Chapter 107
Cupid
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“Name?” The car halted at the security post as I entered the prison grounds. I sat there, ignoring the flickering torchlight approaching my window.
I only stared ahead, at the fortress–like building before me. Reinforced barriers, thick walls higher and stronger than anything I’d seen. Even I doubted I could ever slip into this place
unseen.
This was a jail for the notorious, a graveyard for living souls. The stench in the air was choking, thick with despair, pain, and something far darker.
I could not feel the Moon Goddess here. I felt her everywhere else, even in my loft. But not here. Not a shred of divinity touched this place. Which meant this was not where Marlik belonged. This was a place no one should be, except those who truly deserved it.
Those who deserved it? Criminals like… me?
“Hello!” A sharp voice snapped from the window and I shifted my gaze to the stern guard. But before I could answer, another voice cut sharply from ahead.
“You must have lost your mind! Move away and let him through p>
The guard bowed instantly. I eased the car forward, passing the man who had barked the order. I parked where I should, stepped out, and faced the warden, the Chief himself. He was tidy, smiling too pleasantly.
“Sir Jack, my name,” he introduced, extending a hand. I took it, and our eyes met before his smile widened. “Your generosity reached me. I apologize for the guard’s stupidity. He’s drunk, doesn’t know what he’s doing p>
I nodded and turned.
“Let me see him p>
“Oh yes. Please, follow me.” Sir Jack led the way. We walked past iron fencing and barbed wire until we reached a dimly lit room. A window cracked open. A single bulb hanging from the center. Two chairs facing each other with a table between them.
I stepped inside the waiting room and Sir Jack’s voice came from behind me.
“I’ll bring him. Please wait p>
I didn’t answer. I only walked slowly toward the window, staring outside. No moon. No stars.
く
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16:35 Tue, Jan 20 DGD.
Chapter 107
Just blackness. Lonely. Empty.
<.48%
+10 Free Coins
I’ve never been jailed, not truly. I had been detained plenty, but my father always bribed the system, twisted the narrative, wiped my record clean. But Marlik’s? Even if I twisted every file, it would never erase what had been stamped over him. He had been here, sentenced for years. And I wondered what he’d look like now.
Too many thoughts raced through my head when I heard heavy chains dragging down the hall. A cold shiver traced my spine. Slowly I turned. The door opened.
Normally, murderers wouldn’t be permitted to face visitors directly. We would speak through glass and phones. But money opened the way, granting me the luxury of meeting Marlik face–to–face. And I let my eyes devour him as he took his first step inside.
He was five years older than me, but hardship had stacked extra decades onto him. Overgrown beard, unwashed hair, sweat and alcohol stench clinging to him. Chains bound his wrists and ankles. A black prison jumper draped his thin body, though tattoos crawled from his cheek down beneath the fabric.
Sir Jack looked at me, nodded, and closed the door. I stood there, several steps away, watching Marlik try to orient his mind, collect his awareness.
He didn’t look at me. He walked to the chair, sniffing.
“What did you bring today? You owe me one stash from last time p>
He sniffed again, and my heart threatened to burst. If discipline hadn’t sealed away the path to tears, I would have broken entirely.
“Marlik?” I finally spoke his name, and he froze.
Shock rippled through the air. Something shifte, like the room itself changed temperature. Marlik slowly, painfully slowly, lifted his gaze toward my voice, and our eyes met for the first time in eighteen brutal years.
“Ghost,” he breathed. “Ghost p>
Yes. I expected that. They had declared me dead eighteen years ago. I let him wrestle with his mind. I watched him rise shakily to his feet. I watched him approach me.
He reached out, poking a finger against my ches. His eyes, bloodshot, sleepless, searched me
with disbelief.
“Jahan p>
“It’s me p>
Chapter 107
“Jahan Rogue? You p>
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He didn’t finish before I crushed him into a hug. He didn’t hold on at first, until he was the one clinging. Holding on tight just like Mother had while I held him, not caring about anything else.
Because the man in my arms was Marlik, my brother and we had grown up together, had each other’s backs… until fate tore us apart.
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Lucia Morh
Lucia Morh is a passionate storyteller who brings emotions to life through her words. When she’s not writing, she finds peace nurturing her garden.