Page 818 of Coal Hearts

As the darkness wrapped me in its web, Q muttered, “I want him scanned for tracking implants. I’m not making the same mistake as I did with Tess. I want all of them scanned. Do you hear me?”

“Of course. Now, hold him steady, please.”

I was gone.

Chapter Twenty-One

...............................

Henri

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I WOKE FOR THE THOUSANDTH time, but this time...coherency woke with me.

I didn’t hover in an in-between world.

I didn’t fall back into convoluted dreams of star homes, hell realms, or champagne breakfasts in the sun.

I wished I did.

I longed to return to my fantasies because at least I got to see her again. Be with her. Love her.

My chest compressed with agony.

My heart fissured, and I couldn’t breathe.

My soul tore itself into shreds, searching for that missing piece that’d existed in Ily.

Now, it would always be missing because...

She’s dead.

Choking on terminal sorrow, I trembled in a large, comfy bed. Tucked up beneath warm blankets and surrounded by luxury I didn’t recognise, I hated every fucking thing.

What right did I have to be lying here?

What right did I have to be free from that island, that pain, those collars and cuffs and nightmares?

Ily wasn’t free.

She’s gone.

Peter was gone.

Far too many jewels had died on that godforsaken shit-fuck island, and...I couldn’t fucking survive it.

“It’s been six days, esclave. The doctor says if he doesn’t make the choice to wake and stay awake, we might as well plan his funeral.”

I froze.

Icy tears rolled down my temples and soaked into my pillow as Q sucked in a breath and whispered, “Merde, I failed him so badly. I left him to be tortured. He was barely recognisable. He wanted to fucking die. W-What if I hit him too hard? What if I permanently damaged him?”

Twisting my head a little, I spied Q standing in the doorframe. A woman stood in front of him, leaning against the other side.

The room I lay in remained shrouded in darkness. Black drapes drawn across a huge bank of windows. A fireplace crackled with warm flames, and emerald damask wallpaper gleamed subtly in the glow.

“You told me he tried to make you kill him when he noticed that girl on the ground,” she said softly. “You didn’t have a choice but to punch him. You said he was millimetres away from shooting himself. If you hadn’t acted as quickly as you did, he would’ve died—”