“And. He. Knows. Where. You. Live.”
Meridei shudders before she slams her hands down on the tray of vials and syringes behind Sapphire’s head. “Fine! They sleep in here tonight. Think about the threats you’ve made and how it keeps you from a warm, comfortable bed tonight!” she screams at me.
With a furious swipe of her hands, the glass and needles hit the floor.
And they’re gone. No more orderlies. No more Apple May. No more Meridei.
It’s me and Sapphire.
We are finally alone.
40. “I am not Skylenna Ambrose.”
Niklaus
I’m up before the doorcan click shut. Quickly surveying the IV bag, her arm, the shackles around her wrist.
“I’m going to leave the IV in, okay? It’s giving you fluids you need,” I tell her.
But as Sapphire nods, I’m frozen in place by her features. The dark shadows under her cheekbones. The bruised-look around her eyes. Skin dry and ashen.
With one finger, I lift her chin to get a better look.
There are still tiny drops of tears clinging to her eyelashes. And that look she’s giving me. Fuck, thatlook. It’s a crucifixion within my chest. An inexorable ache that spills through me like a slow bleed. She’s so sad, so hopeless, so disappointed in herself.
“What’d they do to you, Spitfire?” My voice breaks.
Sapphire
Niklaus is kneeling in frontof me again, holding my chin up, and surveying the hideous aftermath of my correctional treatments over the last two weeks.
Genuine concern is a rare sight for him.
I must be dying.
But it’s his question that rips something vital out of me. What’d they do to you? Because in this moment, as I try to recall everything that’s happened, the memory gaps cloud my thoughts. It’s a biblical fog that cloaks my suffering.
My bottom lip trembles. “I—I can’t remember.”
My forehead drops to Niklaus’s shoulder, and I sob against his white shirt. To my surprise, he loops his hands over my head as he is restricted by the shackles. His arms wrap around my shivering body, pulling me as tight to his body as his restraints will allow. The warmth from his embrace surrounds me, it settles under my cold skin and spreads to the tip of my icy nose. This hug is so fucking comforting, it shatters me quietly.
“Come on, Spitfire, you’re breaking my heart.”
“I’m so scared!” I sob into his neck, words muffled. “I am so weak. I can’t feel the Nightlung anymore. I’m having trouble remembering anything. I don’t even know how long we’ve been in this place!”
It’s been an eternity!
“Two weeks, I think.” His big hand strokes my hair.
I shake my head. “I’m fucked up, Niklaus.”
“You’ve always been fucked up. It’s part of your charm,” he murmurs with a smile.
“This is all my fault. I don’t know how to get us home. My dad would have been able to figure this out. I’m just a damaged result of my parents.” A thought populates in my head. “If you manage to break out of here, just leave. Don’t risk your freedom to get me out!”
Niklaus pulls me an inch away by my shoulders. “If I leave, we leave. And I don’t want to hear you suggest that bullshit alternative again.”
With a shaky hand, I attempt to wipe my face clear of the tears.
