Page 95 of Glass and Bone
“I love you too, Scarlett.” A choked sob escapes my throat. “Please don’t die on me.” I cry out, my hands shaking as I press on the wound in her chest.
“I’ll see her again.” I look down at her, tears dripping steadily off her cheeks. She takes a deep breath before relaxing. “I see her.” She whispers, her eyes staring at nothing as she smiles.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
I barely notice being placed on Sybil’s back, blood soaking my black leggings. Someone gets on behind me, holding me tight against them. I stare at the trees, unseeing. Scarlett’s body is still lying on the cobblestones next to Rhea’s. Men standing over them, someone is pressing on Scarlett’s stomach when we move between the trees and out of sight.
Numbness spreads across my body as we quickly trot back to Noterra. I don’t notice the time pass, I don’t notice getting off the horse, or being placed inside a soapy bath. My eyes don’t move, they freeze in one direction. My body is cold, vibrating with each slow and steady breath. My head is pushed beneath the water and then immediately lifted up. I am hoisted out of the bath and wrapped in a thick warm towel. Seconds later a shirt is pulled over me and I am tucked into a warm bed. I hardly even register the thin silver cuff attached to my wrist as I am hooked onto the bed. A prisoner.
The bed dips down next to me as Tobias climbs in. He pulls me against his chest, careful not to pull on the arm attached to the bed. His hand caresses my hair as he speaks. I don’t hear what he says. I don’t register anything that’s happening. I don’t protest when a glass of wine is handed to me, and I drain it quickly. Letting the thick, syrupy texture coat my throat. The syrupy drug he had been giving me all along. I eventually fall asleep.
So much screaming. So much pain. Blood is pooling under my feet. My wrists are tightly clasped into chains that are attached to a horse, dragging me through the wreckage. Smoke fills the air, choking me as I try to breathe,
I look up at the person riding the horse I am attached to. His silver crown is sparkling in the flames, reflecting into his golden copper hair. He has a smirk plastered on his face as he looks down at me.
“Welcome home, Elaenor.”
My eyes open to darkness, a soft snore coming from my left. I slowly move my head to see Tobias sleeping soundly next to me. I shift slightly, pulling on my arm. The metal clinks together when I lift my hand, preventing too much movement. I sit up and look down. I am wearing one of Tobias’s cotton shirts. The only blood that remains is the dried blood under my nails. I fight back the tears begging to escape as I lift my head to look around the room.
The room is dark, but it isn’t hard to see the armed guards standing by the door, their gazes fixed on me. The men staring at me aren’t Laris or Tano but guards I haven’t seen before. I meet their stare and they shift on their feet uncomfortably.
“Don’t mind them.” Tobias says from my left, almost making me jump. “They are here to protect you.”
“Protect me from you?” He sits up and forces my face to his.
“I would never hurt you.” I clench my teeth together.
“You have been, haven’t you?” He doesn’t flinch. “Is that what you’ve been putting in my coffee and my wine? Hemlock and poppy root?”
“How many times have I told you not to talk to Theo? He just fills your head with lies.” He shakes his head and releases my chin.
“How long? How long have you been drugging me so you can beat me to where I don’t remember.”
“I don’t know what you are talking about.”
“The night of the ball. You strangled me. I remember it, but when I woke up, I was fine, and you told me it was just a bad dream. The number of times I have awoken, bathed and naked, or sore.” He sighs and leans back against the headboard. “How long, Tobias?”
“I told you I liked things a little rough. You got hurt and if I didn’t do something you would have died.”
“What are you talking about?”
“We were having sex and my hands held your throat for too long, you passed out. Apollo recommended poppy root to help you heal. I was so scared, but when you woke up the next morning, you didn’t remember.”
“That’s a lie. You planned this.” The note said he ordered the hemlock and poppy before my arrival. He wasplanningfor this in advance.
“You woke up the next morning so refreshed, and you told me it was the first time you hadn’t had a nightmare in ten years.” He speaks as if he did me a favor, as if he hasn’t been abusing me.
“Oh my gods, Tobias. You used the hemlock and poppy root so you could do whatever you wanted to me, and I wouldn’t remember it?” He nods and I force myself to swallow back the bile in my throat. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
“Would you rather I fuck other women?”
“If that’s what you are doing, then yes!” I snap before trying to slide off the bed. I can’t go far as the chain pulls me back, but I scoot as far as I can from him. He gets out of the bed and comes around to my side before I have the chance to back away. He has a vial in his hand, and I flinch away from him.
“Take it.”
“No.” I slam my lips shut and shake my head.
“Take it willingly or I will forcibly pour it down your fucking throat.” I shake my head again and scoot back on the bed. He reaches for my face and clenches my cheeks. “Open your mouth.” I pinch my lips tighter together. “Open your fucking mouth, Elaenor.” I spit at him, and he takes it as his opportunity to shove his fingers inside. I try to bite down, but he has my jaw clenched between his fingers. He sticks one end of the vial in his mouth, pulling out the tiny cork before tipping it into my throat. The liquid is sweet and oily as it slides down my throat. It tastes like pure sugar with a floral hint. He releases my face and I try to spit it out, but it’s already gone.
