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A reluctant laugh escaped her. She might have hated him most of all for still being able to make her laugh.
He cut her chicken into neat bites, speared a small portion on the fork and held it out to her. “Most humans find the utensils help.”
Eddie grabbed the fork and shoved the chicken in her mouth. She chewed and swallowed mechanically. The mash and chicken hit her belly, and she tensed as it threatened to revolt. Clamping her teeth together, she breathed deep.
“Slowly.” Ashe stood and led her by the elbow back to the bed. “Take it slowly, Eddie. Cleaning up vomit is not in my contract, and it makes Calix super pissy to do it.”
“Where is horse boy?” She opened her mouth obediently when he offered her another forkful.
“Eh.” Ashe shrugged. “Probably out there trying on saddles for the perfect fit.”
“Don’t,” Eddie snapped. Her control stretched thin. “Don’t pretend you’re my friend.”
He stared at her for a long moment and then nodded. “Fair enough.” He prepared another forkful. “But I am going to stay until you eat everything.” He wagged the fork. “So the sooner you eat up, the sooner you can be rid of me.”
She snatched the fork out of his hand and applied herself to the rest of the plate. Eddie only made it halfway through before her stomach rebelled and she couldn’t take another bite. “Enough.”
Ashe eyed her and then the plate before he sighed. “Okay. That will have to do.” He frowned down at the remaining food. “Is there something you’d prefer?”
“My freedom.”
He opened his mouth and shut it again. He then proceeded to finish the plate. She didn’t know if he did it for her sake or his own, and she didn’t care.
Once he’d cleaned the plate, he placed everything neatly back on the tray and stood. “Eddie…” He paused and lowered his voice. “I…”
“What?”
“Nothing.” He cleared his throat and the cocky grin returned. “Until later. Your power is up. Calix and I will see you soon.” His gaze was intent as he stared at her. “Really soon.”
“Great.” She refused to let him see the dread that swept over her. Her body was weak, and her spirit was faltering. She didn’t know how many of those draining sessions she could take.
She listened as Ashe shut the door behind him and two locks clicked into place.
Once she was sure he was far enough away, she lay down. The effort of eating had exhausted her. Something cold and hard dug into her hip and she shifted away from it. Her cot wasn’t made for enjoyment, and it was getting harder and harder to get comfortable. That and the cold made sleeping increasingly difficult.
The hard thing dug into her butt, and she reached down and pulled it out.
A key.
She stared at the metal object in her hand as her sluggish brain tried to make sense of what she was seeing. It was a key. It must have fallen from the bunch Ashe kept on a belt around his waist.
The lights flickered, and her cell was plunged into darkness.
It had been so long since she’d been in total dark that her eyes took long, agonizing moments to adjust. Even when she slept, they only dimmed the lights but never turned them off completely.
A plaintive, eerie howl penetrated the Stygian dark. It made the hair on her entire body stand on end. The power within her surged as if in answer to the howl. Was there another Nephilim here? She couldn’t answer that. Shade, Wrath, and Sophia had told her she was the only living one of her kind. “Ugh.” Her voice sounded unnaturally loud in the dark. She knew so little about her own power that she had no way of knowing what that surge truly meant.
The key pressed solid and cold into her hand.
It couldn’t be the key to her cell door. Ashe would never have made that mistake.
Sounds came from outside her cell. With the light going, whatever had kept her in perpetual silence also seemed to have stopped. Raised voices, footsteps running past, and again, that soul searing howl that made her power leap.
Barely daring to breathe, she stumbled for the door. Her hands shook so badly, she had trouble getting the key into the lock. It fit.
Eddie suppressed a desperate sob. She couldn’t believe. If it wasn’t true, the dashed hope would kill her faster than the systematic draining of her power. It took all her strength to do it, but with a metallic snick, the lock opened.
It was too much to hope that the key would open a second look.
