I take a seat next to him.
“This isn't real…” I breathe out. “Sitting this close, I'd normally feel your warmth… but you, you died…” My voice cracks, and my eyes well with tears.
“No, don't cry, Isobel.” Tex turns to me but doesn't reach for me. “I died for you, and I'd do it all over again.”
“I wouldn't!” The tears roll down my cheeks. “I would've told you to duck. I would've...” I gasp.
“Slow down. Just breathe, Iz. There's nothing we can do now. We only have a limited time together.”
“What?” I sniffle, “Limited time?”
“We're in your subconscious, Iz, you'll wake up again.”
I wipe my eyes. “I don't want to, I'd rather stay here with you.”
“No, you need to go back.”
“But I don't want to! You've seen what's been happening. Dakota? Jace? I'm getting betrayed left and right.”
“I know, Iz, I know it’s hard. But you have to go back. Imagine what would happen to Maeve, to Lucian? Noah and Luca? Even Jace.”
I scoff and cross my arms.
“Jace wouldn't care. Haven't you been paying attention?”
Tex shakes his head and laughs.
“Glad to see you still got a smart-ass mouth. I'm always with you, Isobel. You got this. You've survived so much. You'll survive this, too.”
“Wakey, wakey, sleeping beauty.” Butch is banging two pots together.
My eyelids are heavy. The effort it takes to open them takes more than I’d like to admit.
“I remember the days when she was so sure Lucian would find her.” Gideon’s voice has ice running down my spine.
Then the hiss of metal, the faint splash of water sloshing somewherebehind me. My heart stutters. I don’t even have the strength to flinch before it happens.
The first drop hits my shoulder like acid. Then the flood follows—a shock so violent my lungs forget how to work.
Ice crashes down my spine, and the air is ripped from my chest. The sound that tears out of me doesn’t sound human. My body jerks against the restraints, muscles seizing, teeth clacking hard enough to hurt. Every nerve is screaming, every breath shallow and panicked.
It doesn’t even feel like water—it feels like knives. Like my skin is being split open repeatedly.
Somewhere above the ringing in my ears, I hear someone say something—words I can’t make out. My vision blurs, flashing white at the edges.
Then it’s over. The cold clings to me anyway, dripping down my neck, pooling beneath me. I gasp in short, useless bursts, shivering so hard my bones ache. The chains bite into my wrists.
The floor tilts. Maybe I’m falling. Maybe I already did.
My head lolls forward, breath rattling. The water is still there, dripping from the little rags I wear. I can’t tell if I’m shaking from the cold or from what’s left of fear.
Gideon’s face enters my vision; it swims a bit.
“W-what d-do-o y-you w-w-want?” I can feel the smallest bit of adrenaline pulsing in my veins, giving me a moment of clarity and strength to speak.
“Well.” Gideon stands up straight and begins to walk, like he’s a villain in a movie, “I have plans. And while Lucian is focused on Daniel and finding you. I need time to prepare.” His smile is cruel.
“J-j-just k-kill me then.” I try to glare.
