“Five? I don’t know, I kind of lost track of time.”
My jaw fell open. “I’ve been here for five days?”
She nodded solemnly. “The toxins hadto work their way through your system. You almost died, Ginny. The toxins, plus the head injury…” Her voice faded as she gestured helplessly with her hands.
No wonder I felt so ghastly. I had been rotting away on a cot fordays. A wary shiver traveled down my spine.
“Thank you,” I said to Velline, reaching out and squeezing her hand. “For saving my life.”
She smiled sheepishly. “It was nothing.”
Five days of hard work wasnotnothing. I made a mental note to find a better way to thank her.
“Well let’s get this over with.” I looked to Tommins. “Are you going to report him to the king? I’m sure this is all some kind of misunderstanding.”
“I haven’t decided yet,” Tommins said honestly.
I nodded, just once. “Fair enough. Take me to the dungeon.”
CHAPTER 29
Shade
The days passed like years, or maybe eons. Time passing was an indescribable agony.
Physically, I felt fine. More or less. I would have preferred a more comfortable bed than the slab of quilts on the stone floor, but I didn’t sleep, anyway. The pallet was merely a place to settle.
It was my mind that was in pain. I thought of Ginger constantly in an attempt to soothe the ache. Ginger happy, dancing,alive.
Food came in regular increments, and water was constantly available.
Really, these folk were rather pathetic. For a dungeon, this place was as frilly as they came.
Not that I was complaining—the passing time was painful enough.
I ached for a cool breeze, a stroll through the woods, a change of scenery. My scrambled mind begged for more stimulation.
Memories returned to me increasingly—almost like dreams, though I had never truly experienced one of those.
I remembered a cave. A large, lithe dog.
My sister.
Mymother.
These foolish folk accused me of ghastly crimes. Poisoning my beloved? I would rather poison the entire population of Moonvale.
The entirerealm. Beyond.
I would never harm my Ginger. They were fucking idiots to think otherwise.
Ginger was theonlything I cared about.
Violence was beginning to build in my veins. It threatened to rise to the surface, to overtake me, to swallow me whole.
The pit of violence was more recognizable, now. It stemmed from that dark place. From my time in that dark realm…
I didn’t necessarilywantto hurt anyone. But I would if I needed to. Without an ounce of hesitation.
