Total pages in book: 116
Estimated words: 118042 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 590(@200wpm)___ 472(@250wpm)___ 393(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 118042 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 590(@200wpm)___ 472(@250wpm)___ 393(@300wpm)
She let out a heavy sigh. “I was so worried. You wouldn’t wake, no matter how much noise I made.”
“I was asleep. Healing is exhausting work.” I attempted a smirk. “But I’m getting better. You don’t have to worry about me.”
She hugged herself, her body wracked with trembles. “You were speaking to us, but then your words grew all scrambled.” Flicking a look at Peter, she whispered, “You passed out and…”
“Ily.” I licked my dry, cracked lips. “I’m okay—”
“I’m terrified you’re dying right in front of me.”
“I’m fine.” I sat as tall as I could, ignoring the fiery agony cutting through me in every direction. “See? Nothing to fret about.”
Peter gave me a narrowed look as if he could see every single one of my lies.
I gave him a pointed one back.
I couldn’t be the one to comfort Ily while healing and shackled so far away.
For now, that was his job.
And he’s failing.
Ily shivered and rubbed her arms. The floaty white dress she’d worn for the Halloween masquerade—the same dress I’d flipped over her back when I’d taken her from behind before our night ended in the Temple of Facets—was now grey with grime.
Peter’s linen trousers matched the same dirty colour; his bare chest streaked with dirt. His blanket rested over his shoulders. His already lean body shadowed with the lines of his ribs the longer we were kept down here.
We all shivered constantly, but…it fucking hurt to see Ily trembling.
“Paavak.” My voice came out rusty and almost cold. “She’s shaking. Do something about it.”
Without a word, Peter left his cot and joined Ily on hers. Draping his blanket over her shoulders, he cradled her close and kissed her temple. She welcomed his body heat, but her eyes never left mine.
And I never looked away despite exhaustion tugging at my eyelashes.
Their two beds touched each other at the top, their thin pillows close enough that their matching black hair blended while sleeping.
Occasionally, I’d wake in the dead of night—or it could’ve been midday, considering we hadn’t seen the sky in weeks—and I’d watch them sleeping, thanks to the flickering light that was never turned off. I’d see Ily quaking in her dreams and Peter twitching in his nightmares. Their hands would inevitably find each other’s, sending a vicious jolt through me. A yearning made of jealousy, gratefulness, and overwhelming loneliness.
A clang in the distance made all of us flinch.
Heavy boots clomped over flagstones.
My skin prickled as I looked toward the bars of our cell, and a burly, muscular guard appeared. Carrying a tray, he placed it on the cold rock, fumbled in his pocket for a key, and unlocked our cage.
If I wasn’t a heartbeat away from passing out, and if Peter wasn’t starved to the point of cadaverous, and Ily wasn’t so fearlessly brave, and we weren’t chained up like vermin, we might’ve been able to swarm the deliverer of our once-daily meal.
But…Victor had always been too smart. Too cunning. Too sly.
He gave us just enough food and water to keep us alive but not enough for us to fight back. He gave me just enough medical care to stay in one piece but not enough for me to heal quickly.
“What time is it?” Ily asked quietly as the guard scooped the tray back into his hands and marched into the middle of our dungeon. Placing our food in reaching distance of our chains, he gave her a sneer. “It’s seven p.m. There’s a porno about to begin, and then Victor has a new game for everyone to play.” He laughed, giving us information, not because he wanted to help but because it was yet another form of torture. “Victor hasn’t finished punishing the jewels for their part in your little uprising. I believe a few have been earmarked for an archery lesson tonight.” He chuckled cruelly as he headed toward the exit. “Anyone who manages to get an arrow in a jewel’s heart gets to do whatever he wants with it.”
The guard slammed the bars shut—the metal twang set my teeth aching.
Locking us in, the guard reached through and rested his arms over the cross beams of our prison. “You never know. Maybe tomorrow night the meat on your plate won’t be beef but jewel.”
Ily cringed into a ball.
Peter cuddled her closer.
And the horrors in my head pounced too swift and savage to fight them.
I tipped sideways.
All strength in my limbs bled free.
I passed out.
* * * * *
Today was a better day.
I’d been able to stay awake longer than usual, and the agony in my bones had faded just enough for me to be tortured by the endless icy damp instead of the fiery throb inside me.
Ily scratched yet another line on the rock wall behind her, keeping track of how long we’d been trapped down here. Her pen was a jagged pebble she’d found beneath her bed. The endless rubbing of stone against stone was almost as torturous as the constant dew dripping from the ceiling.