Please, don’t let this hurt my baby. Please!
Then the world goes black.
Chapter 43
Aquamarine Beryl
ESTELA
Drip.
Drip.
Drip.
I cringe at the liquid notes that rouse me from sleep. My whole body hurts. But when my eyes peel open, I gasp.
Morning light filters through the dusty window, casting a golden hue on the swirling particles in the air. The manor is quiet, and the black mists have completely retreated. Stacked logs make up the walls and ceiling beams.
As I scan the space, my eyes lock onto the body swaying gently from the ceiling. My arm shifts away from his space around my belly, and for the first time, a small flick of heat sparks deep within. A tangible life force reaches out to me. Time seems to stand still as my heart races with dread, every detail of the room etched into my mind with haunting clarity. And then I see him.
Mikal.
My hand falls.
Chains are wrapped around his shoulders, connecting toone of the beams overhead. His scraggly dark hair covers his face, and his unnaturally long human limbs stretch out from a bloody, malnourished form.
“Mikal?” I ask, my voice breaking.
He doesn’t stir.
Por los dioses?1.
I push myself up, ignoring every protest of my body. I stumble forward at his feet and look up to see the faint rise and fall of his chest. I reach out and touch his filthy, bare foot.
Fear presses down on me with urgency. We’re too vulnerable, too much can go wrong.
“I’m going to get you down,” I say, tears already spilling over my cheeks. I look around frantically to see something, anything, that would help me get him down.
A sound stirs from the shadowed section of the room.
As my head twists, I see the plush chair in the corner, filled up by the massive, dark presence of Rholker.
I freeze.
He watches me with his crimson eyes.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you. Though, I must admit, it’s moving to see you on your knees,” he says slowly.
Each unearthly intonation of his voice sends a chill up my spine.
“How long has he been here?”
He doesn’t move. “Since the day after you returned home to Zlosa.”
The sound of Zlosa being referred to as my home coats my tongue with a bitter taste.
“You’ve left him chained up for two months?!” Rage heats my skin, causing the glow to expand. I’m going to tear him apart.
