She nodded, her body curling into mine. “I’ve never been better,” she murmured, reaching over my chest and grabbing my necklace. Her fingers started absentmindedly tracing the ‘H’ engraved into it.
I pulled the blanket over her, knowing how much she craved the warmth. All her tics made sense now. Why she didn’t eat meat, why she was always cold…
“I think this might be the best night of my life,” she whispered, her voice barely audible. Her eyes were shutting, fluttering softly, and I knew she was desperately trying to stay awake.
“Me too,” I murmured back, leaning down to kiss her. I leaned my head against the pillows, staring up at the ceiling.
I wasn’t sure how much time had passed before I whispered, “I think I’m in love with you, Magnolia.”
Silence followed, and I forced myself to turn to look at her. Maybe I said too much. Maybe I?—
I smiled as sleep found her and her breathing slowed. Her arm was draped over my chest, her fingers still clutching my necklace.
Yeah, I was totally, stupidly, foolishly in love. Magnolia had me wrapped around her finger, and I never wanted it to change.
Chapter Fifty-Six
Prisoners
MAGNOLIA
It was eerily quiet as I led Hael down to the dungeons in Moriann the next day. There were so many parts of the castle that I wasn’t familiar with. When I was Dahes’ slave, he rarely let me out of my room, but the dungeons I knew better than anyone.
I’d spent so many nights dragging bodies down here. I’d watched him haul prisoner after prisoner out of these cells, watched their punishments, watched some beg, watched most die…
All of that was ending now.
I held my hand up, smiling softly as the bars clicked open. I’d seen Dahes do it a million times, had known that the cells were touch activated, and now they opened for me.
I wasn’t sure if it was because of the rings still around my eyes—if he left traces of himself in me—or if it was because I was the one who killed him, but the castle, the monsters, all of Moriann… it answered to me.
It was the only good thing that came out of this—I could right some of my wrongs.
I let every single prisoner out of their cage. I realized that it might not have been the smartest move considering I put many of them inthere. Most remembered me. Hael had to punch a few of them that tried to attack me the second they were free. I understood it—they needed an outlet for their vengeance, and I was always with Dahes down here.
I would hate me too.
But I didn’t care if this decision came back to bite me in the ass. I was doing it. Every single one of these people deserved to be free.
I was about to open another cell when I paused. Hael was holding a single torch that barely gave us enough light to see.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, seeing me halt. My hand was an inch from the metal. I was so close.
The male in the cage stood with a gaping hole in his face. He wore a sneer across his lips as he spat at me. “Come to take my other one, you cunt?”
Hael looked the prisoner up and down. “Apologize to her right fucking now,” his voice was low, menacing. “OrI’llrip your other eye out of your head, then shove it back into its socket only to do it again.”
“I—” Kip stuttered as if he only just noticed Hael behind me. His eye was raking in his looming height, his muscles, his glare solely fixed on him.
“It’s okay,” I said to Hael, finding my voice again. “I deserve it.”
I felt his gaze shift to me, knew he was pissed, but now wasn’t the time to talk about my frayed humanity. Later, when we were alone, we had a lot to talk about, but not right now.
“I’m sorry,” I turned to Kip. I was about to say I didn’t have a choice, but I did. I could have picked anyone that night. Hell, I knew I should have picked myself. I should have been the one with only one eye right now, not him.
“I can’t take it back,” I continued, “and you have every reason to hate me, but hate me outside of here and be free.” I finally touched my hand to the metal and the bars groaned open on a phantom wind.
“I don’t care what happened,” Hael snapped. He’d been so calm down here, so quiet as he let me do this, that seeing this emotion was jarring. “Touch her and I’ll fucking kill you.”
