Where am I?
It was dark. Hay. Blood. The cell–
She was still in the cell–
No. Not the cell. Somewhere else. Someone was reaching for her – grabbing her. She lashed out wildly. Mindless. Screaming. Her fist connected with something solid. The figure let out a sharp grunt of pain.
“Ow – Kara, stop–”
She scrambled back, hitting a wall, her side burning, her bound wrists – no, not bound, free – came up, clawing at the air between her and–
A figure. Dark. Moving towards her.
Cade.
“Stay away!” The words ripped out of her, raw and terrified. “Don’t touch me–”
“Kara, it’s me–”
That voice.
Wrong. It was the wrong voice. Not Cade’s sneer. Something else. Someone–
“Kara, please, it’s Sebastian–”
Sebastian?The name didn’t make sense. He was dead. Cade had told her.
The pyre. He’d burned.
No. Wait. Cade hadlied.
She blinked hard against the dizziness. Her vision was swimming. The figure knelt a few feet away, but they weren’t coming closer. They had their hands raised, palms out. Waiting.
“It’s okay,” the voice said again. Measured. Patient. “You’re safe. I’m not going to hurt you.”
She tried to calm her breathing, but it came in ragged gasps, her heart pounding so hard it felt like it was trying to break through her ribs.
Not Cade. Not the cell.
Sebastian was alive. In front of her.
“Sebastian?” she stuttered.
“Yeah. I’m here.”
She threw herself into his arms with a broken cry. “Sebastian–”
She let herself feel the weight of him, the strength. She wasn’t bound. She wasn’t alone.
He’s not dead. He’s here.
Her tears fell, thick and fast. “I thought–” she choked. “I thought I was back there.”
“I know,” he said, but his voice broke. His hand hovered at first as though he was scared to touch her, scared he’d hurt her. Then his fingers rested lightly on her back. “You’re safe. You’re with me.”
He pulled her down onto his chest and the dam broke. The iron control she’d held during their escape shattered. A sob broke free. Then another. Days of fear, pain, and grief – all of it – poured out. Her fingers gripped his torn tunic like he was a life raft in a storm. She pressed herself against him. Trying to get closer. She needed to be closer.
“I thought I’d never see you again,” she gasped. The words tumbled out – broken. “I thought–” she sobbed again. “He said you’d burned. I thought it was true. I thought I’d lost you.”
