1
Elior
I woke to the sound of steady beeping and bright white light piercing through my eyelids, making me wince. I opened them hesitantly, becoming even more disoriented from the unfamiliar ceiling above me.
My fingers clutched at the sheets covering me, needing texture, needing something solid, but they were smooth and thin and strange and didn’t smell anything like home. A throbbing pain drew my attention to my hands. The lash marks were purple and deep crimson, jolting my memory of what had just happened.
Father had been punishing me, and then there had been chaos. A field of screams and cries and pleas. I ran through the chaos in my mind, picking through snapshots, and landing on a kind lady in the back of a van—then, nothing.
I bolted upright, gasping, trying to see, trying to understand.
Where was I?
My breathing picked up too fast. Panic clogged my throat, making it impossible to get a full gulp of air in. I looked around,seeing nothing but white walls and scary machines.
The beeping, slow and steady at first, was now wild, and another, louder noise suddenly joined in. I flinched at the sound like it was about to strike me.
Too loud, too bright, too loud, too bright, too loud, too loud, too loud, too loud—
“Elior?” a voice said tentatively from the doorway.
I scrambled back, pushing myself as close to the head of the bed as humanly possible, using the thin blanket as a shield.
Fear shredded through me. A tugging sensation on my arm drew my attention, and I looked down quickly, horror dawning on me as I saw a needle protruding from my skin, held in place with tape and attached to a long, thin tube that led to hanging bags of liquid.
A tall, lithe woman stepped in slowly, her hands lifted a little, as if she were approaching a frightened child. She wore a soft green sweater, dark jeans, and an ID badge around her neck.
“Hey there,” she said softly. “It’s okay, you’re safe. My name is—”
“No.” The word tore out before I could stop it. “No, I—where—where’s Father?” My throat burned as I tried to swallow, and my cheek stung harshly as I moved my mouth, reminding me of the cut there. “Where’s Daddy?”
She paused. That hesitation was worse than anything. It meant something terrible.
“Elior,” she said gently, “you’re in a medical unit for victims of—”
“I’m not—I didn’t—I didn’t betray anyone.”
The woman’s brows pulled together, and she took another step into the room. “Of course not. You’re not in any trouble. My name is Elena, and I—”
“Where’s Jace?” My voice cracked. “He was—he…”
With the strangers.
With the ones who hurt Father.
With the ones who dragged us apart.
Father’s voice slammed into my skull like a fist. “He’s with them, Elior. He’s with the enemy. He turned you against me. Judas. Jezebel.”
My breath faltered.
Was Father right?
Was that why I was here?
“I didn’t mean to,” I whispered, not sure who I was talking to—the woman, God, Father, Jace, or myself. “I don’t—I don’t know what happened. I didn’t do anything wrong.”
The woman’s hazel eyes were heavy with pity. “No, you didn’t. Elior,” she said quietly, “you’ve been through something very traumatic.”
