole."

Selena rolled her eyes and explained what happened. From the galaxy room to her getting sent back to her original world for a few minutes, to Deidre removing her magic-preventing bracelet. She cried through most of it and Ander just sat there and listened. When she finally finished he held his hand up.