“We were lucky that theTitanichit the iceberg at night, and we were rescued from the lifeboats before dawn.”
I pinch my eyebrows together. “Yes, very lucky. I just don’t understand why I went into hibernation then. I had just woken up a year before.”
Tish tilts her head. “You don’t remember anything before that?”
Anguish squeezes my heart so tight, I can barely breathe. I may not feel emotion, but somehow, what happened to me is able to draw these visceral reactions from me. “No.”
She sighs. “You were brutally attacked. When your father found you, he thought you were dead. I didn’t see you, but I was told there was so much blood, they thought you had lost your heart.”
My stomach coils violently, and I fear I might be sick. “Was I… raped?”
Tish seems to freeze for a moment, and her cat eyes widen. “What makes you ask that? Do you think you were?”
I close my eyes, fighting the tears that are gathering in them. “I… I’m not sure. Even though I don’t remember, I feel tainted somehow.”
“Boone was the one who found you.”
My spine goes rigid in an instant, my body chilling to the bone. “What?”
“He said Raphael’s soldiers did that to you, and your father believed him.”
“But you didn’t?”
“I’m not blinded by hatred like your father. Your attack did not fit with any other attacks from Raphael’s forces. They were all about killing fast, not torture.”
I run a shaky hand through my hair. “Do you think maybe Boone might have been responsible?”
“He was a creep for sure, but I don’t believe he’d attack you. It doesn’t make sense. But maybe he was covering for someone else.”
“Well, he’s dead now, so we can’t ask him.” I square my shoulders and try to return to my normal, emotionless state.
“You might remember who did it eventually.”
“Or maybe I don’t want to remember.” I stare at my phone’s screen and, wanting to change the subject, say, “There are barely any apps on here.”
One of Tish’s best qualities is that she knows how to read the room. She immediately jumps on the new topic of conversation in a much lighter tone of voice. “Oh, good. You already know what apps are. There are a few that you must download immediately. Pinterest, and the clock app.Especiallythe clock app.”
“What’s so special about the clock app?”
“Sophie, I’m about to introduce you to the joy of thirst traps.”
Five
SOPHIE
Tish was right about one thing: What she calls thirst traps were definitely traps. We spent hours on the clock app. I’m not too sure about the “thirst” part, though. Watching those videos of half-naked attractive men did not make me crave sex or blood. Maybe I’m missing something.
I’m thankful for the knock on the door. I would have taken the phone away from Tish, but she was so excited about sharing her passion with me that I didn’t have the heart.
“Who is it?” I ask.
“It’s Igor.”
Tish groans. “Ugh, not that troll.”
Igor Svechnikov has been my father’s enforcer since before I was born. The Russian Mountain was what everyone called him due to his size. Tish never liked him for mysterious reasons. Despite his size, he’s easy on the eye, so maybe she tried to get into his pants, and he turned her down.
“Come in.”
