Page 60 of Bound By the Sleeper’s Harp

Bastian went rigid. I kept my gaze fixed on the mat, it was easier to talk this way, to avoid his gaze. “It went downhill from there. He started taking a keen interest in my studies. I was… I don’t know, flattered? Desperate to please him? Desperate to make things normal between us? So, I told him whatever he wanted to know. When I started going out on trips with Professor Miller to track down artifacts, things got especially bad. He got suspicious, thought I was seeing other men, so I had no choice but to tell him what I was doing.

“Then one day, he asked me about a particular artifact, Foust’s Drum. It’s famous, on display in a small art house here in Walton. I told him what it did⁠—”

“What does it do?” Bastian asked, his words measured.

“It…” I swallowed. “It freezes time for a short period, when it’s struck. The information varies, but…about ten seconds.”

“Huh.”

“He wanted it—Luke, I mean. It shocked me at first. He’d always taken a keen interest, but for him to talk about wanting something like that. He’d gathered a band of friends and began planning a heist, to break into the art house and steal it. The humans displaying it had no idea what it did, so security was lax.”

I hesitated, cleared my throat, then continued, “The day before the heist, I tried to talk him out of it. He got so angry…”

Bastian sat frozen. I wasn’t sure he was breathing. It was like he was spun up, holding on by a thread. “Keep going, sugar. I’m right here. It’s all right.” The calm in his voice spurred me on, encouraged me to get this off my chest.

“He beat me first. Then he raped me and beat me while he did it. I could barely walk the next day.” My eyes filled, and everything turned blurry. Not again, my thoughts whispered. I didn’t want to think about it again.

A low growl spread through the room. The hairs on my arms rose. I glanced about, momentarily shocked by the sound of it, only to realize it was coming from the goblin in front of me. Bastian didn’t move.

If I didn’t keep going, I wouldn’t be able to finish the story. “That morning, when I was supposed to be surveying the perimeter of the art house, I contacted the authorities in secret. I revealed his plans. I… I betrayed him,” I said, gasping at the last words.

“You did nothing of the sort,” Bastian said.

I shrugged. “The cops showed up and most of his team was apprehended, but Luke got away. He found me the next day and he… He attacked me. Dislocated my shoulder, did…a lot of other things.” Heat filled my face, embarrassment, shame. “The only reason he stopped was because Professor Miller showed up.”

I slumped, hiding my trembling hands beneath my thighs. I felt the relief in that moment like it was happening all over again. That profound moment when Jane appeared, while I was lying there in my own blood and pain. Hearing her voice dragging me back from the dark pit I’d fallen into.

“I think he would have killed me—no, I know he would have, for what I’d done.” I started shaking, trembling with the memory.

“Fuck,” Bastian whispered, scooting closer, pulling me into his lap. “I’m right here, Elle baby. It’s all right. I’m here.”

Hearing my real name from his lips brought another piece of my old self back to life. It gave me the courage to keep going. To keep speaking.

“She found me and he fled. But right before he left, he told me that the next time he found me, he’d make sure I wished I’d never been born.” A sob rose in my chest. “When I saw him at Vortex, everything came rushing back. I panicked. It’s… It’s been two years.”

Silence fell.

I exhaled, and with that fleeing breath, a weight lifted. My chest lightened, and yet, I still felt a lingering ominous press of tension.

“You’re safe here,” Bastian urged, voice low. “Nothing will happen, I’ll make sure of it. He’ll never hurt you again.”

I nodded, swallowing back a lump of tears. Why was I so desperate to believe him? Could I?

“You started martial arts training after that?” he asked, distracting me.

I nodded again.

“Good girl.” The satisfaction in his voice sent warmth blasting through me. Pride. I was proud that I hadn’t allowed Luke to completely ruin me. From the sound of it, Bastian was too. I could hear it in the way he spoke, as he said, “That was the right thing to do. It takes courage to face harsh realities. You made a decision that you were going to learn the tools needed to protect yourself.” A hand stroked my hair, petting me. I went limp in his arms, wanting more than anything to stay like this, in his warmth, wanting to be held.

“I got the pendant from Professor Miller,” I admitted, my voice thick with unshed tears. I’d never told anyone but Vivi about it. But I needed him to understand the rest of my story, to understand my relationship with Jane and why things had happened the way they had. “It’s an artifact. She stole it from the university collection.”

“The university collection?”

“Yes, WU has a collection of sorts. They display a number of old objects throughout the library, historical artifacts, most of them donated. This one is an amulet of protection. Miller thought feeding it Luke's blood would make it nearly impossible for him to find me. And I couldn't leave Walton completely. Vivi was my only support system, the only person who knew the truth. Starting over in a strange city, completely alone? That felt more dangerous than hiding in plain sight in a place this big.

“When she showed up, I was a bloody mess, but some of Luke’s blood had gotten on me when I’d tried to fight back. That’s what we used.”

“Good girl,” he breathed against my hair, continuing to pet me.