The cells reeked of piss and vomit, more so today than any day this week. It was to be expected, after the group of rebels were captured by the Kingsman but still, my stomach churns as I clutch the tray of bread. Aware of the guards' watchful eyes, I try not to scan the faces of the prisoners too closely, though as I push the loaf of bread to their hands, some not bothering to grab it and letting it fall to the dirty floor, I feel the knots in my stomach undo themselves when I realize I know none of them. When the tray is empty, I quickly leave, ignoring the way every instinct in mine screams for me to turn around and free them.
I return to the kitchens, finishing the last of the dishes with Rufus, a small kitchen boy who had just started last week, before I check out with my supervisor, Gladius. She hardly glances my way, shooing me off as she reads over a checklist and begins scolding Rufus for something he didn't do. I don't stick around; I've been working since just before the sun came up and my body ached in exhaustion. It was all I could do to push the wall for the servants' passage and take the stairs down to our quarters.
I shared the room with a maid, Lonna, and thankfully she wasn't in our room yet. It isn't that I didn't like her, but I didn't trust her in the slightest. Maids were a great source of information, but Lonna in particular has always thought herself too good to be cleaning the floors and she gives me the impression of someone who would do anything to raise her status. I try and keep our conversations to a minimum but the way sometimes she stares at me unnerves me.
The communal showers are nearly full, and I make use of the empty spicket quickly, washing the day away from my skin before slipping into a long nightgown, returning to my room and falling into my cot. One day, I'll make enough money to pay off the guild and leave this place, have a room to my own.
One day…though I don't know if I really believe that.
Absentmindedly, I rub at the two twin swirl scars on my wrist, faded from the years, my mind drifting to all that awaits me tomorrow. I need to deliver the information I heard to the guild and bring flowers to my mother's grave. I'm thankful I was able to get tomorrow free from work, but still, it feels just as busy as today was. I hear footsteps down the hall, and I blow out my lantern. I don't feel like talking to Lonna tonight, so before she can open our door, I yank the covers over my head and pretend to be asleep.
***
Atreus couldn't stop staring at Briar. He had never gotten this close to her before, but with her mind so relaxed in sleep, he was able to enter her dreams with ease. It wasn't the first time he had entered her dreams, but it was the first time he had actually seen her. Usually he was surrounded by images, fragments of her day, or memories of the past, but tonight, she stood on a stone bridge, waves lapping at her feet, and he began walking towards her.
She turned quickly and the movement froze him in place. Gone was the gauntness of years prior, but now stood a woman who didn't look so frail anymore. Her dark hair flowed down her back, round, grey eyes framed by arched brows and as Atreus stepped closer, he could see freckles dotting her face.
She only looked at him a moment longer before she turned, uninterested in what she saw. Atreus bristled, but when he followed her gaze, he understood why. The water that lapped at her feet, wasn't truly water but images, people's faces twisted in agony and despair, rotting in cells and chained to walls. It was harder to walk the closer Atreus approached her, as if the air resisted him. She turned back to look at him, her eyes shining with tears.
"Is this Hell?" She asks. Her voice sounded hollow, empty and shattered the way he remembered her body looking years ago.
"No," Atreus finally answers her. The closer he got to her, the more his palm began to burn, as if it were trying to warn him. "You wouldn't belong there."
She turns away again, looking down at the water.
"Come to the lake." Atreus tells her. He doesn't know what came over him, why he would ask her to do such a thing when all of those years ago he wanted to scare her away.
She opens her mouth to respond but something yanks Atreus back. He yells, bucking and kicking but he is yanked from her mind and thrown on the stone floor of his bedroom.
Callias stares down at him, his red eyes narrowed in fury.
"You found her, didn't you?" His brother whispered, the crown of thorns and smoke thicken around his forehead, as if responding to his anger. "You were to report to me, Atreus!" His brother's eyes flicker down to the crescent moon on his palm and instinctively, Atreus closed his fingers around it, trying to conceal it. "You are a disgrace." Callias tells him. Atreus pushes the fury down, the slight fear of what will happen if Callias enters his mind and sees how many times he has entered Briar's head, how he has known for years just how close to the lake she is. How, for some reason, he told her to go to the lake, despite never—
"You entered my head." Atreus stands, rage coating his words. "You entered my head and had me tell her to go—"
"You are lucky I only entered your head and didn't take it." Callias cuts him off, moving to leave the bedchamber. "Remember, brother, you are the only one imprisoning yourself. All you must do is give me the Mark."
"Eat shit."
Callias laughs, but its dark and full of warning. "I look forward to seeing my Bride."
The door slams shut behind him, and though he knows its futile, Atreus tries to open the door after him.
But the barrier stays in place.