Page 32

Warm. Not cold.

Sensations trickle back to me in waves. Soft air glancing past my skin. The subtle noise of voices drifting from far away. Bird song in the air, and the somewhat mouthwatering scents of bread and sugar.

Slowly, I open my eyes.

Deep blue sky stretches out before me through a small open window, where peeling white paint clings to the frame around glass warped with age. Several birds dart past the window and a single fluffy cloud peeks out from the edge of the frame as if seeking permission to cross.

I close my eyes and when I reopen them, the cloud is much further along.

That window… It's different.

I swallow, and a cotton-soft sensation clogs my throat, followed by an alarming burn that kick-starts everything inside me. Lurching upward, the cot I'm lying on creaks with the shift of my weight and draws the attention of the man seated across the room from me.

Cassian.

"Easy," he says as he looks over at me. "You'll be a little disoriented."

"Who… what is going on?" I croak, then immediately dissolve into short, frantic coughs.

Cassian rises from a chair that seems to wheeze with age and he approaches me with a bottle of water in his hand. "You'll be dehydrated. Please. You need to drink."

He holds the water bottle out to me, but instinct has me shrinking away from him. A flash of pain crosses his bruised features.

What happened to him?

"Please," I gasp. "I already said I would do it. P-Please don't hurt me." Every word carves from my throat with the lash of the burn left behind, but it doesn't seem to be enough.

Cassian's brow curves and he slowly lowers himself to his haunches in front of me, still offering the water bottle. "Sabina… I'm not going to hurt you."

"Please…"

"I swear. I'm not here to hurt you. I've saved you. We're not at his manor anymore. You can see for yourself if it will help. I promise you that you are safe here."

Every word from him is so gentle and earnest, it's difficult not to trust them. Especially when, as he mentions the world outside, the sound of distant traffic and faint laughter rises up from far below.

He… saved me? What the fuck is going on?

The burn in my throat worsens so after a few seconds of hesitation, I take the offered water bottle and crack the seal with a twist of my wrist. "Thanks."

Cassian smiles warmly. "You're welcome."

The first gulp of water hurts, but every gulp after that is utter bliss and I drain half the bottle in just a few seconds. A couple of water droplets escape past the seal of my lips and roll down my chin, stinging a cut in my lip from last night's blows that I'd been too stunned to notice.

"Sabina… when you're ready, I need you to tell me exactly what is going on."

13

CASSIAN

"Nothing."

Sabina's weak, fearful attempt at a lie almost makes me smile. Whatever she's been through and whatever they have on her is enough to make her lie even in the face of such insane evidence.

"Sabina… I know you're scared. But I don't want you to be afraid of me. I'm not sure why you would be, but your reaction to me yesterday made me think that maybe you think I'm working with my grandfather?"

Sabina's jaw tightens slightly as she watches me, so I take that as confirmation.

"I'm not. I can promise you that wholeheartedly. He is my grandfather, yes, but I haven't seen him in decades." Diving right into that explanation right now doesn't seem like the best move, not when she's cowering on that cot clutching the water bottle. Both her cheeks are faintly bruised, with one bruise creeping down to her jaw where the split on her lip has reopened from her talking.