Page 52 of The Bonds of Indigo

“In the six hours I was allowed to sit, I had to eat, sleep… and take whatever punishment that day brought.”

Quite literally pounding on his chest, he sits up and reaches for an invisible glass of nothing. “Shit.”

“There are bottles of water in the mini-fridge. Unsure if they’ve been opened or not… They don’t seem new.”

He gets up and rushes to the black box sitting under the tube television. At first, I hadn’t even noticed it—it blends so well into the dark wooden unit. Once he grabs a bottle, I look back at the food in front of me and reach for a fry.

“Why does that surprise you?”

“Amarah—” See, when he says my name, it does nothing for me. It’s just more of an inconvenience that he knows it when I didn’t directly give it to him. Now, when Butcher says it… fuck, my insides feel good. Too fucking good. “How long was that going on for?”

“Since I was put into the cell.”

“Alright, that is why I’m surprised. You had to endure that for seven years? Were the punishments what gave you those scars on your back?”

I bite so hard on the inside of my cheek I pierce the skin, tasting blood instantly.

“You… didn’t tell Butcher about those, right?”

“Pfft, no.”

I can’t tell if he’s lying or not. That’s his friend, and imagining him not saying anything seems idiotic of me. I’ll trust my gut and assume Atlas spilled it to the brute.

“So was it?”

I shove a piece of food into my mouth, giving myself a few seconds before I have to answer. “No. The lashes were part of the sentencing.”

“That isn’t something normal in our judicial system.”

“I’m not a normal criminal…”

He hums. “Then what were the other punishments?”

When I narrow my eyes at him, he throws his hands up—one holding his burger, the other greasy. His chagrined expression is… endearing. He’s handsome. Definitely someone that would’ve caught my eye before everything happened.

“Color me curious. Not many can say they’ve had a conversation with someone in Thornegate. Just a little insight.”

Sighing heavily, I grab a napkin. “No, Atlas.”

He releases a long, “Aww, come onnn.”

“We aren’t friends.”

I can’t believe the hurt that comes over him. What? We’ve known one another for a day.

I begin unfolding the burger, and the moment just a smidge of the oil gets on my fingers, I immediately push it away. Plus, there’s cheese on it.

“I need to work up to eating anything that heavy.” I force down a hard swallow. “You can have it.”

He doesn’t hesitate to reach across and pull it to his side. “Keep eating the fries then. They’re dry as fuck, but sustenance.”

I nod and do just that.

“The days we were in the hospital, the nurses and staff kept looking at both Butcher and me weirdly. I chalked it up to him being a massive Vampire in a sea of small Mundanes and a few Shifters. Turns out, they must’ve seen the scars.”

I simply agree and continue eating slowly, moving between the fries and the nuggets. I’ve got about three of each down when I reach for his water. He pushes it toward me and smiles.

“We are sharing a drink. I think that makes us friends. Friends share things.”