Too bright.
Too loud.
The voices grew concerned, closer.
Rin gasped and grabbed the sheet, yanking it up to her chin as if to hide herself. The action caused a sharp poke at her wrist, and she grimaced, weak fingers finding a wire. She tugged it free, ripping the tape; blood fell from the puncture on the inside of her wrist. Red droplets scattered on the rumpled sheets.
Her back bumped against the headboard.
A face swam into focus. Tired green eyes behind glasses.
Rin sobbed. "Lucien, Lucien, please—" She didn’t know what she was begging for.
Lucien shushed her. He drew nearer, sitting on the edge of the bed, until his face was all she saw.
Rin’s heart rate kicked up, thundering in her chest. Her palms grew clammy, grip weak on the blanket. She trembled so hard, the headboard faintly knocked against the wall.
She squinted as a light flashed.
Lucien spoke quietly, but she barely understood over her panic and terror. "Auren, can you come here, please?" The bed dipped at Rin’s side as Auren sat. His arms wrapped around her shoulders, a palm flat on her chest, stilling her. "Yes, just like that. Hold her steady while I check her pupil dilation. We need to be sure she’s not going into shock."
Her eyes squeezed tight as white little dots sparked behind her closed lids. A cool, steady hand gripped her chin and jaw, directing her face away from where she’d tucked it in the blankets.
"Open your eyes, sweet girl."
Her lids were forced open, and she saw nothing but white as a light was shone in her eye. It blinded her. When it was pulled away, she blinked many times in a row to try and clear her vision.
Lucien’s face was covered in speckled impressions of light. "There you are. You’re okay, Vesperin." He took her hand,fingers gentle on her wrist as he wiped the blood away from where she’d pulled free the IV.
The hands on her shoulders grew to be stifling, and she shoved her shoulder weakly against a hard chest. The hands released her. She turned, eyes wild as she saw Auren sitting beside her, palms held out. His blue eyes were filled with sadness as he watched her.
Rin saw Cyrus behind Lucien, then Rhyden. They both stood, watching her with varying expressions. Cyrus seemed tortured, hands fisted in the fabric of his hoodie, as if it was taking everything in him not to bundle her up in his arms and pull her to him. Rhyden was stoic, a muscle in his jaw fluttering as he watched her. He caught her gaze and arched a pale brow.
It was too much.
Rin ripped her hand away from Lucien, pressing her palms against her chest as if to still her pounding heart.
She saw only Kit, heard his low words in the dark torture room. The way he’d appraised her, testing her reaction after each shock, dark-gloved fingers flicking the dials and buttons. Telling her to breathe.
Pain.
His unnatural strength, the coldness in his eyes.
It was all coming back to her, unable to be forced away. She was forced to face it, all while they watched her shatter.
Rin gave a choked scream. "Kit. No—no.Kit." She sobbed, vision blurring with tears.
Her fingers clawed at her chest, catching in a tangled chain. She grabbed it and pulled it free from beneath the large shirt she wore. Silver glinted—Kit’s dog tag. Her sobs grew louder, feeling like they’d crack her chest.
The hands returned, gripping her wrist with delicate yet fervent care as they held her destructive fingers away from her flesh. She thrashed.
"Vesperin, listen to me—stop this. You’re hurting yourself. You have to calm down. Your heart—" Lucien begged her.
"No, K-Kit, he—" Rin shook her head, hair getting into her mouth and sticking to the wetness on her cheeks.
Lucien’s hands stilled on her, enough that she was able to tear herself away and crawl beneath the sheets, back pressed against the wall. He leaned over her. She felt trapped, no longer caged in her body but between Lucien and the wall, all while the others watched on.
Lucien reached back, and she caught a glimpse of something pressed into his palm by Auren. Lucien turned his attention back to her, hand hidden between them.
