Page 38 of Elysian

“Okay,” she whispered, and her soft voice faded under the wave of fogginess.

When my vision cleared, Officer Brandt came into view, moving too fast for me to follow. His arms swept under my legs and back. The stone ceiling was all I could see with my head dangling off his arm.

I whimpered.

The stone ceiling changed until light beamed across the surface, illuminating the windowless chamber.

“What is wrong with her?!” Cassiel’s bellow vibrated my breastbone.

“Stay back, or she will suffer the consequences.” Al’s voice reached me, soft and cajoling. “She will need you, and I would rather heighten her chances of survival by handing her to you.”

That was all I was to him: an experiment.

A searing pain wracked my frame, and I turned my face from the light, whimpering.

Officer Brandt’s face flashed, then I lay upon a hard stone floor. I opened my eyes and Cassiel was there, hovering so close to my face that the red of his eyes pulsed into the gold.

I blinked again, the piercing pain dragging me under until darkness took over. A heaviness rippled through my body, as if every inch had been carved open. Now that I had experience working with Al, I knew all the organs present in my body. It seared through my kidney, then traveled upwards until my lungs hurt as if the pain worked through each and every single one.

Still, I could not surrender to unconsciousness. It was as if my mind were captured and pinned in place. I was unsure of how many dawnlight rotations had passed, or if it had been mere breaths since the pain began. Finally, I surfaced, even though the agony was nowhere near gone.

“Alchemist!” Cassiel bellowed. I moaned, the volume of his shout bouncing in my skull.

Cassiel’s face hovered over mine, sweeping his thumb over my cheek in smoothing glides. “Mortal,” he breathed out, relieved, cupping my face. “You blasted girl.”

His exasperation reached through me and roused a bit of strength.

“What happened?” I inhaled harshly, wiggling on the hard surface, struggling for comfort. Cassiel had me stretched out upon his lap.

“You began the Awakening process. Cease writhing,” he ordered.

“She woke?” Hester’s voice whipped my head to the side. I winced, groaning.

“Do not move,” Cassiel chastised.

I breathed through my nose.

Al stood outside the glass cage, while Hester stepped into the compartment. An officer entered and strode to Al where he held the latch to the door.

One side of the glass entrance closed, and the other opened, allowing her inside with us. She carried a basin and approached hesitantly, keeping herself out of Cassiel’s reach.

I lifted my hand out toward her, and her gaze flitted to Cassiel above me.

“Hester,” I croaked, her words echoing in my mind.

“Approach,” Cassiel snarled.

She yelped and ran forward to take my hand. She kept her back straight as an arrow. Cassiel moved his hands up against my shoulders, propping me up.

Hester looked over her shoulder to find Al’s attention on the officer.

“I heard of the next ‘celebration.’” Hester kept her face forward as she spoke. “After you have completely Awakened, there will be a dinner.”

Cassiel’s legs stiffened under me. “That is when we strike,” I said.

“Branwen had a plan to take the poison and place it in the pitchers when the servants bring the pitchers for the festivities,” Hester continued.

My sluggish mind worked. If we managed to escape that eve . . .