I make sure to keep my hands relaxed at my sides as I clear my throat, but before I can open my mouth, Saken pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose and speaks. “Care to share what you did yesterday?”
Straight to it then. No hello, no how are you, no wondering how I’m settling in.
Perfect.
Great.
“I had such a busy day.” My attempt at playingcoy is embarrassing, but I’d rather play dumb and hope for the best than hand myself over on a silver platter.
“You were taken to the medical center at exactly eleven seventeen,” Toman states, peering down at a piece of paper in front of him. “You remained unconscious for three hours and twenty-one minutes before waking. A nurse spotted you at the door of your assigned room and arranged for an escort to take you to the bathroom, but you never returned. Instead, the escort was found unconscious in the bathroom, and a bloody trail dotted across the hallway to the portal entry and exit, where two security guards were also attacked. Does that sound familiar?” he asks, turning his questioning stare my way.
If they’re going to be that specific, there’s no point in me denying it. It would just be a waste of my breath, so I don’t bother saying anything at all.
“Where were you heading, Miss Blackwood?” Rikard asks, taking my silence as confirmation, and I shrug.
“Home.” The word feels hollow on my tongue.
“The Vale is your home now,” Anya snaps, her lips twisting with growing distaste, and I sigh, my fingers flexing at my sides.
“I know.”
She cocks a brow at me. “Are you sure? You didn’t seem to yesterday.”
“A lot has happened since then,” I retort, the smile on my face thin and fake.
“So it seems,” Cordelia muses, tapping at her chin, deep in thought.
“Have your magical abilities come to fruition?” Saken asks, and I shake my head, making sure to pinch my eyebrows together in confusion. Not too much, just enough.
“No.”
I feel all five sets of eyes assess me, and with each passing breath, my heart pulses with panic.
“To ensure you’re not lying, we must see for ourselves,” Anya states, a smile drawing across her face. It’s sinister, laced with the promise of pain, and the nausea I felt earlier returns.
“What does that mean?” I ask, despite how dry my throat now feels, but no one utters a word in response.
Movement captures my attention, but it’s too late for me to react before glass darts down from the ceiling right in front of me. Riddled with terror, I spin on the spot to see that it goes all the way around me, trapping me in place. My breaths come in short, sharp bursts as I turn back to The Sanctum with wide, pleading eyes.
“Please, I don’t?—”
My plea is cut short as a thud vibrates from behind me. Despite the fear taking root inside me, I turn to see what it could be, only to find a thin bed propped vertically, trapped in the glass cage with me. Spinning back to those in charge, my lips part, ready to plead my case once again, when the bite of leather encases my wrists and draws me back a step.
A yelp tears from my throat, croaking at the end as unshed tears prick the back of my eyelids. I don’t manage two whole breaths before further bindings lock into place around my ankles, my waist, and my throat. I hate that one the most.
Small spaces are not my friend.
Closing my eyes, I pretend as if it’s on purpose and nothing to do with the fact that my vision is blurring with horror.
“Please,” I whisper, too ashamed to open my eyes.
My plea goes unheard as pain erupts through my body from head to toe, stealing my next breath. My hands ball at my sides, my toes curl beneath me, and my jaw locks wide open, a muted scream tearing from my lungs.
Fighting it is impossible, but I still try. I’m scared to pass out and leave myself vulnerable in their hands again. Nothing good comes from it, but theburning sensation that spreads through my body is unbearable and I don’t stand a chance.
I can’t speak, I can’t plead, I can’t help myself. All I can do is listen and feel.
The sound of scraping chairs cuts through the room, but it’s not enough to pry my eyes back open as the pain continues to burn through my body from head to toe.
