But another voice whispered in his mind, low and venomous.
You don’t deserve to talk to her.She’sprobably terrified of you now and who could blame her?Sheshould be.
Burn scrubbed his palms against his eyes again.
“Fuck,” he muttered, voice rough with self-loathing.
A knock at the door made him jerk upright.
Before he could respond,Brightstepped in.
TheLightTwin’shair was tousled, his golden skin a little too pale, and his expression tight with tension.Burndidn’t need words to tell him he wasn’t the only one haunted by last night.
“How are you this morning?”Brightasked.Hisvoice was quiet, strained.“Don’tknow about you, but that pink stuff he made us drink gave me a raging headache.”
Burn snorted, a humorless sound.
His own head pounded, pulsing like his skull was about to crack, but he just shrugged.
He deserved far worse.
Bright stepped closer, lowering his voice.
“Listen…we have to find a way out of here—tonight.”
Burn looked up sharply.
Bright’s jaw was locked.Hiseyes were dark with something halfway between fury and dread.
“We can’t let that bastard make us takeNoellewith noBondingFruitto ease the way,” he murmured.“Wecan’t let him make us force her again.”
Burn flinched at the wordforceand his heart clenched painfully.
He nodded once, stiff and harsh.
“You’re fucking right—we have to get out of here.Buthow?”
Bright ran a hand through his hair.
“He’s got the key to the shuttle—we all saw it in his pocket last night,” he said quietly.“Ifwe could just get it, we could make a run for the shuttle and get out.”
Burn scowled.
“How exactly are we going to get it when it’s in his pocket and he’s got the remote to our shock collars?”he demanded.“Hecan’t just?—”
A soft knock cut him off.
Both he andBrightturned as the door cracked open.
And thenNoellepoked her head inside.
Burn’s breath seized in his lungs.
She stepped in fully, wearing the same frilly black dress with the stained lace from the day before.Herlong dark hair was mussed, her eyes heavy-lidded with exhaustion.Herbrown skin looked too pale.
And she was limping.Justbarely.Butit might as well have been a knife in his gut.
Burn jerked his gaze away, staring at a point on the far wall because he couldn’t take the sight of her hurting like that.
