Sitting on the cold floor of an unfamiliar grey room, I try to ignore the smug look on Verity’s face as she looks down at me. The victory in her green eyes is clear; she tricked us, betrayed us, and now we were going to pay the price for it. Great.

“You really thought you could all just walk out of here?” Alaric asks me. I look to Ryan who is lying unconscious on the floor across from me.

“I can’t believe she really believed she could just leap over the wall and into freedom,” Verity snorts, and I freeze as I stare at her. Wait, does she not know about the tunnels?

“I wasn’t going anywhere. I was trying to save you, you selfish bitch,” I growl.

“Save me? Did you really believe he was going to kill me?” she taunts, leaning down over me, a smug grin spread across her face. Her eyes suddenly widen, and she chokes. I blink in confusion, then I see the blood, and the knife in her gut. We have so many powers that could do the job, so many kinder ways to do it, but Alaric stabs her with a knife. I look over her shoulder, and he’s holding her from behind with his arm wrapped around her stomach, still holding the blade in. Verity’s head turns slightly, as if trying to look at him, and her mouth moves, but no sound comes out. He drags the knife further up her stomach, before roughly pulling the blade out. He steps back and lets her drop to the floor.

“You’re both fools,” he says quietly, as he steps over her and towards me. I scramble back, trying to get away from both him and the blood that’s seeping across the floor. He laughs.

“How could you just gut her like that?” I shout, and I flick my eyes behind him at Verity. I feel sick to my stomach when I see that she's still alive, but bleeding out fast. I doubt even a healer as gifted as Kelly could save her right now.

“Who else knew about your escape attempt?” he asks.

“Nobody,” I answer honestly.

“You're saying Daniels has no idea you were attempting to break out his sister?” he questions disbelievingly.

“Do you really think he'd let us do it? You know if he knew what I had planned, he'd have done it himself,” I reply, and he nods, seeing the logic in my words. Anyone who knows Mr Daniels would know that he wouldn't let something be so out of his control like this. I wish he had been there, had known about this. He would have had a better plan. Maybe Verity would have listened to him and we'd all be free right now.

Hearing Ryan stirring, I turn to him. “Ry?” I ask quietly, hoping he can hear me. Verity knocked him pretty damn hard.

“Why must I have not just one, but two disappointments for my children?” Alaric muses aloud to himself. I crawl closer to Ryan and rest my hand on his face as I look at him.

“Ry?” I whisper again.

“Shut up, Kennie. Why so loud?” he grumbles, batting my hand away.

“You can't be serious. Ryan, get the hell up!” I snap, smacking his shoulder lightly, but really, I'm relieved he seems to be okay.

“What are you bitching about?” he questions as he sits up slowly. His eyes blink open and as he looks between me and Alaric I see the realisation hit him as he remembers exactly what happened before. “Fuck.”

“Now you get it,” I grumble, before looking up at Alaric “What now, asshole?” I ask.

“Your mother really forgot to teach you two manners,” he chastises.

“Shut up!” Ryan snaps, as he stands up on unsteady feet. I follow his movement and we both put our backs to the wall as we face him.

“Oh, she taught us manners. But she didn't teach us to show those manners to psychopathic rebels who want to wipe out the human race,” I say. Ryan gives me a look. “What? It's not like he's not already planning to lock us up or kill us for trying to escape? What's the use of us playing nice now?” I ask him.

“That's a fair point,” Ryan says, and then he shoves a gust of air at Alaric sending him flying back into the other wall. “Quick!” he shouts, and we sprint for the door. I pull it open, relieved when it clicks and opens with ease, as I'm about to step out, we're both thrown back by a jet of water. I call on my fire mark, and burn through the water creating a wall of steam. I reach for Ry's hand and try to tug him with me back towards the door, but I slide on the wet floor, pulling him to the ground with me. At first I think I've just slipped in the excess water from the jet shot at us, but then I realise exactly what it is. Verity's blood. Shit.

“Oh my fucking god,” Ryan whispers in a mortified voice, and then I can hear him vomiting behind me. I really hope he didn't get it on my boots. The smoke screen clears, and a few of the rebels walk in and block the door.

Alaric walks over to us, pausing right in front of us, just out of the puddle of blood. “Now, not only are you both disappointments, but you're idiots too. You cannot escape, it is hopeless for you to even try. If you cooperate, we’re not intending to harm either of you.” He turns his eyes to me. “This is why we had to remove Verity, in order to keep you safe, Mackenzie.”

“Safe? Keeping me locked in a compound filled with blood-purity psychos isn't safe!” I growl, feeling a hand rest on my arm.

“Now isn't the right time, Kennie,” Ryan warns quietly.

“Perhaps one of you retains some sense at least,” Alaric drawls. “Put your hands out,” he says. Neither of us move. “Put your fucking hands out now, or I will knock you both out and drag you to your cells by your feet,” he says. Begrudgingly we hold our hands out. Iron cuffs are shackled onto our wrists, each with the protection mark engraved into them, as well as the magic itself used to protect others from our marks. Magic-muting cuffs. Great.

We're pulled to our feet by a couple of unfamiliar men. Well, they're unfamiliar to me. Ryan is glaring at them in a way that screams he knows them all too well.

“Throw them in separate cells, hell, separate cell blocks for that matter. I don't want any chance of them being able to coordinate another escape attempt. Are we clear?” Alaric demands, and they swiftly nod, tugging us along.

Great, how are we getting out of here now? And will Enzo and the twins be able to find me in whatever hole he has me thrown into?