“Ah, she finally wakes. I thought you’d sleep away the whole day and we’d have to carry you outside,” he said, a foul smile on his face. His expression reminded her of their previous encounter, confirming that he was indeed the same fae responsible for her head wound. Her hand drifted to the spot on her head, the blood now dried in her hair.
Her whole body screamed in anger. She wanted to charge at him, but the bars wouldn’t allow it and she was sure her head wound would not agree with her. “Where’s Ey—” She caught herself, not wanting to give away his identity. “Where’s my…friend?”
The fae shrugged. “Beats me. He’s of no interest to us.”
A brief flash of relief went through her until she realised she’d been right. He left her behind. Shaking the thought, she asked, “What do you want?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” he asked, puzzled.
“Would I ask if it was?” Lora bit out.
“Not a smart human, are you? Let me give you a summary. We overheard you fighting with your boyfriend and decided to take a chance with you. It was a dumb move on your part. You were practically begging us to take you. And what can I say, it’s been a slow summer. But the last few days have made up for it. You’re just our latest little addition. Young and healthy that you are, we’ll get a good price for you.”
Her thoughts briefly got caught up on the wordboyfriend—very inaccurate—but then skipped to the important part. He had definitely said “price.” She was to be sold.Sold.“You’re selling me? Like a slave?” How was that possible? Did the agreement not work as well as they thought?
Her captor shook his head in a mocking manner. “You’re not a slave. You’re a blood bag.”
“Blood bag?”
“Gosh, maybe I did throw you against that wall too hard.”
She showed him the middle finger. The fae laughed, the ugly sound vibrating through Lora’s body like a snake writhing beneath her skin.
“You must be lucky to have escaped this so far.” He looked her over, stopping at her skull where her dark-blonde hair was now coated with dried blood. “Some fae like to get high off human blood. They’ll pay good money to get their hands on a good blood source to make fortae. The drug is our top sold product. You’ll join our other haul later tonight. We’re waiting for the carriage, so don’t get too…comfortable here,” the fae concluded.
Lora was too occupied with this revelation to respond right away. They weren’t killing humans instead of enslaving them, they’d found a new way to use them. She was utterly disgusted. She was to be used for her blood. All for a drug? The fae’s priorities were royally fucked up. Maybe Lora did have some sort of brain damage and this wasn’t real, after all. The longer she was awake, the less real anything felt.
“Well then, now that I see you’re still alive and don’t seem to be near death, I’m out of here. This place is depressing,” the fae said. He left the tall cup of water by the bars and walked out.
Lora stared at the door for what felt like hours. She may have been in shock. A part of her had always known there was a real possibility she’d meet her end here. Being used as a blood bag wasn’t what she’d imagined, but life rarely was. She came here seeking a cure, carrying her mother’s blood, and now it was her own blood that would spill.
The irony made a laugh escape her. Suddenly, she couldn’t stop. It was maddening. This was not a situation to laugh at. But she was in a cell in the fae world and she was all too aware that it was all because of her fight with Eyden, because she couldn’t stop arguing.
The fae was right. She really was dumb. Lora had let her feelings and temper get the best of her and it would be her ruin.
The laughter turned into tears in a matter of minutes. Lora sank to the floor as the tears kept coming. First, she angrily wiped at them, but then she realised there was no reason to pretend. There was no one here to deceive.
Lora let her tears fall as her loss of hope drowned her completely and she slipped under water.
* * *
When she finally felt that she could compose herself, Lora took a deep breath and forced a mask of calm back over her expression. Her right hand gripped her phone, which had still been in her pocket, as well as the WiFi cube. She was glad the fae apparently saw her as such a small threat, they hadn’t bothered to search her.
Sitting in the corner of her prison, Lora called her mum’s number and pressed the phone to her ear.
It rang once. Maybe they weren’t home.
Twice. Maybe it was a sign she should stay silent.
Third time. Maybe…
“Lora?” Her mum’s voice came through the speaker and Lora choked on a fresh wave of sadness. “Is that you?”
Trying to keep from trembling, Lora replied, “Yeah, Mum. It’s me.”
She could hear a relieved sigh and possibly tears on the other side. “Honey, are you okay? What’s happening? Why are you calling—I’m glad you did.”
“I just needed to hear your voice.”
