Page 57 of The Doll and The Domination

I tap Dessin’s arm. “Deal with it,” I mutter into my cup. “I need his quirkiness right now.”

He sighs, nuzzling his nose in my hair.

“You heard her, Muscles. Only one of us is endlessly hilarious, and it’s certainly not—you!” Niles taps Dessin on the nose with his index finger, making a boop sound. Then instantly retreating like Dessin may try to bite it off.

“Skylenna,” Dessin warns.

But I just laugh, cringing at the way my ribs light up in a lightning storm of pain.

“I’m sorry, Sissy. This ointment only helps with open wounds. Not so much fractured bones.”

I sigh. “It’s okay.”

“I may have something that can help.” Ruth and Warrose stand in the entryway of this cage, holding a tray, towels, and a bucket of water.

“No way,” Marilynn says under her breath.

“It’s soup. Smells terrible. But it’s better than nothing. And there’s this drink that the soldiers take when they’re severely wounded. It remedies that pain during recovery so they can continue fighting.” Ruth kneels down in front of me. “Do you want to eat first or drink the cup of black goo?”

I look down at the bowl of steaming broth and a metal cup filled to the brim with black liquid.

“How did you get this?” Dessin asks.

“Kaspias,” Ruth and Warrose say in unison.

Dessin stiffens beneath me.

“He didn’t want to help. But I made him understand that his life would be on the line if anything happened to either of you at tonight’s Fun House,” Ruth explains as she stirs the bowl of soup.

“What’s the catch?” I try to sit up, but my body groans like an old ship about to sink.

“You have to participate in tonight’s Fun House.”

“Fuck no.” Dessin holds me closer.

“We don’t have a choice,” Niles adds. “Everyone goes in. Even the injured.”

The group falls silent as we all watch the old spoon spin through the steaming soup. The aroma isn’t great, but it makes my stomach grumble just the same.

“Here.” Warrose covers me in towels from the shower area, distributing them over my nakedness. “How’s her temperature?”

“Better,” Dessin says.

“She looks a little better now that you two have cleaned her up a bit.” Warrose studies me like a doctor would a patient. “Any more broken bones?”

Dessin shakes his head. “Just a dislocated shoulder. But I popped it back into place while she was sleeping.”

“Eat,” Ruth urges, holding the spoon out to me.

Eat? When the rest of my family is still being starved out? Just because I was beaten doesn’t make me any more deserving than them.

I shake my head.

“Are you nauseous?” Marilynn asks.

“No.”

“Skylenna,” Dessin grumbles, trying to get a better look at my face. He knows me well enough to find the answers written there.

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