I bite my lip as I try not to get lost in the sweet letter. It brings a smile to my face, which is how they find me when they open the door.
“Something amusing going on?” a man asks.
“Just contemplating my level of luck. I come over here thinking I’d help and instead find myself imprisoned, accused, and being left to die because you guys won’t believe me that I need my stuff or Iwilldie.”
“We can help you,” the man says as he rudely yanks me over to a chair and sits me down in it. “Tell me your problems.”
“Oh sure, of course. So I was cursed by one of those horrible magic users, and now the only way I can survive is by having my necklace pressed against my skin.”
He must notice the tremors in my hand because he reaches for a glove and pulls it off before stilling. Then he pushes my sleeve up before jerking back and hastily exiting the room.
“Wow! You’re a miracle doctor! I’ve been cured!” I shout with ample sarcasm so he’s aware that I’m not impressed.
Apparently, I’m beyond healing because no one returns. After I wander and stumble into literally every single item in the room, I finally find the door, but it’s locked. I stagger a few feet before my head feels like someone’s pushed it through a strainer, and I decide that maybe I could spare a minute for a quick break before sinking down to the floor.
Chapter Thirteen
Riley
I’m not sure how long I’ve been out before the door opens and someone slips a container inside. I can smell food but with the way I’m feeling, the idea of eating makes me nauseous.
“I’m not hungry,” I mutter, but the person is long gone.
I hear a faint noise and cock my head a second before I hear a quiet sound that’s so familiar that relief rushes through my body.
Diving forward, I knock open the container and send the food inside flying out while my fingers sink into soft fur.
“Kit!” I cry as I’m suddenly greeted by my own face through her eyes. “The best dinner I’ve ever been served.” I pretend to nibble on her which makes her squirm, all the more excited. “While you’re with me, you need to be careful. I don’t trust these people.”
I slide her into my shirt until just her head is sticking out and glance around the room now that my vision has returned to me. I see that I’m in some kind of doctors office… but why did they just leave me here? Was he so thrown by the stain that he just ditched me for what feels like hours?
“Kit, when the door opens again, I need you to get me my pendant and the hourglass, okay?”
She just continues to love on me, showing me that she hasn’t listened to a single thing I’ve asked. She’ll likely return with roses at this point.
Kit rubs her face all over me and flips and rolls while making all the happy noises she can. Her tail even ends up in my mouth at one point as she does a very impressive nosedive. “Yes, yes, I love you and I missed you so much. I really did. You can give me all of the kisses when we get back home,” I say while she licks all over my face. It’s not at all pleasant and something I don’t generally let her do, but I’m so happy to see her that I’m fine with it at the moment. I give her a kiss and scoop her up to my shoulder.
I try to open the cupboards and drawers but find that the only ones that aren’t locked are holding items that very much couldn’t be used to defend myself… unless I was planning on cramming some gauze down someone’s throat. Or a possible “Death by cotton balls.”
Kit thinks the cotton balls are her jam and takes one which she chews on, but at least that means she’s stopped licking me. I find absolutely nothing to use in defense besides some chairs, but… I’m not quite sure running out with a chair above my head is going to solve much. I have no idea how I got in here… and so far, while they’re not exactly the best of hosts, they also haven’t done much to me.
That doesn’t mean I plan on staying, though.
If only I could handle being away from that cursed hourglass. Why is it so bad? I know I had a bad spell the night Torin went in to retrieve the horse, but does this mean I’d feel this miserable every day without the hourglass? Is the hourglass really helping that much?
Exhausted after doing so little, I sit down on the floor while I try to think about my next course of action which must end up leaving me unconscious because the next thing I know, the door is open and someone is dragging me.
My mind immediately goes to Kit, but when I check her eyes, I see that she’s not even with me. She’s rushing down the halls dodging onlookers.
“Where are you taking me?” I mumble.
“You’re fine, we’re just going back to your cell,” a man says.
“Is the god there?” I have no idea why I’m even worried about Vero since he’s obviously a dick. But I can’t stop thinking about Torin going through something like that. And I know he’snotTorin, but it’s still not right.
When the guards don’t answer, I say, “I need to use the bathroom. I can’t go yet. I really need to use the bathroom.”
“You can use the toilet in your cell.”
