And my eyes widened at the sight.
The necklace. My mother’s necklace.
All this time, and she still wore it. My eyes trailed to her hand, and a lump formed in my throat when I realized she still wore the ring I gave her on her right ring finger.
Just as I still wore the one she gave me.
“She’s going to get blood on the bed!” Era complained. “Why is she in here?”
I was flustered and angry. “Erabella! I do not need to justify my actions to you! You are to stay in the West Hall tonight.”
“But—”
“End of discussion!” I snapped.
Annoyed and confused, she rushed out of the room.
Once it was just the two of us, I finally brushed Lena’s hair back, examining all the marks and bruises on her face in the room’s light. Her eyes were even more swollen and dark than I’d noticed in the dim cell. Hickeys and bite marks covered her neck, and her arms were scattered with bruises.
“Dear Gods…” I breathed, trying to keep my body from shaking any harder from the rage I felt.
How dare they lay a hand on her. Violate her.
I couldn’t stop now; my whole body began vibrating, and my need to torture and kill was unavoidable.
She probably thinks I had something to do with this. Fuck!
I pulled back the sheet and tried not to let my eyes linger, but hell, her body was as beautiful as ever. It was stunning when we were younger, but now she looked even more like a woman. I pulled one of Era’s nightgowns out of our dresser and carefully slipped it on her. No one should see her naked body unless she wanted them to.
I chewed the inside of my cheek and found myself removing her cuffs. The helplessness she had to have felt…I wanted her to wake up and feel there was a way she could defend herself. A way to fight back. Not that I wished she would try.
After she was clothed and tucked under the comforter, I heard a knock on my door, and Hendry entered with the pink-haired Mage, whose blue-eyed gaze immediately shifted to Lena.
Her eyes widened, and tears began to form. “What did you do to her?!” she cried out.
“Please, it wasn’t me. I-I need her healed," I pleaded.
“I need Merrick,” she growled, her voice going unusually low. “I will not heal ANYONE until Merrick is brought to me.”
I didn’t understand. But I didn’t care. Lena needed to be healed.
“Hendry, go fetch this Merrick person,” I ordered. He nodded and headed off, leaving Elowen and me staring at Lena. We stood there for many moments in utter silence. I didn’t know how long. I just kept count of Lena’s shallow breaths.
I wiped my forehead, sweat beading at my hairline.
“Gods…” she finally whispered, breaking the silence. I glanced down at her as she shook her head. “After she saved Edmund and probably more of your people…you’d do this to her?” She turned to me. “Why? Are you truly that evil?”
I stiffened at that comment. “I told you. I had nothing to do with this.” I looked at her with sincerity. “I swear.”
“We’ll see,” she muttered.
Moments later, Hendry reappeared with a tall, pale man in his grasp. Well, not as tall as Hendry or me, maybe a couple of inches shorter than us. He gave me a malicious glare that only further deepened after he noticed Lena on the bed. He shot his gaze back to me.
“What did you do to her?” he yelled, tugging away from Hendry briefly before he held him again.
“He claims he had nothing to do with it, Merrick. Tell me it’s the truth,” Elowen whispered.
He nodded, then looked at me. “I’ll need these off,” he said as he gestured to his wrists. His lip ring glinted off the light coming from the oil lamps as he gave me a dark smile that did not reach his eyes.
