Page 17 of Elysian

The only difference was Cassiel had the ability to stop this if only he had not been so prejudiced toward redbloods.

“How can we be free of this?” I detested how hopeless Hester sounded.

“We have to work together,” I said more for Cassiel’s sake. “Al will be allowing me to work for him⁠—”

“I want you nowhere near any of them.” Cassiel’s abrupt interruption was laden with warning.

“If I must, I will.” I raised my chin. “Because I would rather bleed in resistance than rot in obedience.”

“You will let me handle it⁠—”

Hester’s head whipped back and forth, trying to follow the snipes.

“As you did last time?” I raised an eyebrow.

A muscle feathered in his jaw. I did not expect him to respond.

“I made a mistake,” he finally said.

My thoughts halted, and words refused to come. I had never believed he would admit to his faults. He held me in place with a look. Tightening assaulted my chest. The pressure helped me rip my focus off him.

Hester’s mouth was still dropped. I cleared my throat, and it jolted her out of whatever daze she’d been in. She slumped against the bars between us.

Cassiel had also closed his eyes, features strained.

There was nothing left to say then.

I curled my legs under my bottom to give my side a break. My hip no longer allowed me to remain in the same position for long periods of time. Cold seeped through the smooth concrete inside the cell, and I sprawled on my back, staring up at the ceiling.

My throat ached from how much I’d been speaking with Hester. Surely it had been longer than a dawnlight rotation since they’d brought her in here. If only there were a window to aid me in determining how much time had passed. The only indication that dawnlight came and went was when Eliza came to serve us bread. But even then, her appearances seemed disjointed.

Which left me with nothing but my thoughts. As much as I attempted not to, Cassiel’s response continued to fester in my thoughts.

I made a mistake.

Yes, he had. Quite a severe one.

Our time together had been horror-filled at first, but it had become something different, slowly morphing into something resembling care. Then he yanked it out from under me.

With a sigh, I followed the crevice of the stones above my head. Dark gray divots formed where they were cemented together.

“You need to rest,” Hester advised.

“My thoughts will not cease.” And how I wanted them to.

“Give me your hand.”

I furrowed my brows, but slid my hand into hers. As soon as we touched, haziness clouded my vision and my eyelids became increasingly heavy. A yawn clawed free, and I fell into nothing.

My arm being shaken woke me from my deep sleep. Hester peered at me, her face close.

I pushed onto my hands, my mind battling to catch up. Cassiel regarded me from the corner of his cell. The last few moments before falling asleep surfaced.

“You-you put me to sleep.” My pulse pounded in my ears.

“It is my gift.” Her eyes were wide and a bit scared. She kept looking back at Cassiel, who lay unmoving against the bars. Hester gripped her forearm where a bruise was already spreading. “It does not hurt you. You obviously needed to rest.” Her voice shook.

Another yawn escaped, and I rolled my head on my shoulders. I did feel great. A loaf of bread wrapped in a different cloth from before lay wrapped right outside my cell.