Sloane had read a book once.
It was about a human who had made a deal with a vampire and wound up falling into a doomed love with him.
She had never known the title.
It was old and tattered, and some she-wolf in the pack had probably thrown it out when she tired of it, but it'd gotten Sloane through many difficult days.
As Isla rubbed her wrists where the chains had once been and rose to her feet,
Her luscious hair fell over her shoulders, cascading down her back like waves of black silk.
She twirled in delight, her eyes shining with childlike excitement,
Yet a quite contrary, sinister grin stretched her rosy red lips,
Sloane watched in awe,
At this moment, though she wasn't sure why, Sloane couldn't help recalling that tale.
"Picking locks, huh?" Isla commented as she finally stood still, eyeing Sloane with intrigue, "Who knew humans could possess such a useful skill?"
Sloane shrugged, eyeing the vampire warily. "It's a survival thing. Not a human thing."
She decided against adding that it was considered a crime too.
For a slave in the Glacier pack, hunger and desperation was a common reality.
One that sometimes blurred the lines between right and wrong.
Sloane wasn't proud of it.
But not everyone was fortunate enough to live doing things they were proud of.
Isla quirked a brow, "Oh?"
Sloane winced. She'd forgotten Isla could hear her thoughts.
"You don't look like much," Isla's eyes raked Sloane from head to toe, "But you're full of surprises, aren't you?"
Sloane frowned. "Can you...maybe...stay out of my head?"
Isla shrugged, her eyes were fixed on Sloane's as she slowly descended the stone platform she'd been chained to, her dress shifting around her ankles, "Maybe."
Sloane backed away, clearing her throat. "So... what now?"
Isla paused, glancing around the cave with a bored expression.
Then she kept walking.
"What... what are you up to?" Sloane stuttered, cautiously backing away.
Isla rolled her eyes. In the blink of an eye, she'd covered the distance, her hand clamping around Sloane's wrist. "Scaredy-cat"
Sloane shrieked. She could have sworn, her heart jumped out her throat.
Isla cackled, leaning forwards just slightly, "Hold tight. Unless you want to be stuck down here forever."
"Ready?" She asked, smirking.
Sloane gulped. And then she nodded once.
A sudden rush of air forced Sloane's eyes closed.
"You can look now." Isla chuckled,
When Sloane opened them, they were back on the surface, right on the edge of the cracked earth she'd fallen through.
A putrid smell clung to her, and only then did Sloane become aware she was literally covered in goo, bits of scales and something slimy.
Her stomach roiled, and this time, she didn't resist.
She hurried over to the nearest trunk, doubling over. She gasped, her stomach struggling to return the contents of a meal she hadn't even had.
Whatever Isla had just done, had shaken her up completely.
"Well, there's no neat way to kill a bloodworm." Isla offered false sympathy, "You have to gut it, or it regenerates in the blink of an eye."
Sloane gagged again.
Kill a bloodworm?
It had barely been a minute since she closed her eyes.
Could Isla have possibly...
A cold chill crawled down her spine, spurring another heaving episode.
It took a moment for Sloane's insides to settle enough for her to take note of her surroundings
It was nightfall.
Darkness blanketed the skies, and the moon was hidden away by the thick canopy of towering trees, leaving only the barest rays of light to illuminate the woods.
Sloane glanced around for a moment, still in disbelief.
Did Isla have some kind of portaling ability? Or had she simply moved so fast, they'd made it out in the blink of an eye?
It all happened so fast, she couldn't tell what exit Isla had used, or if she'd used any at all.
She wouldn't have believed Isla killed the bloodworm, if she wasn't, quite literally, covered in the evidence.
Sloane gagged at the thought.
She hadn't smelled this badly even after hours, elbow deep in laundry.
But what did it matter if she smelled a little funky? She was alive.
That had to count for something, right?
"We shouldn't get out of here." Isla's words drew Sloane out of her thoughts. "The blood worm's remains will likely attract even more terrifying predators to lay claim to this territory."
"And seeing how we smell like it," Isla lifted a hand, frowning at her stained dress, "We should find somewhere to clean up first. Or we'll be leaving a trail for anyone with a sense of smell."
Sloane quickly shook out of her daze, nodding. "I have a map..." She said, reaching into her slime covered satchel.
"A map?" Isla chuckled, striding off ahead, into the woods. "Only someone as naive as you, would rely on anything the academy provides, Slo."
"Every one of you tax brides probably has one." Isla paused in her step, throwing a cold smile over her shoulder. "Wanna guess how many will make it to the gates of Eclipsera?"
She didn't wait to hear Sloane's response, stalking off.
Sloane fretted at that thought, but quickly scurried after her.
---------
The supply cave might have taken Sloane hours to find, but Isla led them to it in just a few minutes.
Sloane understood then, why she hadn't so much as glanced at the map.
Unlike the tax brides, the predators had a good understanding of this dreadful terrain.
Isla pulled on a hidden lever, and as the vines that concealed their intended destination parted, Sloane was genuinely delighted to realise, it was not a cave at all.
It was a small, wooden cabin.
It was rundown, and had definitely seen better years. Still, it was an upgrade from the temporary shelter she'd spent the previous night in.
But supply caves weren't exactly meant to serve as shelter. The guidebook had especially warned against it.
"Well? What are you waiting for?" Isla asked, as she made her way to the entrance.
Sloane hesitated, gesturing at the flickering light coming from inside. "What if... someone is already in there?"
Isla shrugged casually. "Then their luck must be really shitty, crossing paths with me when all I want is a change of clothes, silk sheets, and a long, scented shower."
Sloane gulped.
Giving it some thought, Isla was right.
She'd killed a blood worm, and broken out of the tunnel in a blink of an eye.
Whoever was on the other end of that door probably had more to be worried about than Isla did.
But being stuck with Isla for the foreseeable...
Sloane grimly noted her luck wasn't any less shitty.
Isla threw a grin over her shoulder, "What else is new?"