“I’m not going to be responsible for you being hurt.”
His laugh is bitter. “They’ve been hurting me for three years, Lithia. What’s a little more torture between friends?”
Despite everything, I feel the ghost of a smile touch my lips. “Are we friends?”
“We’re whatever we need to be to survive this place.” His finger presses more firmly against mine. “The important thing is that we don’t break.”
I focus on the warmth of his touch. Who would have thought the press of a fingertip would be the thing holding me together?
“That woman, Prudence,” I say after a moment. “She’s a prisoner too, isn’t she?”
“Yes. Another captive they’re using.”
“She apologized. Before. And after.”
“Don’t mistake that for kindness.” His voice turns hard. “She’ll do exactly what they tell her to do to stay alive. No one is your friend here.”
“Except you?”
He snorts. “I have ulterior motives.”
“And those are?”
“I need you to keep me sane.”
I’m quiet for a minute, fighting the pain that still rages through my body.
“She was terrified.”
“We all are. If you’re not, it means you’re already dead.” He shifts position but doesn’t let his finger slip from mine. “Get some rest. Tomorrow will be worse.”
“How could it possibly be worse?”
“Now they know your fears. And they’ll use them against you in any way they can think of.”
I close my eyes, the exhaustion of the day finally catching up to me. “Kier?”
“What?”
“Stay with me?” I twitch my finger against his, hating that I sound so vulnerable.
“Not going anywhere, Shadowmist.” His voice is gruff but gentle. “Just try to sleep.”
I sigh a silent breath of relief and close my eyes.
Chapter
Five
KIER
She’s been out for six hours.
She’s not sleeping. Not really. This is the kind of silence that follows pain sharp enough to knock you clean out. The kind of stillness that comes when your body can’t fight the pull anymore.
And I can’t do a goddamn thing about it. The rage burns through me like acid, eating away at what’s left of my sanity. My mate—my mate—is lying unconscious on the other side of this fucking wall, and I’m chained here like a useless piece of shit, listening to her labored breathing and going out of my mind.
I should be holding her. Should be cleaning her wounds, checking her pulse, making sure she’s warm and safe and breathing. Instead, I’m trapped in this concrete box, reduced to pressing my ear to stone just to catch the faint whisper of air from her lungs.
