Page 8 of Anchor

Poppy looked concerned.

It was the one time in my life since I remembered myself that I didn’t care about keeping a neutral face in front of her. In front of anyone at all.

“What time is it now? How long have I been out?”

“Seven p.m.,” said Poppy, her hands ice-cold when she grabbed mine. “You slept for twenty-four hours, give or take. You were exhausted, and then the healing spells…”

Fuck, fuck, FUCK!

I wanted to stand up, but my body was still so heavy. My limbs weigh a hundred pounds each, and in my mind, I was already standing, running, doingsomethingother than justsitting here, but in reality, I didn’t have the energy to even make it to the edge of the bed.

“Easy, Ro. Easy,” Poppy said, more concerned by the minute. “It’s okay. You won. The game is over—youwon!”

Of course she was focused onthat. Of course she didn’t see how that was a bad thing. An awfulthing.The worstthing that had ever happened to me, even considering what my life had been like since the age of six.

Then the door opened, and a part of me actually expected Taland to walk into my room. I’d gotten so used to having him around in such a short amount of time that it felt like the most natural thing in the world for him to be coming to me, grinning mischievously, teasing me, turning me on by just looking at me. It had become so, so normal—but it wasn’t Taland who came into my room. Just Fiona with a glass and a jug full of water.

Now that the panic had set in, when I drank I hardly felt the water going down my throat. It didn’t clear my head the way I’d hoped.

“Fiona, do you mind?” I said in half a voice. I didn’t mean to be rude, but she’d stopped by the door and I needed her outside because I wanted to talk to Poppy in private. Ihadto know where Taland was—I had to. Otherwise, I was going to lose my mind right this second.

“Of course,” the elf said with a wide smile, eyes glossy and a bit red but she wasn’t crying anymore. “I’ll be right outside. Just call if you need me.”

“Thank you.”

She opened the door while I fisted my hands to see if they’d stop shaking—they didn’t.

“I’m glad you’re okay, Rora,” Fiona said before disappearing in the hallway.

She meant it.

I don’t know why I was so surprised.

“Poppy, where is Taland?” I asked when the door closed, and Poppy flinched like that was the last thing she’d expected me to say.

Which struck me as odd.

“They haven’t caught him yet, I’m afraid. He’s still on the loose,” she said.

I narrowed my brows. “What do you mean, still on the loose?” Was she joking, was that it?

“Last I heard, they’re still searching for him. He’s in hiding, but it won’t be long until they find him, okay? You don’t need to worry about it, Ro. In fact, don’t even think about him at all—he’ll be back in prison before you know it. Nothing to worry about, really.Nothing!”

All this she said in one breath and with a fake smile plastered all over her beautiful face.

I blinked and breathed and waited a moment or two.

She didn’t start laughing and tell me she was joking.

Wetting my lips was easy now that I didn’t feel like I was completely dehydrated anymore. I looked Poppy in the eyes and waited just another second to see if she’d flinch, if she’d give me a hint that she wasn’t being honest with me. It was easy enough to tell with Poppy. She’d always been an open book to me. I always knew when she was lying or hiding things—always.

Which was how I knew that this time, she wasn’t.

Silence in my head for a moment. Complete silence. All those thoughts that had beenscreamingat me until now came to a halt, and I chose my next words carefully.

“Poppy, how did I make it out of the Iris Roe?”

Because Taland had carried me in his arms. That’s the last thing I remembered about that goddess-forsaken place—he’d carried me in his arms through the Drainage, and I’d been paralyzed, hadn’t been able to move or even speak at all, and the vulcera and his eagle had been there, too, by the Rainbowmountain, holding back the players who wanted to kill me, who thought I wasn’t worthy of being the winner because I was Mud.

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