Page 56 of Turret

The sight of his blood and injuries only caused my despair to grow. It escalated at the blind way he fumbled for my hand, the unseeing way he looked wildly around, his eyes swirling with fear.

It took an agonizingly long time to tend to him, but finally the task was finished. Melina left to prepare a soothing tea to help Quinn sleep, finally leaving us alone.

I stroked his damp brow. “How are you feeling? Have the herbs worked?”

He said nothing for a long moment, just leaned into my touch and stared gauntly up at the ceiling. “My broken leg is nothing. That will at least heal. Nothing is worse than this darkness. And this is only the beginning, one week of the rest of my life. How many more fallen staircases will I be forced to endure throughout this sentence?”

I had no answer to that question, a fact which only escalated my despair. It fueled the flames burning within me, growing so powerful it was becoming difficult to breathe.

I held his hand close. “I’m here, Quinn. I’m not going anywhere.” I pressed a soft kiss to his palm.

Flickering movement in my peripheral vision drew my gaze towards the mirror. It was only a flash, but enough for me to see Mother within the glass…and with the fierce look she gave me, I knew she’d witnessed my tender moment with Quinn.

Yet that didn’t matter. Only one thing did.

He felt me stiffen. “What’s wrong?” Even midst his own pain, his concern for me hadn’t faltered.

I gritted my teeth. “It’s…nothing.” I’d never spoken a more grievous lie. His sigh snapped my attention back to him. “Does it hurt much?” I soothingly ran my fingers through his hair.

“It’s not that. I’m frustrated I can no longer read your expressions. It leaves me with little clue as to how you’re really feeling.”

He wasn’t even attempting to be brave, leaving me to wonder just how much he’d kept back from me until now. The fire swelling my breast grew to a roaring blaze until I could no longer sit still doingnothing. Quinn’s heartache, his pain…it was too much.

I would give anything to dispel it.

I rose so rapidly I nearly upended my chair at his bedside. “I’ll be back in a moment.” I only paused to kiss his cheek before I strode briskly from the room, determination filling every step.

It was time to visit my mother and make her live up to her promise to help Quinn.

Chapter 22

Ichose the mirror in my bedroom, one far enough away from where Quinn rested that he wouldn’t hear the conversation. I closed the door firmly behind me and strode briskly to the glass. “I need to speak with you, Mother. Now.”

She didn’t come immediately, as if to taunt me, a ploy I was in no mood for when my emotions were so taut. I slapped my hands on either side of the mirror and leaned closer.

“Don’t pretend you can’t hear me. I know you’re there. I need to speak with you.”

A few more long, unendurable seconds passed before Mother appeared in a flicker, her look dark and disapproving. Her expression would have frightened the old Gemma, but no fear was stronger than the thought of Quinn remaining blind.

“That’s no way to talk to your mother,” she said cooly before her frown curved up into a rather forced, insincere smile. “But I can forgive you considering you appear to be under a lot of stress. What can I do for you, dear?”

“Quinn is blind.” My voice choked on the words.

Her eyebrows rose. “Ah, so the curse has finished its work? How unfortunate considering yourrelationshipwith him…which you foolishly tried to hide from me.”

Our relationship was the last thing I wanted to discuss at the moment. “We must break his curse. I don’t care how, I only want him to be able to see.” This wish was more than a desire…it was an all-encompassing need, one that had only grown stronger after today’s injury.

I knew my desperation was dangerous considering Mother often used such emotions to her advantage, but my panic was too acute to mask. My only thought was for Quinn and doing all in my power to free him from his darkness so he never need fear experiencing whatever other broken staircases life might threaten him with.

Mother didn’t answer, as if deep in thought.

“You have magic,” I pressed, my voice rising. “You can break his curse.”

She heaved an exaggerated sigh. “It’s true I possess the power to grant your deepest desire…but unfortunately I’m in no position to help you. As you can see, I’m still trapped within my own curse…”

“The crumbling staircase is another sign of the tower’s fading magic,” I said. “Surely you’ve almost collected enough to free yourself?”

“I have…but I can’t escape on my own.” She gave me a piercing look, a reminder of our bargain. And though my heart prickled with misgiving, I couldn’t back down from my earlier promise, not if helping her would in turn help Quinn.

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