Page 85 of Kept to Kill
Mal shrugged, ostensibly calm but inwardly in turmoil. He had to formulate a plan. Lily was a part of them, a part of him. He didn’t know when he’d started to feel such things. Gods knew he never had before. But Lily had worked her way past his defenses, left him vulnerable as a babe where she was concerned. His fists tightened. But when he got his hands on her, he would make her pay for all of this worry she had caused. He didn’t blame her for getting caught, but he did blame her for taking Quin’s deal, for putting herself at risk for some gold, and the chance – of what? Being alone for the rest of her life? Mal shook his head and Bastian gave him a questioning look.
‘We must get her back,’ Bastian said, ‘and keep her with us no matter the cost.’
Mal nodded.
* * *
When Lily came to,she was on the floor. She tried to get up, but she couldn’t move.
She didn’t know how long the man had beaten her for, but it felt as if there was no part of her body that he had left untouched. She coughed, blood dripping to the floor from her mouth. She wasn’t sure where it was coming from, but she knew he’d broken some of her ribs as well as one of her arms. She couldn’t open her mouth properly, and both her eyes were practically swollen shut.
She started to cry, but when the sobs began to rack her body, she forced them back because it hurt too much. All she could do was lie on the cold stone floor, wishing that she’d never woken up again.
She heard the door being unlocked and couldn’t help the cry of fear that bubbled up from her throat, though she wished she’d been able to hold it in. She didn’t want him to know how much she feared him. But if he was coming back, perhaps he would finish what he’d started. She almost hoped he would, she was in so much pain. Lily could never have imagined that he would hurt her so badly when the First Scholar had said he needed her. Would he be punished for what he’d done?
Lily heard someone’s sharp intake of breath.
‘She’s here.’
Looking up from the slit of the eye she could just about see with, she saw the three Brothers she’d met in the safehouse standing over her.
‘Does she live?’
‘Yes.’
‘Nixus didn’t order her beaten and he wouldn’t have turned a blind eye. He wanted her healthy for his examinations.’
One of them snarled. ‘Shewas never beaten like this,’ another said with a steeliness in his voice that spoke of some inner torment. ‘Who did it?’
‘It hardly matters now,’ the third said. ‘Get her up.’
She cried out as she was lifted by a pair of strong arms that settled her gently onto the bed.
‘We’ll see you to rights, girl.’
‘We can’t take her like this. Legs broken, her arm. Her jaw. She’s coughing up blood, leaking it like bilge water.’
‘Heal her,’ one of them said in a hushed voice.
‘He might find out.’
‘What else can we do? The punishment won’t be too bad, anyway. He wants us to leave within two days to find that witch he’s heard about in the south.’
‘Don’t know why he’s bothering to send us.’
‘Does he really think anyone has the power he seeks in this realm? She’s dead. No one could have survived what happened that night, and I’m glad she didn’t. The bitch was more trouble than she was worth.’
As she lay on the bed, staring up at them, Lily wondered if they were talking about the same girl whose room this had been.
‘Do it now. We told them we’d meet them at the docks soon. We can’t even take her to the infirmary like this. And what do you believe the Commander will do when he sees her? He’ll call the entire Dark Army to war. We can’t let that happen.’
‘Very well. Guard the door.’
One of the men put his gloved hand on her forehead.
‘Be calm,’ he whispered. ‘Close your eyes. You’ll feel better in a moment.’
Lily felt a warmth spread across her almost immediately. It felt like when she used to put her hand out of her tower window to feel the sun’s rays on a warm day, but instead of just on her palm, it was everywhere.
