And my hair…I rubbed a few strands between my fingers, staring at the light yellow color. Hadn’t it been brown before? Had he somehow changed the color of my hair? It was softer, too. Still coarse and tangled, but it was definitely softer. And it smelled like…
I brought a lock to my nose, inhaling. I didn’t know what that was, but it smelled nice.Ismelled nice. I lifted my arm and sniffed my skin.
Really nice.
I looked back at my reflection. At the muzzle strapped to my face, the collar around my neck.
That man had offered to get them off. It was so tempting to just tell himyes, please rid me of these awful things.
But I couldn’t. I couldn’t trust him, and I needed to focus on finding a way out of here. I could get them off once I escaped.
How much time had passed? How long had I been here?
Vague memories that felt more like dreams drifted through my mind.
A soothing voice.
Gentle hands.
But nothing was clear, and trying to think too hard hurt my head.
I used both hands to close the mirror, bracing for the snap. It was quiet when it came. I held it in my palm for a long moment, just staring at the pink coloring.
I didn’t see pink a lot, and I really liked that color. Loved it. Once, Hayes had taken us through a town that was mostly rubble, but there were a few buildings still standing. We’d goneinside one, and there had been a bright pink stuffed rabbit inside.
I’d wanted it. Had picked it up, pet the fake fur that had roughened over time. It was missing an eye and one of its ears had been ripped off, but otherwise, it was perfect.
I’d never wanted anything more, and when I’d tried walking out of the building with it, Hayes had laughed and laughed and laughed, yanking it from my hands and ripping it to pieces right in front of me.
I drew a finger down the soft outer shell of the mirror, then startled when the door opened.
The man noticed my reaction and looked apologetic. “Sorry. How about I knock from now on?”
I didn’t answer him, but I did stuff the mirror under the covers so he couldn’t take it. I’d fight him for it.
Instead of getting angry or laughing at me, he smiled. “You like it? It’s yours.”
Mine?
Nothing was mine. Nothing had ever been mine.
I didn’t believe him.
I let my gaze trail down to his hands. He was holding something. A plate. Was that food? What kind of food? There were a bunch of pieces arranged neatly. They looked solid and were a whitish-green color with red on the bottom.
He saw me looking and held it up. “Apples. I thought you might be hungry. Your stomach’s been making a lot of noise. I tried giving you some bone broth, but I don’t think it was enough.” He took a step toward me, then paused. “I guess I should’ve asked if you like apples. Or maybe you’ve never even had one before? It’s a fruit, if you didn’t know. You should try a slice, they’re good. Perfectly ripe right now, since it’s fall. This will be the last harvest before winter comes.”
He was making me dizzy with all his talking. I thought Two had talked a lot, but that was nothing compared to this guy.
And yet, his voice was deep and smooth, and the sound of it was one of the nicest things I’d ever heard.
I didn’t know someone’s voice could be so soft. So low. It slid into me and spread a soothing warmth along my bones, and I wanted him to keep talking.
“Oh, maybe you think they’re poisoned or something? Here.” He picked up one of the—theslices, he’d called them, and bit into it. I watched his mouth closely, my eyes following the juices that glistened on his lips. He darted his tongue out to catch a stray drop, then chewed.
“Hm?” He held the plate out to me. Was he asking if I wanted it? My stomach growled, and he laughed. “I’ll leave it here for you. I have to go take care of something, but I’ll be back. Do you need anything else? I’ll come check on you soon.” He took a step, then reached out and set the plate on the edge of the bed, backing away once it was out of his hands.
I watched him with narrowed eyes, unsure what to do with all these weird emotions and sensations that were curling through my body. They were things I’d never felt before and had no way of identifying.
