Chapter 4

Savannah gave a twisted smile and turned to her men. "Lock him in the mirror room. Feed him nothing but rotting garbage. Let him take a good look at that pitiful face he loves to put on!"

Soon, I was dragged roughly into a room lined wall-to-wall with mirrors. The harsh white lighting was blinding.

In every direction, I saw myself with disheveled hair, soaked in the stench of raw fish, a mess beyond recognition.

Not long after, someone brought in a tray of food, the stench enough to make someone faint. It was crawling with maggots.

Savannah walked in holding a leather whip, slapping it lightly against her palm with a sharp crack. "Go ahead. Aren't you hungry? Eat it. Let's see how long you can keep up the act."

I stared at the tray, eyes fixed on the rotting meat and squirming insects, and let out a sharp, piercing cry, an unmistakable sea lion's call that echoed off the small room.

Then I lunged at the food on all fours, like a starving beast that had been caged too long.

Savannah's face went ghostly white. The whip slipped from her fingers and fell to the floor with a thud. She stumbled backward, crashing into the mirror behind her.

Nicholas looked stunned. "Maxwell... have you actually lost your mind?!"

I grabbed a handful of rotting flesh, juices running down my arm, and shoved it into my mouth without hesitation. My teeth crunched through decay and maggots, the sound grotesque.

Each time I swallowed, I'd throw my head back and let out a series of excited sea lion cries, bits of meat stuck around my lips.

Savannah, trembling, picked the whip back up, her voice rising in panic. "Stop! Maxwell, what the hell are you doing?!"

But I didn't hear her. Or maybe I just didn't care. I was lost in the frenzy, answering her only with louder, sharper cries.

The room reeked of rot and fear. The mirrors reflected every gruesome detail of my feeding.

When I was first dumped on Sapphire Isle, I couldn't even swallow this kind of filth.

The first time I saw a plate covered in sour sludge and crawling bugs, I retched so hard I nearly vomited bile.

But refusing to eat meant two days locked in a pitch-black, moldy cell, starving until I couldn't see straight or stand.

To survive, I had no choice. With shaking hands, I forced the slop into my mouth.

Every bite was a nightmare. The stench invaded my mouth and nose, but hunger was a sharper pain.

Day after day, year after year, I adapted. Somehow, I got used to the unbearable taste.

Anyone who disobeyed on the island was dragged into the lab.

They held me down and injected strange chemicals. Cold scalpels sliced into my skin, leaving a fire of pain behind.

Little by little, they reshaped me into something barely human, into a sea lion.

When they finally dumped me into the sea lion enclosure, I had to learn fast, mimic them, or get attacked.

I mimicked their movements, how they tossed their heads, how they slapped the water with their fins. Slowly, I learned all the humiliating little tricks.

The keepers would blow their whistles and toss out dried fish. I had to perform like a circus animal, balancing balls and jumping through hoops for a bite to eat to keep from starving.

Now, faced with this tray of rotting meat, I devoured it like it was a feast, letting out low, contented grunts just like the sea lions.

Savannah stared at me, watching me gorge myself. Her disgust twisted into something else, panic.

Suddenly, she rushed forward and knocked the tray from my hands, screaming, "Maxwell, stop it! Just stop! Please!"

Her voice trembled. The arrogance was gone.

"That's enough. That's enough," she choked out.

Tears welled in her eyes. Her chest heaved with emotion. She looked at me like something had finally snapped inside her. "Why are you doing this? You hurt everyone, but more than that, you're destroying yourself!"

She locked eyes with me, stunned, confused, like she didn't recognize me, like she was looking at a stranger.

Nicholas cowered behind her, pale as death, lips trembling too hard to speak.

Isabella slumped to the floor, her eyes vacant. "How did it come to this..." she muttered.

I didn't hear them. I couldn't. My mind was somewhere else entirely as I bent down to gather the spilled food, still making those guttural sea lion sounds.

Savannah's eyes reddened. She reached out as if to stop me, but the moment her fingers brushed my skin, she recoiled like she'd been burned. Tears finally spilled down her cheeks. "What happened to you?" she whispered. "What the hell did they do to you..."