As evening approached at Rose Iron Prison, Aiden stood in the corridor, scrutinizing the row of inmates lined up before him, with a mercury automaton mimicking his every move behind him.
Wraiths, vampires, tigerfolk, witches... a total of twenty inmates, all of them red or orange-level dangerous criminals, five of whom had previous escape records. Most of them were on the list given by Ophelia, selected by Annie and the others to cause trouble after the escape.
The inmates stood together, quietly exchanging glances. They had all been suddenly taken from the workshops, cells, and yard without any prior indication. Then they were shackled with magic-suppressing manacles and gathered in the corridor under the watch of the riot squad.
After seeing each other in the corridor, they all guessed what their situation might be—their collusion with the new pirate was probably exposed.
