Page 22 of The Devil In Blue
“Nothing,” Elanor cut in. Finally, she turned her eyes to the count, raising her sharp chin. “We should put her in—”
“Silence, Elanor,” he said, his voice tense but quiet.
“Yes,” Naeve said. “Silence. You’re scaring the poor girl, I’m sure.” She looked at me, a too-sweet smile on her rouge lips. “Eat. You’re too thin. A body like that won’t survive here for long.”
Lura let out another girlish laugh.
“I’m sorry… where am I?” I asked.
“You’re at Farrothorn,” Naeve said.
“Enough, Naeve,” the count said. “She knows perfectly well where she is. Do not treat her as if she doesn’t.”
“I’m not sure she does, my lord.”
Her brows creased with confusion. She must have caught the blatant shock on my face. I most certainly did not know where I was.
Or maybe I did… but I could not remember.
So many memories were lost to whatever horrors I faced before Southminster and perhaps more were lost in the asylum itself. I was an incomplete puzzle, half my life missing in the depths of some trauma-based amnesia. I was miles past frustration. Not knowing had been the biggest constant in my life.
That didn’t make it less jarring to be told I knew something I didn’t. Panic was creeping up on me. I couldn’t know these people or this place. There was no way.
“Where is Lucien?” I asked, suddenly feeling like I needed him there to ground me.
He takes care of me.
You’ve longed to be free of him. Don’t lie.
My heart started to beat a little faster, confusion gripping me too tightly. Its claws were deep and I needed someone to tell me what to do. What to think.
You can’t think for yourself. You’re too broken.
The count’s eyes snapped toward me at the sound of Lucien’s name. Even from across the table, I could see his pupils shrink like he was a predator fixed on a wounded animal. My breath caught in my throat. I felt his stare like an arrow to my chest.
“You dare speak his name in my presence,” he said.
The three women’s faces stilled and the whole room suddenly felt colder.
I needed Lucien.
“Please,” I muttered. “He’ll know what to do. I’m not equipped to have this conversation.”
“Not equipped?” He spit the syllables with disdain.
“I mean… I am unwell. I shouldn’t be here.”
And that was all it took.
I had tipped the scale and not in my favor.
“Get out,” the count said.
“My lord,” Elanor interceded, her voice careful and low as if any other tone would get her killed.
“Get out!”
The whole room vibrated with the count’s rage as he stood, knocking his heavy chair back so hard it toppled to the ground. Naeve and Lura whined and darted from their chairs, their bodies bursting into puffs of swirling black smoke. From the smoke appeared two ravens, their wings flapping frantically to pull from the table as fast as they could. Elanor was the last to move away, but her face was stern and defiant. She didn’t like being scared off, but she surrendered just like the other two, her body shrieking into coiling shadows and reforming into a raven so she could leave.
