“Are you hurt?”
Lora hesitated only for a second. There was nothing her mum could do to help. She would spare her the heartbreak as long as possible. “No, I’m okay. I just need a bit more time.” She was met with silence on the other end. “But I’m close,” Lora said to fill the void.
“You are?” her mum asked quietly.
“Just a minor setback,” Lora added as she looked around the cell.
“You can come back anytime. I hate that you’re out there. You belong home with us.”
“I do. And I will.” A promise rooted in nothing but lies.
“Are you truly okay? You didn’t…you didn’t explore anything fae-related, did you?”
A broad statement, but Lora knew her meaning. Did she explore her fae side? Not in a physical sense, but she couldn’t deny that she had started to get curious.No.She shook her head. It was a dangerous path. She shut down her train of thought immediately; even thinking about it made her feel like she was betraying her family, especially her mum.
“No, of course not. I’m careful, don’t worry,” Lora insisted.
“Good. I wasn’t trying to imply that you would. I wasn’t sure how it would affect you, being over there.”
Lora wasn’t even sure how it really affected her. Would this experience change her? Surely, even if she did escape somehow, being sold and used as a blood bag would have to leave some scars. The thought made her shudder, but her voice sounded calm as she said, “I know. How’s everyone?” Another silence. A heavier one. “Mum?”
“I…they are fine.”
“Want to try again and convince me this time? What’s going on?”
“I didn’t want to trouble you. But since you said you’re close…” Lora could hear her exhaling loudly. “Your dad…he tested positive. He has the virus.”
And there it was again. That feeling of drowning, of being pulled under muddy, terrifying water. No hope in sight. Nothing to pull her up. But she needed to be the hope for her parents. To keep them fighting as long as they could.
“Lora?” her mum asked, worry carrying her voice.
Lora’s eyes were watering. She was on the edge of breaking down for the second time. She couldn’t do that to her mum. Not now. “Yes, I’m here. Sorry. I can’t talk much longer. The data. I…I’ll try my best. Just rest, okay? And tell everyone I miss them.”
“I should have never doubted you, Lora. Come back as soon as you can.”
The words were a slap in her face, like an icy wave taking her breath away. “I will. Bye, Mum. I love you.”
“Love you too, honey.”
Lora hung up quickly as fresh tears rolled down her cheeks and a muffled cry escaped her. Her phone was still in her hand, her fingers hurting from clutching it so tightly.
What was going to happen to her parents if she didn’t show up? Would they cling to the false hope she gave them until their last breath? And what would happen to Oscar if both her parents died and she didn’t make it back to Earth? He already felt abandoned by her now. He would forever hate her if she left him alone for good, especially considering she just gave her family hope that a cure was coming. Lora would hate herself too.
She wasn’t sure at all if she’d made the right call. She knew if she had been in her mum’s place, she would have rather heard the truth. But she couldn’t bring herself to say it out loud. Maybe that made her a hypocrite. Maybe she was the worst liar of them all.
The endless pit of sadness slowly turned into anger. Lora blamed herself, but when she tilted her head up and her gaze snapped on the bars, the fury intensified. And this time it was directed at the fae who kidnapped her.
Her skin felt like fire as her veins burned in frustration. Something clicked in her mind and she knew she couldn’t go down easily. She would fight even if it killed her. She had to try. For her family. For all the promises she had made that were waiting to be fulfilled. And if she didn’t make it, at least she wouldn’t be used as a blood bag. Lora was aware that that could end badly for entirely different reasons, since she wasn’t fully human.
The thought of being experimented on made her shiver. Her fate couldn’t end in her mother’s worst nightmare. She’d been trying to protect Lora from this her whole life.
Lora stood up and examined her cell. Her eyes settled on the stone she’d slept on and she put it in her free pocket. She moved her other hand which was still holding onto her phone, thinking she should hide it again, but then another thought hit her.
Someone should know. That there was a real possibility she’d never make it back home. Lora unlocked her phone and clicked on Maja’s name.
The sound of a key turning in a lock made Lora’s idea vanish. She slipped her phone in her pocket and stood tall, not forgetting her other plan.
This time both fae entered the room. And they were both looking at her as if she wasn’t worth anything and worth too much to lose at the same time.
