Okay, I didn’t run, I had to brace myself against the walls and propel myself off them to get out of the house, barely feeling the thick cushion of Midnight grass under my feet as I pressed forward. Even though I was out, I wasn’t sure I’d make it. They drained me of blood so many times that I’d become prone to passing out regularly. Later, I got a prognosis of anemia and iron supplements to help.
“I headed straight for the portal to the Common World. I knew it was the only way I’d be safe from my stepfamily.”
“Did you have a plan when you got to the border?” Kai’s tone is soft with gravel underneath.
I lick my lips and give a wry laugh. “Of course not. But turns out, I didn’t need one. When I got to the border, the guards were completely preoccupied. They were under attack. Vampires and humans were crossing the border, trying to get out to the Common World. Or maybe they were trying to get in? I was too dizzy to really understand as I hid behind a tree. I watched everyone fight, occasionally some of them disappearing through the portal or coming through. So I did my best to find a window, then snuck past everyone, straight through to the other side. Nobody even saw me.” My voice sounds small to my own ears now, and I realize my body is closing in on itself. As if I could shut down the feelings, the memories, the past.
“Hey, you’re safe now.” He tilts my chin up. “And I swear we’ll get you back to the Common World, to your friends, to the Poison Apple.”
“I like it when you talk like that.”
Half his mouth curves. “Like what.”
“Not I’ll get you back, butwe’llget me back. Like we are a team and we do things together.”
Kai’s half smile spreads into a full-on grin. “I’m not an idiot. I know I don’t stand a chance without you. Honestly, I need you to save me.” He covers his heart. “I’m so very often a damsel in distress yet no one comes to my rescue.”
I smack a pillow in his face.
How can things feel so light, so right, when I’m fucking trapped by an evil King in another realm?
Sounds like one of the books Belle sells at Chapter Three.
“That being said,” he adds. “I think it’s time we maybe extend beyond our little team and get some outside help.”
Chapter 47
The Red Room
CINDER
Apparently Jack knows the ins and outs of the castle. Kai left a note behind a loose stone in the courtyard and only a couple of hours later, we’re meeting with the mouse at the storeroom where the Ember of Midnight hangs.
Looking at the painting now causes a strange topsy-turvy feeling inside of me, like I don’t know what to trust.
Though why I should trust an evil bitch like my stepmother over my memories doesn’t make any sense.
“Can you help get her back to the Common World?” Kai asks.
“Us. Can you helpusget back?” I correct.
Jack gives us a look as if he sees more than he should. “That will be tricky. Border patrol has doubled since the wedding announcement. Congrats on the pending nuptials, by the way.”
He seems skeptical, as if ready for one of us, really me, to protest the event.
“Yeah, I’d prefer if it weren’t at the hand of an insane, power-hungry King,” I say dryly. “I would have preferred Vegas.”
“Ohh with an Elvis impersonator?” Kai chimes in hopefully.
“Sure,” I shrug. “Whatever blows your tits off.”
Kai grins at Jack. “She treats me so well.”
“And who is this?” I ask, when Jack is joined by a much larger man. He’s as tall as he is rotund with a close-shaved beard.
“The familiar who broke the glasses when you were confronted with your family,” Kaison says, a sly smile tilting his lips. “I knew I recognized you. I’ve seen you with Jack before.”
The hefty human blushes as he tugs the green shirt which doesn’t quite cover his large stomach. “I thought you needed a distraction.”
