Page 70 of Phoenix Falling
Grim approached, then passed me, moving to the next cell. Across the hall, Beckan stood at his window too, peering out. And then Lyris passed, her golden hair shining beneath the harsh lights. She had her arm around another female—red hair, blood on her face. What the hell?
I listened as they moved to the cell beyond mine and laid the female on the bed there. She was silent, but anger and pain filled the air as she passed, thick enough for me to choke on. I met Beckan’s gaze across the hall, seeing the glow of his animal rising as he sensed exactly what I was sensing.
“Why the fuck do they have a female here?”
I gave a short shake of my head. Though we were prisoners, I never got the sense that our Archai captors were unjust. But a female…
“Easy,” Lyris said quietly.
Then Grim, “Risk…let me try again to heal you. A second session should take care of that knock to the head.”
A moment later, “Get the fuck out of my mind.”
“I’m just trying—”
“Don’t try. Just stay out.”
“He can’t help you if you don’t let him in, Risk,” Lyris said. “He’s not going to hurt you.”
“I said no. You guys know what no means, right? Or doesn’t that word mean anything here.” A strained laugh. “Of course it doesn’t.”
“Technically, you’re a prisoner,” Lyris said, the faintest hint of sarcasm in her tone.
“Why?”
“Why were you at the compound?” Grim asked.
“Is it off-limits for some reason? You guys hired me to look for clues; I went looking for clues. Why is that a problem?”
“I don’t think that’s totally it,” Grim said, “but I’m not gonna question you right now. I only want to heal your wounds.”
“Then get me a medic. And stay the fuck out of my head.”
Grim sighed and it sounded like it came all the way from his toes. “All right.”
I heard Lyris moving toward the door, and then she was walking down the hall. I watched, noted the grim line of her mouth as she passed. A few minutes later she returned with a first-aid kit. Patrick, the Archai “doctor,” followed behind. Even shifters sometimes needed a doctor; our bodies couldn’t heal everything immediately.
Motion came from the cell next door, then, “Get your fucking hands off me.”
Grim chuckled. “Is ‘fuck’ your favorite word?”
“If you’d met me before, you’d know the answer is yes.” More movement. “Does consent not matter here? The Geneva Convention?”
“Yeah,” I muttered before I’d realized the words were coming, “that doesn’t really apply here either.” It was true, though I probably shouldn’t have spoken and made the situation worse than it sounded.
She probably couldn’t hear me anyway.
“Nice to know.”
Okay, so she could hear me.
Grim came out into the hallway, followed by Lyris. I couldn’t see his eyes, but I could tell he was glaring at me. “Thanks.”
I shrugged. “It’s the truth.”
Another sigh.
“Doing that a lot today,” Lyris pointed out.
