I make a face at him.
I didn’t fucking say anything.
Before I can even argue, he has the audacity toroll his fucking eyes—at me?
Something ugly rushes up inside of me. But Samick is quick to stamp it out as he reaches for my face, and literally shuts my eyelids with the tips of his fingers.
“Sleep.” That’s all he says in that cold murmur.
And if he didn’t sound so tired, it might be more threatening.
The question thrums in my mind—
How?
How the hell am I going to get comfortable in this claustrophobic, crammed spot? I’m literally wedged between the wall and Samick’s solid frame.
I mutter a curse under my breath as I wiggle my legs, trying to build enough momentum and create enough space to at least shift onto my side.
The searing green of his gaze is pinned on me with every squirm and wiggle.
His patience is withering more and more by the second.
And it snaps.
A single shove of his hand against my hip, and I’m pushed around to face the wall.
The mattress shifts again, like he’s moving around, and it only pauses when I feel his touch—
His fingers brushing over my damp hair, combing it all to come down the nape of my neck, then the bed shifts again.
And my heart lunges to my throat.
Samick curves into me.
His chest presses against my back, his legs moulded to mine, his warm breaths disturbing the crown of my head—and he drapes his arm over my side.
I stiffen.
He gave me more space. I don’t feel as suffocated anymore, but the price is too high.
“Sleep.”
That one, firm command comes out like ice, a warning this time, and it’s enough to silence any protests building in me.
I fight it, just out of principle, but my resolve has always been lacking—and I think I last less than a minute before I drift off.
SEVEN
My eyes snap open to movement.
The cell wall—scratched with fingernails and stained with suspicious off-white smears—faces me. Shadows arch over the pale paint. The fae are moving through the flickering torchlights that manage to break into the cell.
Soft thuds, murmurs, a yawn, a shout that bounces off cold walls—and it all tangles together.
It takes a few heartbeats for the sleepiness to fade, until I can make sense of what’s happening.
The general is calling the warriors.
