Rasp made a retching sound. “Gross. Keep the lovey-dovey stuff for when you guys are behind closed doors.”
“You know what?” Dad said.
“What?” I asked, flashing him a goofy smile.
“I think I’ll let you think about this for a while,” he said, taking a sip from his cup.
I frowned. “Think about what?”
Dad raised his cup in a toast. “You’ll break soon, you son of a bitch.”
The door of the cell slammed, and my daydream of Elle faded. Bastien was gone, leaving me alone with my misery. With no one around, I could let myself have a moment to, if not break, at least bend a little.
A sob of agony escaped my lips, and tears trickled down my nose, pattering onto the blood-stained floor beneath me. I wouldn’t allow myself more than a few seconds of self-pity. That was all I could give. Bastien might return any second, and when he did, I needed to be composed.
The sap on my chest was still crackling and fizzling. During Bastien’s relentlessness, most of the chunks had hardened and fallen, but that brought little relief. I couldn’t heal the way I usually did. Not with the ropes binding me and suppressing my dragon. Holy shit, was this what it was like for humans? To be injured, and unable to fix it in a few minutes? It sounded like a terrifying existence and gave me more respect for them as a race.
Before I’d fully recovered, the door swung open again. I shoved all my pain and emotion away and mentally prepared myself for the torture to continue. Lifting my head, I saw Freddy instead of Bastien.
“What?” Was this another hallucination?
“Be quiet,” Freddy hissed as he shut the door softly behind him. He unslung a small backpack from his shoulders and hurried toward me.
“What do you want?” I asked.
He knelt and unzipped the bag. “God almighty, you look like shit, Aurelius.”
“Thanks,” I said dryly. “I try.”
“Here, drink this. We have to hurry, I’m not sure when Bastien will be back.” He pressed a small vial to my lips.
I flinched back. “What the fuck is that?” Could it be poison? Something to make me talk?
Freddy sighed, a mixture of irritation and impatience. “It’s a healing potion. Come on. Bottoms up.”
We locked eyes. If there was one thing I was sure I was good at, it was reading people. Knowing when someone was lying or holding back was crucial in negotiations, and this man’s eyes betrayed no hidden agenda or ill intent.
“Fine,” I muttered.
Freddy tilted the bitter liquid onto my tongue. Swallowing, I let out a grunt of pain as the potion went down, burning like the strongest alcohol I’d ever consumed. Before it had even hit my stomach, a pleasant warmth spread through my body. I couldn’t hold back the moan of pleasure as the miseries and aches in my body faded.
“It won’t heal you completely,” Freddy said as he dug into his bag. “It’s just enough to take the edge off, but nothing more. I don’t want Bastien to get suspicious. I’m sorry about that.”
“It’s fine,” I said, and with some of my newfound strength, I stood rather than letting myself hang, sighing in relief as some of my weight was taken off my shoulders and wrists. “Anything is better than before.”
Freddy rose again, a water bottle in his left hand and a sandwich in his right. At the sight of the water, my heart skipped a beat, my desert-dry palate desperate for moisture. The food sent my stomach into a twisting and painful cramp.
“Here. Hurry,” Freddy said as he put the bottle to my lips.
I gulped greedily at it, groaning with delight as the cool water slid down my throat. When Freddy held the sandwich up, I had to force myself to be careful and not bite his fingers in my rush to consume the food. Ham, cheese, and bread had never tasted so good. When it was gone, he gave me the rest of the water. The whole time, he continued glancing over his shoulder toward the door.
“No offense, but if Bastien comes back, I’m going to have to hurt you. I don’t want to, but I can’t let him think I’m helping. I’ll need to make it look like I came to have a go at you. Got it?”
“Sure. Fine,” I mumbled.
Once I was done with everything, he tucked the empty bottle into his bag and shouldered it again. With that little bit of kindness, I could feel myself growing stronger again. More resolute. When Bastien came back, I’d be able to hold out. I’d wanted to believe it was possible even before Freddy came, but deep down I’d begun to think it was less than likely.
“Thank you, Freddy. Why are you?-“
“You’ve got to stay strong. Got it? Just a little while longer. Okay?”
I frowned. “Uh, okay. What happens in a little while?”
“I have a plan. That’s all I can say for now. Don’t break, Aurelius.”
Without another word, he slipped out the door, leaving me alone, renewed, refueled, and with an even brighter glimmer of hope.
BRIELLE
“Idon’t like this,” Delphine hissed.
We were making our way through the forest, following the dozens and dozens of members of the Hikshil tribe. It appeared everyone had come out for the ceremony-elders, children, even women carrying babies. From what I could tell, this was a once-in-a-lifetime event. A shifter going into the Wellspring to dream walk.?
“What else can we do, Delphine? If we don’t have these fae on our side, there’s no hope. None at all.”
“I think she’s right,” Vincent said.
“Who is? Me or Elle?” Delphine asked.
Vincent was looking off through the trees, a really goofy smile on his face. “Sahalie.”
The guy was smitten already, and they hadn’t exchanged two words.
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