Denya’s hands slipped against the rope, the burn on her palms like fire, but she kept her footing. If she slipped, she’d undoubtedly break her neck and all would have been for naught.

For six days, they’d been left at the bottom of the well. Sure, they’d been given supplies—boxed food and bottles of water, moistened cloths for bathing, and mouthwash, but she’d surely never get that piss smell out of her nose. In fact, she doubted she’d ever be able to take a piss herself, without wanting to puke.

As she climbed the rope that’d been fed down into the well, Denya thought about what she’d say to her captors. How to broach the topic of Safina was a stress that plagued the entire climb. They never bothered to investigate the missing girls, didn’t even question if any of the girls had seen anything, on the few occasions it’d happened. As if they didn’t want to talk about it, at all. And Denya hadn’t bothered to care, until the girl she’d sworn to look after had gone missing.

As she approached the mouth of the well, her arms turned to jelly for a brief second, and she slipped again, squinting at the flames that scorched her skin, before catching herself. A couple of months ago, she could’ve made the climb in record time, a true athlete, but she’d since grown weak. Softer than she cared to admit.

While the other girls stood around the open hole, with the two males keeping watch behind them, the succubus captor reached out. Clutching to Denya’s arm, she pulled her onto the grassy hill that welcomed her with the scent of fresh primulaj—a bright and cheery flower of the underworld, and a welcomed contrast to the putrid smells to which she’d begun to grow accustomed.

Once upright, Denya rubbed her hands together, as the female and two males gathered up packs scattered on the ground as if preparing to start moving.

Always moving.

“They took her,” Denya said. “I saw who took her.”

“It doesn’t matter.” The succubus’s dismissive tone grated on Denya’s nerve, as she tossed a pack filled with their supplies, which Denya swiped from the air.

“It does matter. Someone took her. I saw who did it.” Denya followed behind the female, determined to make her listen. “I can tell you where she lives.”

“That’s nice. If it mattered, I might ask.”

Perhaps it was a hint of starvation that’d already worn her patience thin, but Denya couldn’t stand it. She refused another step. The woman needed to acknowledge the gravity of her tone. The unwillingness to let it go. “What the hell is wrong with you people? Why are you acting like nothing happened?”

“Unless you want to be thrown back into that well, I suggest you shut up.”

“No! I made a promise. A promise I intend to keep. I told her I’d keep her safe. I’m going to find her.”

“You’re going to get your ass in line and walk until I say it’s time to stop walking.”

“I’m not taking another fucking step.”

“Then, you’ve made your choice.”

“You won’t throw me into that well. Because for whatever reason, I’m more valuable to you than Safina was. Or any of the girls that were taken. You made a deal, right?”

Denya didn’t even know, for sure, if they had, but she’d suspected as much. Why else would they turn their cheeks?

“You’re replaceable.”

Jaw clenched, Denya shook her head. “No, I’m not. If you lose me, you lose a lot of money.” Totally bluffing, but at least she might get some answers out of it.

Seconds passed in a quiet standoff, while Denya pondered whether the female might toss her back into that well, after all.

The succubus’s jaw ticced, eyes narrowed. “She was young. Not as pure.”

“So, that makes her worth less?”

“Did it ever occur to you that she might be better off than you?”

It hadn’t, actually. Denya had no idea what awaited them at whatever destination they’d arrive—if they’d ever arrive, at all. The female had never bothered to entertain so many questions, though. “What are you doing with us?”

Only a small fraction of a smile slid across her face before it quickly disappeared. “Get in line.”

“I want to look for her. I want to know that she’s okay.”

“The only thing that I’d be concerned with from here on out, is how many days you have left.”

“You plan to kill me, then?”

“I don’t, no. But what happens between you and your master is another matter.”

“Master?”

She smirked and shot a glance back at the males behind her. “I already told you. Focus on your own wellbeing.” The sting of metal hit Denya’s chin as the succubus propped a blade beneath it. “I’ve never so much as laid a hand on you. Don’t give me a reason to start. Safina will be fine. That’s all you need to know.”

It wasn’t, though. At her first chance, Denya would attempt what she hadn’t since the night she was captured—she’d try to escape.

Even if it killed her, she’d never break her promise, and she sure as shit wouldn’t be calling someone master.