Page 184 of Caged

At least with Daxen, I know he’s hated me from the start.

There’s no room for misunderstanding with him.

I feel lost. Confused. Like I’ve been thrown into a game, and I don’t know the rules. I want to burrow under a pile of blankets and hide from everything. From them. From the world. From the crushing despondency filling up all the empty cracks in my heart.

I inhale.

Close my eyes.

Exhale.

I’ll have to submit for now. Despite my feelings, I do know how to play this game. I’ve been telling myself exactly that since waking up in a cell.

It was a foolish hope that threw a wrench into things. It was that one moment when Vaelenor steadied my drink. Told me to sip slowly so I didn’t throw up. A split-second of kindness in a world that’s been nothing but cruel to me.

My father was never kind. He never pretended. There were no moments of outright hope—only a thin, fraying wish that he loved me.

Vae fooled me, and I forgot the rules. Misunderstood the game. Hoped, when hope doesn’t exist.

Well. I won’t make that mistake again.

I’m violently wrenched out of my musings by the sudden movement of my chair being hauled backwards. I yelp, gripping the edges of the seat to keep from toppling off.

I look up and see Vae standing in front of me, leaning against the edge of the table with his ankles crossed and a blank look on his face.

“Here’s how it’s going to go.”

I don’t fight my body’s instincts, shrinking down and bracing for what comes next.

“You are not a guest in this house; you are a prisoner. No one trusts you. The only reason you’re not in the cells is because you’re an Omega.”

His reasoning confuses me. I chance glancing up at him questioningly.

What in the world do these males have against Omegas?

He rolls his eyes. “Don’t play stupid, girl. Our instincts won’t let us keep you down there for an extended time.”

“Speak for yourself,” Silas mutters. “I’m fine keeping her in the cells. It’s you and⁠—”

“Enough,” Vae shoots him a withering glare and turns back to me. “You will work when you’re not being questioned.”

He takes a menacing step closer, making me tilt my head back to see his face. This close, I can see the soft gold flecks in his eyes.

My nostrils flare, my Omega trying to catch his scent. It’s instinct, and I don’t even realize I’ve done it until his face twists in repulsion.

“That’s another thing. I’m sure Lenora told you last night, but you will be kept on suppressants at all times. We will also be using descenter, but this is our home, and quite frankly, we shouldn’t have to. It’s your own fault if you can’t control your designation’s instincts.”

“And it’s also my fault if you can’t control yours?”

The words spill out before I can stop them. Silence fills the room, heavy and thick, like the moment before the final swing of a headsman’s blade.

Vae’s face twists with rage. The charming mask shatters, and what’s left isn’t the handsome prince from a storybook. It’s the monster who kidnaps the princess and locks her in his dungeon to rot.

Cage’s grin spreads wide, like he can’t wait to see what Vae’s going to do to me. When Silas takes a threatening step forward, my entire body locks up.

Gods, what was I thinking?

The flame feeding my anger must have a Fates-damned death wish. That little act of defiance wasn’t brave. It was suicide.