An eerie quiet rests over the room, the only movement the shifting sunlight across the dark slate floor and sandstone walls. My eyesight seems so much sharper than it was before. Before I met Alexei. I always had excellent eyesight, but now it’s as though a high-definition switch was flipped while I slept. Everything appears crisp and clear. I hope to God it’s not because I’m turning into a blood-sucking monster. Surely one drop of the prince’s blood wouldn’t do that. Would it?

My sense of smell is off the charts. The scents of sweet wood polish, coal soot, and tangy metal keep drawing my attention. I can even smell the stone that surrounds me—a bitter scent. I didn’t know stone had a smell. Also, chlorine, lemon, and timber, and all the meaty body scents left by people who’ve been inside this cage.

My ears pick up every nuance of sound. The shifting of feet on stone. Breaths echoing in a hallway. Whispering. There are two guards on the other side of those oak doors, and I can hear their nervousness. Feel it. Are they anxious about guarding me or about something else?

As I listen, two more sets of boots arrive. Quiet voices. There’s a pause. Then a key rattles the lock, and the double doors open. Four men walk in, swaggering like they own the place, their expressions a mix of self-satisfied cockiness and wary amusement. They wear the hard leather vests and suede pants of the Guardian soldiers, the silver Guardian symbol glistening on their shoulders. Odors of sweat and tobacco drift into the cage, along with stale beer and vinegar. Heightened senses have their downside.

The tall one at the front—built like a heavyweight—with reddish hair and a prominent nose, claps his hands and rubs them together. “This show is now on the road, lads,” he declares in a well-spoken accent that doesn’t fit his words. “You ready for your shower, little blood whore?”

My muscles tense, the warning prickle across my back bringing me to instant alertness. Is this the man Flanagan told me he trusted?

“Are you Mackenzie?” I ask, cautious.

The man’s broad grin displays a set of wolfish teeth. “Aaah. I’m afraid Mackenzie can’t make it today. Something unavoidable came up.” He glances around at his companions. “Or did it come down?”

They all grin, pleased with themselves. And it leaves me worried for this Mackenzie bloke but a damn sight more worried for myself. I don’t know what these idiots have planned for me, but I don’t think it’s going to be fun.