It had been days since then, maybe weeks. It was hard to tell within the windowless stone cells that resided beneath the city. Above them came the sound of rushing water from the Perrin River that wove its way like a ribbon of colour through the most dilapidated parts of the mechanical city.

The dungeon itself lay at the bottom of a long spiral staircase leading from the back of the Sheriff’s building, where he could easily check in when necessary. Thick green mould grew from the ceiling, cascading the walls with the only vibrant colour Alek had seen for a while amongst the greys and browns. Torches stuck out from their holders on the walls, bathing the wide corridor with a sickly yellow light that danced freely against the stone, taunting the inmates with its freedom. The cells had been built to barely have room to stretch out, to press in as many prisoners as they could. The only thing separating each of the small cubes were more bars that left no privacy. The man in the cell next to Alek was surely dead, as she hadn’t witnessed him move, and he smelt like a sewer. The cries and wails got carried on the cold draft that leaked from further down the line of decrepit beings; from whatever punishment they endured. If prison was anything like the Temple back in the heart of Syi Dorei, the crime could have been anything ranging from minor disagreements to major actions.

A deep sense of regret blanketed over her, weighing heavily on her chest. She was once on the other side of the bars, looking in on some poor miscreant that she had jailed. It was what was expected of her. her duty as a Templar. She wasn’t allowed to feel remorse, she was doing good for the Temple, spreading their word, and fighting against those who opposed it. She went through the motions, said the right words, patrolled the streets, jailed aggressors. It wasn’t until now until she had time to truly think, that she realized that the Temple might not be as good as she was raised to believe. Yet, they had still clothed her, fed her when they hadn’t needed to. They had been good to her, good as any family she had seen in her twenty years of life.

“Sacred Mother, eternal light in Darkness, hear my voice -” she repeated yet again, for the Goddess she was raised to follow. Her voice was like smoke, thin and wispy, and completely overpowered by Finn’s gravelly tone.

“Fuck off Cooper, your parasites can’t hear you,” he whined, the sound drier than it used to be.

Alek swallowed. “Yeah, I know.”

Finn huffed and slunk back against the wall in the cell opposite her. His eyes sunken deep into his skull from the lack of sleep and proper food, his hair unkempt and face gaunt. Alek didn’t look any better herself, what with her matted hair that clung to her forehead and hung in her eyes almost concealing the heavy bags that lay beneath.

“What happened?” he asked, softer. Seeing the look of confusion that Alek must have worn, he continued. “They charged you for murder, you must have had a good reason”

“I thought you hated me”

Finn laughed, “I’m indifferent about you, there’s a difference. I’ve seen you and Raelyn interact, you seem like a decent person”

“Well, evidently not” whispered Alek, just loud enough for him to hear. Alek couldn’t face him. Not now.

Some warrior she was. The Academy would never welcome her back now, not after this mistake that had ruined her flawless record. Neither of the two young adults even knew what had happened to their employer. Barnaby hadn’t been arrested alongside them, and neither had Raelyn. Barnaby could have been left blissfully or killed, and neither would be any the wiser, while they couldn’t keep Raelyn in if they tried. Her family and connections would never allow it. The two remaining members of the group were stranded without Sir Barnaby’s help, with no connections, no money, and no transport. Alek doubted that her letter had reached anyone back in Mabristan yet, leaving her friends without the knowledge of her whereabouts.

“Val kissed me,” said Alek, defeated. Finn choked out a laugh, the sound wet and catching in the back of his throat.

“She what? Was it any good?”

“I think traumatising, is the word.”

He clicked his tongue, amused. “She’s kind of hot, though. In a dusty, chalk kind of way.”

“And you find chalk attractive?”

“I do if it’s Val.”

“You’re awful.”

He laughed again, the sound petering off into a hacking cough. The sound rumbled, echoing. Alek decided to leave him be, for a while.

Hours later, maybe days, a chasm of hunger opened in her stomach, growling for a feast she could not satisfy. The want pricked its way under her skin like worms burrowing through the soil, her throat dry as sand. Her mind fluttered back to her last fix, the start of her dependence. Her lips stuck tight to a young woman’s throat, precious ruby liquid flowing freely down her lips from what she could not swallow. A forbidden craving, especially by Temple standards - how could she go home like this?

A brief pang of shame and guilt passed over her, though it was quickly overpowered by the need to feed, to fill, to consume. The need battled with her common sense, her nerves. The same need that had emerged during her fight with Raelyn, but now so strong she could recognise it far easier. She paced her cell like a caged animal with gritted teeth and curled hands. Her cheek must have caught between her teeth, as the taste of old iron flooded her mouth, thick and hot. Stale. The flavour would have made her wince if it hadn’t also stoked her need like a raging fire. The same flames that ordered her to consume.

The feeling had crept in slowly, an unrecognizable shift in the constant hunger pangs that came with the amount she ate. Gradually, it mutated and twisted into something much more, sapping at her senses as Alek tried to control it. Now it had become a raging, deep-seated part of her brain, clawing and digging to gain more control.

The bars were the only thing holding her back from her next meal. In her tight cell, she was safe. Safe from herself. A strange stroke of luck, being arrested. She wouldn’t recommend the stay to anyone, but for now, it was paradise. She could stay here till she inevitably died and not lose her restraint and hurt another soul.

Alek had never believed in luck.

The thick wooden door at the head of the stairs opened with a bang against the stone walls. The sound ricocheted through the halls, leaving a silence in its wake. Muffled chatter and the clattering of metal-heeled shoes filled the air of the cells. Finn stepped closer to the bars, eyes shining with a light that Alek hadn’t seen since they were locked up. Alek kept herself away from the bars, senses overflowing and muddling her thoughts. She felt the cold, damp wall moisten the clothes on her back, shocking her brain into a mild coherence.

The clacking of shoes got louder, their voices becoming clearer with each step. Alek strained to hear over the roaring blood in her veins, throbbing through her ear canal.

“And you’re certain that your missing Templar is here?” came the confused, rough voice of the Sheriff. Alek had never gotten his name, barely even saw his face. She must have been drugged or charmed when she was brought in; all her memories were hazy, even then, after however long she had been kept. “Not to mean any disrespect, but these are criminals we’re talking about, sir. Not your God-fearing soldiers.”

The other man hummed in thought, “We shall see. The blood is never wrong”.

The voice triggered some semblance of recognition in Alek, but her mind was a swirling haze and she couldn’t connect the voice to a face. The feeling nagged at her under the current of want and hunger that drowned her.

The world blurred around her in splashes of desaturated colour. She rubbed at her raw, dry eyes and groaned as they stung. Her body felt heavy, pins and needles ran up her legs - leg she had to remind herself, but the phantom pain remained regardless. Her fingers felt cold, numb. The footsteps were closer now - the sound thudding along with the pulse in her skull. She was ready to throw up the little contents of her stomach, acidic bile burning her throat. Keys jangled and screeched as they fumbled to open the walls of her safe haven. Alek kept her eyes shut in an effort to control and round herself. She didn’t want to be a monster. She didn’t want to be free.

A smooth, accentless voice cut through her as she shivered with exertion.

“Ah, Cooper. Time to go home.”