Page 127 of Coal Hearts

“What’s wrong?” I groaned as he worked on a tight knot.

“Nothing.”

“But—”

“Quiet.”

He refused to meet my eyes.

I didn’t know why he seemed so mad at me.

Hadn’t I done what he suggested? I’d stopped fighting and endured it. I’d accepted it against all rationality.

A wave of discomfort made me hiss as he dug his thumb into my shoulder blade. Slowly, the pins and needles faded.

He stopped massaging me and marched back over the bridge, expecting me to follow.

What the hell is his problem?

I’d expected a kind word. Maybe a consolatory hug.

If I was honest, I needed a kind word. I couldn’t think about what Henri had done or what all those other beasts craved. I’d go mad. The only way to stay standing after I’d been technically raped was to completely ignore it. To compartmentalise it. To focus only on the issue right in front of me, and the current issue was Peter’s coldness.

“Peter...”

“Not here,” he snapped.

Marching like a drill sergeant, he stayed icy and silent as I fell into step with him.

He stayed quiet as we moved like ghosts from the gardens into the stone castle. We travelled through sun-drenched luxury like high-class courtesans, only to scurry down shadow-cloaked corridors like beaten rats.

My bare toes were numb from cold pavers by the time he guided me into a ginormous room with gilded architraves, two-story ceilings, massive leadlight windows leading onto curved, barred balconies, and more beds than I could count. Each mattress was military tidy with matching virginal white sheets and a single white pillow.

Empty of others.

Just us.

My stomach churned.

Where were the rest of the jewels, and how badly were they being treated? How much longer before Henri’s team could get them out?

Stopping beside a neatly made single bed, Peter pointed at it. “This is yours.”

Goosebumps spread down my arms. The thought of sleeping in this jewel-filled dormitory shouldn’t offer comfort, but it did. Knowing I wouldn’t be alone while sleeping offered a false sense of safety. Then again...I didn’t think I’d sleep here. Henri had just purchased that right—

He hasn’t purchased anything because he doesn’t have the money.

It’s only a matter of time before Victor shoots him.

I sighed heavily.

Peter stepped closer. His hands curled into fists. “Are you okay? Did he hurt you? Do you need me to take you to Dr Belford?”

An almost hysterical giggle escaped. “You’re asking me if I’m okay? A slave who’s been terrorised for over five years is asking the new girl who’s only had to endure a single day if she’s okay?” Fresh tears stung, spearing into my eyes far too fast to stop them. “Paavak—”

“Don’t use my true name. Not here. I don’t even know why I told you.”

“You told me because you wanted a friend.”