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Her fingers pinch a spot in the center of my foot. At first, it’s painful, sharp, but after a moment I sigh loudly. It’s as if she unplugged the drain that is holding my suffering. It’s a slow release. But fuck, it feels amazing.
“Holy shit,” I breathe. “How’d you do that?”
The fire under my skin isn’t gone. Not even close. But it certainly reeled it in, taming the eternal flames.
“Just a technique I learned from one of the colonies.”
I nod, lowering myself with a slow exhale. Relief. Sweet, sweet relief.
“Thank you. I would have woken up the entire prison if left to manage it alone.”
Marilynn doesn’t respond. Her ocean-blue eyes watch me with an unreadable expression. My eyes trail over her lazily. Her cherry-red lips. Her attire, intended as a uniform, struggles to rein in her generous form. Creamy white skin covered in freckles.
“You don’t say much, huh?” I whisper.
“Not nearly as much as you.”
I chuckle.
“We need to get you medicine for these burns,” she muses, still adding pressure to my foot. “You think this prison has a medic?”
“Unlikely. But maybe they’ll let us out so we can get one.” I wink.
Marilynn’s lips part.
“It was a joke. I’m really funny and make them sometimes.” Hello? Have you heard of sarcasm? She’s so stiff. I’m going to have to pay her back for this pain relief by teaching her how to have a sense of humor.
“Yeah.” Her cheeks blossom in color. Dark red spreads down her neck, reaching her ears and collarbone. “That was funny.” Though her soft face remains untouched by humor or any sign of a positive reaction.
I nod. It was funny.
Her small hands work my foot with precision. I wonder what happens when she lets go. Will the pain come back? Will it hit me like a rogue wave? I decide it’s best to distract myself, just in case this doesn’t last. It would suck if I wasted this time thinking about the pain instead of enjoying it.
“You were engaged to Aurick,” I prompt, studying her immediate reaction to his name.
Marilynn recoils but recovers quickly. “Yes.”
“Wow. That sounds…sickening.”
I don’t think I will ever forgive The Demechnefs. Aurick’s father tortured and killed mine. And made me believe he was a monster. A predator to his own son. I ended up in the asylum because of it. I ended up being hosed down by Belinda like an animal in a cage.
But Charles never gave in. He loved me. He fought for me.
My heart pumps acid to my arteries. I could vomit just thinking about this if there was any food in my stomach to turn over.
“But you ran away from him,” I add.
“I did.”
“Do you still love him?” I can imagine Chekiss smacking me upside the head right now. I’m invasive. I know. Okay, but my mouth has a mind of its own. It just blurts out anything.
“I think a part of me will always love him a little.” Her chest moves up and down with slow, uneven breaths. “But it isn’t the kind of love that’s written about in fairy tales. It’s the kind that hurts you in the end. The kind that cuts deeply and doesn’t quite heal right.”
“I understand.” Now she’s speaking my language. I know love. It was my only anchor in this sick world. It was the only shining beacon leading me back to shore.
“What about you?” She pinches the spot on my foot harder. “Have you found your fairy tale love?”
I don’t know why, but that question makes me want to sob into my hands like a little boy. It’s what I’ve always wanted. What I’ve dreamed of my entire life. A soul mate. A lover to grow old with. I can see it when I watch Skylenna with Dessin or Kane. The way her whole world shifts, slows down, pauses just to see him smile.
