The Last Harmon [Complete]

Chapter 15

What feels like weeks later, the door opens. I have slept, woken, drank water they left me in the corner, slept again, woken again, peed in a bucket, slept again, cried again, over and over for a long time.

Isolation isn't my strong suit, and I was at the brink of hopelessness until the door opened. I must look a mess, I know that I definitely stink, and my stomach hasn't tasted a drop of food in forever.

Sam re-enters the room, this time with no blade in his hand. He shuts the door behind him as he approaches me. I squint up at him through my wet hair, he steps into the light of the candles and I swear for one moment, I see him smile. I must be hallucinating.

"How long has it been?" I ask.

"Five days. I left you enough water."

"Not enough bucket," I sneer.

"Count yourself lucky, the others wanted me to slit your throat. Demanded it, actually. Except Sophia. For some bizarre reason she defended you and fought for your life. Again."

"Remind me to thank her." I roll my eyes tiredly, glancing away.

"What you did, it was reckless and stupid," Sam hisses. "We would have found you eventually if the humans hadn't first. You can't run from this, there's no point in trying. The moment a human sees your brand then you're nothing but a talking ghost to them. I have an understanding with them, that if they see a wiccan then they deliver them to me and I take care of the rest."

"You have a blood pact with mortals?" I say. "I thought you wanted to protect them, but apparently you'd rather they face witches head on."

"Why not? This is their world too and they're just as pissed off as us. Doing their part gives them a sense of purpose."

"It was a damn witch hunt," I say angrily. "The kind that went extinct hundreds of years ago. They circled me like I was a pig in a pen. I'm not a piece of meat, Sam. I'm a human being too. You do not own me and you cannot order me around like your cluster of followers out there. I have my own mind and I will use it."

"Yes, I've noticed that," he says quietly. "I underestimated your dedication to use that mind and it won't be happening again. Let me make something clear to you, if you put any of my unit at risk again it won't be five days in here, it'll be five years. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

"Good," he mutters. "Then we're done here." He opens the door, wide open, the light dazzles me. "Sophia is waiting for you."

I push myself up from the floor, slowly walking past him as gently as I can. I don't like being near him, I don't like the thought of touching him, even by accident, everything about him puts me on edge.

"Oh, and witch."

I turn back around. "Yeah?"

"Don't count on having your own room anymore. From today, you'll be bunking with me in my chamber."

A sudden chill comes over me. "You're okay with that?"

"No, but at least I can watch your every move. It's the only way the others will allow you out of the dungeon cell."

"Okay, I can live with that," I whisper. "I guess it makes sense given that no one trusts me."

"You're a world away from trust," he says. "Now you realise there's nowhere you can go; I hope the ridiculous escape stunts stop. All you're doing is wasting our time and giving Amara more advantages."

"Spoken like a true captive," I say through my teeth. "Or asshole. Whichever suits you better."

Sam smirks. "Careful. Keep speaking like that and you might actually begin to fit in around here." His eyes move to the stairwell to my left. "She's up that way."