Page 73 of Scourged

The shock didn’t last long. It was quickly replaced by undiluted joy, the kind of happiness that made Mariah’s heart jump into her throat.

Somehow, she pushed out two words.

“Hi, Cee.”

Ciana answered with a sob of her own before throwing herself forward, straight to the floor, and wrapping her arms around her queen. Around her best friend.

“Oh, thank the Goddess. You’re alright. You’re alright.” Ciana kept repeating those words, pressing harder into Mariah. Mariah’s back dug further into the island, scars rubbing, but she didn’t mind. Ciana’s sweet lilac scent wrapped around her, the first familiarity that didn’t carry with it a sting of what she’d lost.

“The boys made me wait until the morning before coming to see you. I couldn’t find Sebastian, but Feran and Trefor told me you needed to rest. I told them I would come see you as soon as the sun was up, so that’s what I did.”

Mariah smiled. It felt unnatural, but also … right. “I’m glad you did. I missed you so much, Cee.”

“I missed you too, M. Don’t youeverfucking do something like that to me again.”

“I promise. Never again.” Mariah heard the coldness that crept into her voice. She didn’t try to hide it. And Ciana didn’t miss it.

Her golden-haired friend leaned away, peeling off Mariah. Her bright amber eyes scanned Mariah more closely, and she could only imagine what Ciana saw.

A ghost. A wraith. A shadow of herself.

Someone who …

“You look like shit.”

That … wasn’t what she’d expected to come from Ciana. It shocked Mariah, but also made her feel, for the first time, at home.

Mariah smiled a second time. “Yes, well … a stint in a dungeon will do that to a girl.”

Ciana’s face fell, and she pushed further from Mariah, but not out of fear or worry. What Mariah saw on Ciana’s face was complicated. Contemplative. Observant. A look into the brilliant, tortured mind lurking behind those shining smiles and lighthearted jokes.

Ciana watched Mariah, then darted her eyes to the open cabinet. To what was inside. Her golden brow twisted. “What were you just trying to do? Before I came in?”

Mariah couldn’t help it. She was so tired, so broken, so defeated. And this was her best friend, something she’d never had before in her life.

Tears sprang into her eyes, and another sob shuddered through her. She took a deep, cleansing inhale before she could steady herself and meet Ciana’s amber gaze.

“I-I just wanted to do one thing. One thing, for me, on my own.” Her voice wavered and shook.

“I just wanted … wanted waffles. You know—I loved waffles.” She didn’t correct her use of the past tense. The girl she used to be loved waffles.

But this girl? Mariah didn’t know. She’d wanted to find out, but her own body had betrayed her.

“I know. I love waffles too,” Ciana murmured, voice gentle. “Why couldn’t you?”

Mariah stared at the iron, pouring venom into her gaze. “I couldn’t lift it.”

Those words settled in the air for several heartbeats, neither woman moving.

“Do you still want them? The waffles, I mean.”

Mariah shook her head. She was hungry, but it hadn’t been about the food—not really.

Ciana drew in a breath. “Okay. Mikael will be here in a little bit, anyways. He’ll cook us something.” She shifted onto her knees, forcing Mariah to meet her stare.

“What do youreallywant?”

Mariah met that amber gaze unflinchingly. She knew what Ciana was asking, and for once in her life, she wasn’t afraid to be vulnerable.

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