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He took it from me and then slipped it beneath his shirt, tightening his belt to secure it.
It wasn’t long before Reyna and her guards showed up to take us back to our room. I crossed my arms over my chest, but thankfully, she did not notice the extra baggage on my front side. Her eyes were too focused on Ladon.
It was like she was obsessed with him. Whenever they were in a room together, she stared at him in a way that made my stomach coil. I couldn’t explain why her gaze made me so uncomfortable. While half of me felt sorry for him, the other half was thankful that she wasn’t focused on me.
A fresh meal of beef stew and bread was waiting for us back in our room. Steam rose from the bowls of soup, so I knew it must’ve just been delivered. Once again, lunch had been skipped, so I was starving.
“I’ll be back in a couple hours,” Reyna said, pausing at the door. “I have another task for you, Ladon.”
The ‘s’ rolled off her tongue like the snake she was.
When I turned to look at Ladon, his face was drained of all color. He removed the book from under his shirt, then moved to the bed and laid down with his hands behind his head.
“Aren’t you going to eat anything?”
“I’m not hungry.”
That seemed impossible. I knew his aversion to food had everything to do with Reyna’s parting words, but I couldn’t find it in me to press him again. Not when we had finally gotten along for twelve hours.
I sat on the floor, wishing we’d been given a proper table with stools. I ate my soup quickly, mopping up the last dregs with the loaf of bread. I thought about eating Ladon’s, too. If he wasn’t going to eat it, then someone should. It wouldn’t be any good if it sat much longer.
It was almost as if he had read my mind. When he heard the clink of my spoon against an empty bowl, he turned to me. “You can have mine, too.”
I waited for him to change his mind, but when he returned to gazing at the ceiling, I pulled his bowl toward me. I grabbed the second loaf of bread and tossed it across the room, where it landed on his stomach.
“At least eat the bread. You’re no use to me if you starve to death.”
He gave me a half-smile before pulling off a small piece and popping it into his mouth. I smiled back.
As promised, Reyna came back a short while later to collect Ladon. He held his head high as he left the room and the door closed behind him, leaving me alone once again.
At least this time I had books to help pass the time.
This happened routinely, day after day, week after week, until a month had flown by in the blink of an eye. Ladon and I would spend the days carrying out various chores for Reyna, and at night, Ladon would disappear at Reyna’s request.
Every time, he came back with haunted eyes and hunched shoulders. It was as if she was draining the life from him and I was helpless to stop it. He still wouldn’t tell me what was happening, no matter how hard I pressed. My imagination jumped to the wildest conclusions, and I wished he’d just tell me so I could stop fearing the worst.
I sat under the pale moonlight coming in through the grate, attempting to read another chapter on suppressive magic. I’d been hoping that the studies would cover the necessary requirements to remove the magical shackles Reyna had fitted us with. But most of what I’d read so far dealt with defensive techniques. Things like stopping the spread of contagious ailments or stifling unwanted magical outbursts that children were sometimes susceptible to. Nothing to help with my mission to get rid of the vines wrapped around my wrists and ankles.
With every passing day, my hope drained. I was exhausted and beginning to feel like we would never escape Reyna’s grasp. Like we’d been abandoned. Ladon said it would take time for Cyrus and the Osavian army to find us, but I had to admit, I didn’t expect it to take this long. I thought we’d be rescued within a week. Now that we’d been enslaved for a month, I was doing my best not to spiral into despair. Falling apart would be no use. I had to keep myself distracted with the mundane day-to-day tasks and the endless supply of texts to consume.
I rubbed my eyes. Ladon wasn’t back yet, and it was later than usual. I hated the idea of going to sleep when he hadn’t yet returned. We might not have been the best of friends, but we’re all each other had in this dismal hell. Plus, it was hard to sleep without the warmth of another body. The room was far too cold for comfort.
Closing the book, I laid down on the stiff mattress, wrapping myself in the thin blanket. I could hear the wind howling over the opening in the ceiling. At least the water wasn’t dripping in tonight. I could only listen to that pestering rhythm for so long without losing my mind. Before I could doze off, I heard the sound of footsteps in the hall.
The door creaked as it opened, and Ladon stepped inside. Without a word, he headed toward the bathroom. I could hear the groan of the pipes as the shower turned on.
This was also part of his routine every night when he came back. I allowed him the time and space to rid himself of the hidden stains on his heart, mind, and soul. After that first night, he typically came to bed without my persuasion.
The mattress shifted with his weight and his wet skin pressed against my arm. He wore only his pants and his chest was still warm from the shower.
“Are you okay?”
He nodded.
I knew better than to ask what happened. I decided to try a different approach this time. “Tell me something honest.”
His eyes reflected the soft moonlight as he turned to face me. “Like what?”
