Page 107 of Obsession

Writhing in soot and ash, head knocked against a piece of charred wood, agony stubbornly remains, but there is a sudden balm. A chill, as I am lifted and cradled against a hard chest.

I know who is holding me with my eyes closed, but I manage to look. Need to look and see that it is him, that the pain is worth it, that he has lived. Jaegen is gone and Aris is safe.

And there he is.

“You… remember…?” I manage.

His eyes search my face. “I remember,” he replies, voice black.

Chapter twenty-five

My lids struggle to open, weighed down by crust. There is a strange mix of weariness and refreshment coursing through me. I’ve slept better than I have for some time, but my body is worn—so run-down that it takes a few moments to realize that I’m laying down.

Cheek on a pillow, I’m belly first on… a bed.

This isn’t how I normally sleep, which confuses me. Also—this bed isn’t familiar. The sheets are scratchier and a different shade of white than what I’m used to in the villa.

Where am I?

As memories catch up with me, my heart starts to thud against the hard bed. Jaegen. The vapor. The fire.

Aris.

I burned the runes off—Aris remembers himself. Does that mean that he’s fully himself again? And where is he?

With a grunt, I try to sit up, but sharp pain makes me gasp and collapse against the pillow. My shoulder and back burn, the agony permeating through me in hot, vibrant pulses.

There is a sigh.

“Sedate her,” someone says.

Seconds later, there is a sharp prick, something inserted into my neck.

A needle, I realize with alarm, but my fear leaves a second later and I fall into a dreamless sleep.

When I wake again, I stay still, having learned my lesson from before. I can’t let them know that I’m up. They, whomever they are, want me sleeping. I hold my breath and strain my ears, but wherever I am, it feels like I’m alone.

I bite down hard on my lip as I wiggle onto my side. My back burns with every twitch, my scalp aches like I’ve taken a hammer to it, and my wrist is wrapped in white bandages. I remember Jaegen throwing me to the sand and figure that it’s broken, probably; it hurts even trying to shift it.

In a clever one-handed maneuver, I make it onto my side and finally, greedily drink in my surroundings. Beside me is a standard wooden table with pill bottles, gauze, syringes, and creams. Illuminated by florescent lights, the rest of the room is revealed as a sparse space with a sand-colored carpet.

This is all I can see, all that I know of wherever I’ve been taken. My last memory is of Aris carrying me, but it’s possible that Jaegen returned and snatched me back. I have no clue who my captor is.

Fully aware that what I’m about to do is a bad idea, I bite my lip harder and push against the bed to rise into a seated position. The sensation of a hundred needles pricking me threatens tears and the effort of holding back a gasp is so great that I’ve bitten through my lower lip.

The metallic taste of blood greets me like a friend as I take a few deep breaths. My eyes shut, cheek flushed with the heat of tears, and I stay in this position until the pain gradually dims.

Blinking my eyes open and wiping at my face, I look around. I am indeed alone in a room that is both windowless and sterile. Beyond what I already observed, there is another, larger table with even more medical instruments and an IV pole without an attached bag. In the corner is the outline of a door, but there’s no knob to be seen.

The sheer amount of medical supplies and proof of treatment makes me doubt that I’m in Jaegen’s custody. Maybe he’d keep me alive as a bargaining chip, but why heal me or try to manage my pain? It doesn’t make sense.

So if it is Aris, the old Aris, who has me, what is his plan?

What will he do to me?

Slowly, I stand and make my way to the sealed door, trying not to move the muscles in my back. I manage one knock to the door, and then another, weaker one. “Hello?” I croak, to no response.

The taste of blood comforts me in my frustration; it is a familiar thing.

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