On the third night of my stay at Malfoy Manor, something felt like it was about to change.

Bree and Ember still had not been called for, so the three of us spent more time together in the same enclosed space. Bree did not speak much, though Ember and I did try to make conversation. There were things Ember was leaving out, just by how she talked. In turn, I left some pieces out of my life. We weren't on that level, and with how things could go, we never would be.

Through the grime of the window, we could see heavy flakes fall from the dark skies. It kept Bree's attention for a while, that was where she was. I would steal glances from my corner of the room. Ember ran her fingers through her hair, which was slowly becoming more of a grease ball. My scalp began to itch, and a change of clothes sounded like a miracle.

The click of the knob caught Ember's attention and mine. Bree remained fixated on the snow outside the window.

Brian was accompanied by Adam. Liam lingered in the doorway, as though he believed we would attempt anything. Three witches with no wands against three Death Eaters hardly seemed like even odds.

"It's time, ladies," said Liam from the door. Adam and Brian advanced. "Play nice, and you get to leave. Fight, and this will be the last place you ever see."

Ember rose to her feet, fists clenched at her sides. I watched Brian warily as he approached me first. Bree continued to look out at the snow.

"Where are we going?" I asked through a hoarse throat.

"Someplace that will change your life," Liam drawled. "Don't you want that?"

"What we want is out of here and out of your grubby hands," Ember snarled.

"Sorry, can't allow that. We can't have anyone trying to expose our little operation. Kind of defeats the purpose of keeping in the shadows. Now, come, it's time to go."

Ember was left alone, Adam went for Bree. When Bree finally took notice of Adam, she scurried back into her designated corner. She cowered to the floor, arms shielding her face. Before I could even think to get to her to coax her, Brian grabbed my arm.

"Don't give them a reason to kill you here," he said in my ear. "Do as you're told."

"Like you did for them?" I retorted back lowly.

"Don't make this about the past, Jenelle."

As I was halfway towards the door, Bree started screaming as Adam tried to pull her to her feet. Ember started for the two, but Adam held his wand out in her direction. In the same instant, Brian stopped, putting his wand to my throat.

"If you want them to stay alive, stop screaming and cooperate," Adam said loudly, impatiently, to Bree. The girl sniffled, a trembling mess.

It took a few minutes, but Bree complied with Adam. He hoisted her to her feet. He gestured his wand in Ember's direction. Reluctantly, without anyone's assistance, she went towards the open way. Brian lowered his wand from my throat but still led me by my arm out of the room. Bree continued her quiet sniffling.

"Next destination?" Ember asked Liam. She stood before him. What a brave soul.

"Someplace secret. Are you ladies ready?"

Bree let out a high sob. Ember remained still. I made a minute effort to move away from Brian.

"Good, no complaints. I'll need to take hold of you so we can move you." Liam grabbed Ember's arm.

In a flash, we Disapparated from Malfoy Manor.

I almost believed we hadn't left, with how dark the scenery remained. Snow continued to fall heavily in our new destination. My body shivered from the cold. I fought the instinct to huddle closer to Brian for warmth. I wasn't giving him any satisfaction.

Liam, Adam, and Brian led the three of us inside a gated building. It looked to be an old, abandoned prison. Not exactly an upgrade from the Manor.

Once inside, the three of us separated onto different paths. I heard Bree's struggle with Adam, I heard nothing from Ember. I kept in line with Brian.

There was an assembly line. The first Death Eater I encountered pointed her wand at my arm. Brian held me steady. I nearly buckled from the searing pain in my right forearm. He had to hold me upright, though I was on the verge of passing out. Nothing felt as though it was carved into my skin, but the burning...

Once the pain stopped, I looked down at my arm. No Dark Mark, thank Merlin, but a random assortment of numbers was in its stead in black ink. Not quite a brand, but it might as well have been.

"What is this?" I gasped as Brian moved me along to the next station. The Death Eater here asked me for my clothes size. They handed me a dark green jumpsuit.

"Get changed, then you've got one more stop," Brian ordered me.

He shoved me towards the women's bathroom. There were other terrified witches switching out clothes. Some looked as dirty, with matted hair. Bodies trembled in fear. I squeezed through to find my own little slice of space to get dressed. I was amazed that the Death Eaters allowed us the time to use the bathroom, since all the stalls and loos worked just fine. There were no showers in here, but I would take being able to relieve myself in something that wasn't a bucket.

When some witches took a little too long, Death Eaters stormed in, plucking them out. Some were half-dressed, others had to be removed from the stalls. There was nowhere to hide in this bathroom. And judging by the fact that no one seemed to Disapparate, there was no way to escape.

Once I was changed into the dark green jumpsuit, I walked out of the chaos of the women's bathroom. Brian did not grab my arm this time, he knew I would follow.

We went through a few more halls, just the two of us. Ahead, I could hear chaotic noises. We had to be getting close to the cell blocks.

I couldn't believe this. The Death Eaters had inherited—or claimed, rather—an entire prison to hold their captives. There was always the off-chance that they built this from magic, but it seemed unlikely.

"You don't have to do this," I whispered to Brian. The noise grew louder.

"You don't have to fight this," he retorted back calmly. "If you had listened to me...You could be on the other side of this, Jenelle. You could be as free as me."

"So, is this it? I spend the rest of my days caged, starving?"

"Not necessarily, but you'll get to understand that later."

The unknown frightened me.

Two Death Eaters stood guard as Brian and I emerged. There were levels upon levels of prison cells. Some looked to be overcrowded, some completely empty.

"Good news for you, you get to share with former roommates," Brian told me cheerily. "Women and men are separated. Can't have anyone conceiving a child in these conditions."

"Nobody should be living like this, caged or not," I said.

"You know, I wondered if we would ever run into each other again one day. I wasn't expecting it to be on these terms."

"I never wondered."

We went up a few sets of steps, on one of the higher levels, before Brian introduced me to my new cell. It was one that was fairly empty, minus the two bodies inside. Ember and Bree.

With a flick of his wand, Brian opened the cell door, then thrust me inside. I stumbled, grabbing at the bars as the door was magicked shut. I put my arms through the bars, grabbing hold of his clothes.

"Ah-ah." Brian put his wand in my face. "You were on such good behavior. The fun has yet to begin for you, Jenelle. Now, be a good girl and let go."

With a shove, I released Brian's clothes. With a whistle, he strolled away. I looked around at the other cells, the cramped and the empty. Chatter flew in the huge space, conversations blended together.

"Well, at least they knew green is my color," said Ember.

I turned away from the bars. "Another waiting game?"

"So it would seem." Ember ran her hands against the cool brick walls. "I've been trying to listen to all the chit-chat, but it's hard to pick out anything that's worth listening to. We'll have to try and see if our neighbors know anything."

"This is a nightmare," Bree moaned. Like in the Manor, she cowered into a corner. "This is all wrong! I've done nothing! They just...they just took me. Just like they took my brother."

I shared Bree's loneliness. For a time, I had someone at my side. Now, his fate was unknown. "I'm sure he's fighting for you, Bree."

Bree shook her mangy head. "He should be, but he's not. They're too strong for him."

"What do you mean?" asked Ember.

"They Imperiused my brother. He would never join them willingly, even if they threatened my life."

"W-who's your brother, Bree?"

"Adam."

Ember and I exchanged looks. No wonder Bree was so terrified when we left the Manor. Seeing her brother but knowing it wasn't him, I couldn't even begin to imagine how that traumatized her. I couldn't begin to think of what to say to her. I couldn't say "we'll get him back", because I didn't know if we could. We were in no position to give her false hope.

"Why couldn't they all go away?" Bree groaned. "We did nothing to them! They had no reason to go after us!"

"If you're anything but pureblood, they believe that's enough reason," said Ember quietly.

"I'm M-Muggleborn, so is Adam. If they're so anti-Muggleborn and anti-half-blood, then why would they Imperius Adam?"

"I don't know."

It was a baffling question, to say the least.

"Well, you may not have Adam right now, but, you've got us," I said to Bree.

Ember shot me a look, as though she thought I was spewing lies. Within our power, we would try to keep Bree safe. There were only so many things that we could control. Hopefully Bree's safety could be one of them.