“They kept me at Ljómur for two years,” I say, forcing down another bite, “before reassigning groups of us. After that, I was moved to Glaston.”
His brows pinch together. “They moved you?”
“They moved a lot of us, yeah. Chief Aeliphis was also reassigned to Glaston and put in charge of the clinic. I worked under her there. Flynn and Kopros came with us, but some stayed behind. Sprocket and Aryn were still at Ljómur when I left.”
“You’re sure?” he asks, and I recognize the question he isn’t asking.
I nod, taking another bite when he glances at the tray. “They made it out. They’re actually living in the village now, with me and the others.”
Relief smooths the stress lines on his forehead as he registers that statement, and he chews on his lip. “Who exactly are the others?”
“Mostly former military,” I say. “A few prisoners who escaped. And the majority… they’re mated.”
Surprise flares openly across his face. “Even the ones who weren't from Ljómur?”
“Most of them, yes. Not Sprocket or Aryn, and one prisoner lost her mate during a procedure. But the rest are.”
“How did you find them?” he asks, and accusation threads through his tone.
With my past, I can’t blame him for asking.
“I told you about the two I helped escape,” I say, and he nods. “After we got away from there, they took me to their village where the others were living. Nyx was with them.”
“Nyx?”
I clear my throat, hating the words before they even leave my mouth. “Test subject number one. He had been rescued a few months earlier when he was transported to a rift site.”
“He was the one they thought held the answers,” Bash says with wide eyes, and I can already see the gears in his head spinning.
I nod. “It’s why I came, Bash. He did it. He opened one of the rifts.”
“What?” he asks.
“There’s a long backstory, and I’ll spare you the boring details, but a few of us took him to a rift. That’s where we ran into Sprocket and Aryn’s group, but when we were on the way to bring them back, we were attacked.”
His gaze flicks to my eyepatch as anger darkens his expression. “Is that what happened?”
I choke on a bitter laugh and shake my head. “No. That was courtesy of one of the mates I rescued.”
“He hurt you after you saved him?”
“No,” I whisper, meeting those hazel eyes that still undo me completely. “I earned it when I betrayed them.”
“You said you didn’t mean to,” he says softly.
“Doesn’t change the fact that I deserved it.”
“Xeni,” he murmurs, lifting his hand like he’s going to touch the patch.
I go perfectly still, heart jammed in my throat.
Cato clears his throat from the doorway, and Bash steps back abruptly like he's snapped out of a trance.
I bow my head, staring at the mostly untouched food.
“Eat,” Bash insists quietly.
I force down another bite.
