Page 79 of We Will Rise

I swallow heavily and look down at the gaping wound beside my belly button, trying desperately to remember what vital organs are in that area, but I’m coming up blank. Biology was never my strongest subject in school, and the blood loss is making my thoughts hazy.

“Little Menace?” Crew’s voice breaks through my mind, and I flick my eyes up to meet his, the worry shining through his usually cold gaze.

“I’m okay,” I croak.

“No, you’re not.”

“I have to be,” I whisper as I force a deep breath into my lungs. Charles did exactly what he set out to do. He wanted our strength to waver, and the more blood I lose, the more he succeeds.

“Camilla,” he growls, and I press my eyes closed to catch the tears that threaten to fall. I’ve been strong for so long. I’ve held my head high. I’ve been the queen I was trained to be. But I’m tired, and my body is beginning to give up.

“I think I need to try to get out of these chains,” I say as I meet his eyes again, forcing some of the confidence I’ve lived my life with into my tone.

“You’ll hurt yourself more.”

“It can’t be worse than a stab wound,” I half joke, but there’s nothing funny about the predicament I’ve found myself in. I look up at the chain around my wrist and tug at it, testing how tight it is and how much effort it will take to tug my hand free. There’s no doubt in my mind that I’ll have to break my thumb to do it, but at this point it’s either that or I die here, strung up and at the mercy of my enemies.

I know which option I prefer.

“We should wait,” Crew argues, his eyes flicking up to where I’m pulling the chains.

“Wait for what, Crew?” I snap. “We’ve been here for days. We’re starving and dehydrated. Our bodies are beyond fatigued from the way they’re hanging, and I’m bleeding. A lot. What do you want us to wait for? For me to be too weak to take this chance? For Caleb or Charles to come in and stab one of us again?” I’m being harsh, especially because he’s only worried about me and doesn’t want to see me in more pain than I’m already in. But we’ve already waited for as long as we can.

I sigh and blink back the tears that threaten to fall. “I’m sorry. I know you’re just worried about me. But if I don’t do this now, I’m not sure I’ll have the strength to do it later.”

His eyes fall to the blood dripping down my stomach, agony tugging at his features at the sight before he finally nods. “There hasn’t been any movement out there for a while. I lost track of time days ago, but if I had to guess, it’s either the middle of the night or the middle of the day, both times Charles and Caleb would have other business to attend to.”

I drag in an unsteady breath, ignoring the way my entire body screams. I can do this. I have to do this. Because the alternative is dying, and I’m not going out like this.

The chain rattles as I twist my arm into a position that can only be described as excruciating, but I swallow past the pain as I tug at my wrist. Agony shoots up my arm, but I don’t hesitate. I push my thumb against my palm and continue pulling, biting the inside of my cheek until I taste blood to stop myself from screaming.

The chain slips slightly, and I growl in frustration, which earns me a worried look from Crew. “Cami?”

“I can do this,” I say, my voice hoarse. “I can do this.”

“You can do this,” he repeats.

I press my eyes closed as his faith in me washes over my exhausted body. Maybe once we’re out of here, I’ll be able to feel through everything that we’ve been through, but for right now, I need to hold onto the persona I crafted, just for a little longer.

With a deep breath into my aching lungs, I twist and tug at the same time, and the telltale snap of my thumb breaking echoes through the cell.

I breathe through the pain despite how badly I want to cry, and then my wrist slips free. I grasp the chain between my fingers before it can fall to the ground and draw anyone’s attention to us. Carefully, and with a lot of pain, I slip the chain through my fingers, thanking whatever higher power decided today was a good day to give us a break, when I reach the end and there’s a long link dragging across the ground.

My eyes clash with Crew’s, which shine with pride, a look I could get used to seeing, before he gives me a short nod and I drop the end I’m holding.

The sound it makes as it hits the ground is loud, but no louder than when we’ve repositioned ourselves, making it unlikely they’ll find any use in coming in here.

Without hesitation, I move to the other chain, ignoring the way my shoulders protest at a position that isn’t spread eagle, and my legs and feet scream at the movement. If we make it out of here, I want the longest, hottest bath anyone has ever had.

Despite my broken thumb, I manage to make quick work of freeing my other wrist, and once the chains are resting against the ground, I take a second to stretch out my body before moving on to Crew.

I drag the chair toward him to give me the height I need to free him, and he hisses when his face is put level with my stab wound.

“Camilla, this looks really bad.”

“I know,” I say as I begin working his first wrist free. Usually, I would try not to cause him any pain, but he’s just going to have to suck it up.

By the time I’ve freed both his wrists, he almost falls to the ground, and I imagine the pain from moving for the first time in days is tenfold to what I felt considering his position was so much more uncomfortable than mine was.

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