Page 392 of Primal Bonds

“Luc?” His gaze skimmed the cell, confirming what he already knew. The wolf fada wasn’t with them.

“He’s okay,” Rosana assured him. “When they took us away, he was just coming around. But I don’t know what they did with him.”

“Probably sent him back to Blaer.”

“Oh.” She grimaced. “I’m sorry.”

“Yeah. Woman’s not right in the head.” Still—“Not right to drag you into this. When I found out…could’ve hurt him myself.”

Rosana resumed stroking his face. He let out a grateful sigh. It felt so good.

“It’s okay,” she said. “If I was under a geas to Blaer, I might’ve done the same thing. I saw how she treats him. She grabbed his quartz and it hurt. And she just smiled. She was feeding on his pain.”

“Fuck.” His stomach clenched. Gods, he hated feeling so damn powerless. “If I could break the geas for him, I would.”

But Luc had given his word. He’d serve out his time, or die. That’s how he was.

Rosana squeezed his shoulder. “I’m sorry,” she said again.

Taking her hand, he brought her fingers to his lips in silent thanks.

She leaned down to brush her lips over his. “Thirsty?” When he dipped his chin in assent, she eased his head from her lap and reached for the cup. “Be right back.”

Just moving that tiny amount sent another jolt through his skull. But he made himself turn over, then pushed himself up to sitting, slowly, painfully. Halfway up, his stomach rebelled at the change in position, and he had to pause to ride the nausea out. He set his teeth and breathed through it.

By the time Rosana returned, he had his back against the wall, legs stretched in front of him. That was better. He felt more clear-headed. Less vulnerable.

Taking the cup from her, he drained it with small, careful sips. “Thank you,” he said, handing it back.

“Let’s see how that goes down,” she replied. “Then you can have more if you want.”

When he nodded, Rosana got herself a drink and then sat beside him, arms hugging her bent legs. Outwardly calm, but her scent was sour with fear.

He turned toward her, set a hand on her arm. That’s when he noticed the finger-sized bruises on her throat.

He touched one of them. “Who did this?” he growled.

She shook her head. “Doesn’t matter.”

“It was Luc, wasn’t it?”

She jerked a shoulder.

A dark rage balled his stomach.

Rosana shot him an uneasy look. “They’re already better. If I could’ve shifted, the bruises would be almost gone by now.”

He swallowed his anger, nodded. This was between him and Luc. But the man was going to pay for every mark he’d put on Rosana.

For now, they had other worries, like the fact that Rosana was a river fada who’d been forcibly removed from her home waters. And on top of that, she couldn’t shift in this cramped, underground cell.

“You need your river. How long—?”

“I’m fine. The Chesapeake Bay isn’t far from here, and we’re right by the Potomac River. And this water”—she indicated the trickle coming from metal spout—“is spring water. Just splashing it on my face helped.”

He frowned. She wasn’t lying, but he recognized a half-truth when he heard it. “Why not shift to your otter?”

“If it comes to that, I guess I’ll try. But the dolphin is my preferred animal. I haven’t shifted to otter since I was a pup.”

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