“Tell them the truth.” I didn’t smile. “They failed to protect her, and for now, she’ll remain with me.”
The final scream of the second man cut off, and Ezra returned without a drop of blood on his blacks. I didn’t have to ask what he’d done. These weren’t our first slavers. Their kin would find them right here, their shredded dicks braided like a schoolgirl’s hair.
I squeezed Quinn to my chest and double-checked our surroundings. The Westwaters controlled the old train station. They were a rough, unorganized bunch who fought among themselves more than the other families. I’d brought a force through one of their gates, and they’d see me leaving with another body in my arms. I was asking for trouble, but for the last seven years, I’d kept my head down and played nice. That had to count for something.
The uphill climb to my castle left our horses gasping, and my nerves frayed. I stepped into my apartment with Quinn still in my arms. Ezra closed the door behind us, and a moment of awkward silence filled a room growing too used to tension.
“Can you wake her?” Ezra asked.
I glanced at my lover.
It wasn’t until we retrieved her TB that either of us realized someone had taken it from her. In addition, once she had magic, the pangs in her stomach stopped. She hadn’t had access to food. Our system wasn’t meant for this many trainees, and she’d slipped through thecracks. Anger and guilt ate at me. No one in my castle went hungry. Ezra and I both remembered a time when our empty stomachs constantly twisted.
Not once through everything she’d gone through had she reached out for help, from us at least.
My glance turned into an unfocused stare. My lover’s ego, his very soul, must hurt like mine, but he hadn’t said a word.
The rift between us breathed softly in my arms.
“Yes, I can wake her,” I answered my lover’s question so late I was surprised I even remembered it.
Ezra grunted, and his shoulders tensed.
I found a rag and carefully cleaned the fake beard off Quinn’s chin. I wanted the oily magic out of her, but if she woke, she would leave. Quinn was drowning. And I, surrounded by lifelines, hadn’t thrown her a single one, afraid she’d see it as a cage.
This maddening, precious woman unraveled every justification I’d ever clung to.
Tonight, I’d let her sleep, safe between Ezra and me. Tomorrow, I’d tell her everything. She had to know who I was and what I’d done, even if it drove her away. In the sunlight, she could storm out of my world and into the arms of her friends, who, if I knew nothing else, truly loved her, even if they made a bad call.
Rash? Thoughtful? Cautionary? I didn’t know which word fit this choice, but I pushed the oily magic out of Quinn and replaced it with my own. Cradling her in my arms, I made sure her dreams were only good. She smiled and tucked her head deeper into my chest. My heart cracked as the sound of the shower began.
Ezra and I had barely spoken.
And now she was here.
Our time was up.
Chapter 17
Quinn
I’dneverbeenoneto remember my dreams. For a brief second, during the moment between sleep and awakening, my world was full of light, soft textures, and acceptance. People from the past and the present flocked around me with smiles and hugs. When I opened my eyes, the imagery vanished, but a feeling of peace lingered. I wasn’t sure I’d ever slept so well.
Instead of the skylight shining down on me, a ceiling of black and gold-textured cloth squares met my gaze. Soft sunlight streamed through large windows. I took a deep breath. Everything from the pit fight came back to me.
My peace shattered. I bolted upright and scrambled back. The baggy old man disguise pulled as I slid across rich black sheets until I hit a headboard. The scent of stale beer wafted from the shirt, mingling with a very familiar soap. I didn’t recognize anything around me. Dark wood-paneled walls surrounded the massive four-poster bed I was currently shaking in the center of. To my right, a leather couch sat infront of a grand fireplace, filled with a heat cone. A small round table and two chairs rested under the one large window centered at the foot of the bed.
Three closed doors were visible, and Ezra sat in a chair between me and one of them.
“Breathe,” Ezra commanded.
I sucked in a lungful of air as if we were at the gym, and clasped my shaking hands together, only to remember the phantom feel of Brody’s slime. I ended up desperately rubbing my wrists to get it off.
“Quinn, look at me.” Ezra moved from his chair to the bed, though the mattress was so big he wasn’t anywhere near touching me. I met his gaze. “You’re in my room. Xan cleansed you of Brody’s magic. We intercepted you just after the body snatchers left The Pit.”
Body snatchers had me? I stopped messing with my clean wrists and put my hand against my neck. The collar. Those men who took me were real, and they’d almost gotten me again.
“I’ve met body snatchers before,” I said softly. “On my way here.”
