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CHAPTER13
CHRISTY
“How is she?” I ask the moment Thirteen returns to Leon’s room later that evening.
After Jakub’s rejection, Thirteen had to guide a broken Nala back to her room. The poor girl had lost her grandfather and gained a brother… Aheartlessone.
“I gave Nala something to help soothe her heartache and help her sleep,” Thirteen replies, swiping a loose tendril of hair back behind her ear. “She won’t be awake for hours yet.”
“That’s good,” Leon says, eying us both from his chair by the fire.
He’s been thoughtful, quiet ever since we returned to the room, barely trying to engage in conversation, lost in thought. I know why. If Konrad’s reaction was anything to go by, she was the woman I saw him kill and revive in my vision.
Nala’smother.
It’s so unbelievably twisted.
“And Three?” Leon asks, adjusting his deep blue mask.
Thirteen chews on her lip as she stares into the flames. She looks haunted, troubled, and my stomach turns over with worry as she sits down on the chaise longue next to me. It’s late, but sleep is the last thing on my mind, though by the look of Thirteen that’s exactly what she needs right now. Sleep. Rest.
“Thirteen, is she okay?” I ask. “What happened to her that night?”
“Seven hurt her,” she replies softly.
My throat goes dry. “Hurt her? What do you mean? He lo—”
“—loves her?” Thirteen finishes for me. “Yes he does, very much.”
“Then what happened?”
“Jakub happened,” Leon says, and the look that passes between them makes my stomach bottom out. I know without even having to ask what went on.
Thirteen draws in a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “She’s sore, bruised. I had to check the stitches that I gave her. I’m sorry I took so long.”
“Stitches?” I whisper, waving away her apology.
“She had a tear in her perineum after what happened,” she replies.
“Will she recover?” I ask curtly, pissed off that Thirteen saw fit to tell the man who could cause such pain that he has a younger sister. Renard was right not to tell him, what the hell was she thinking? Jakub willneverchange. None of them will.
“Physically, yes.”
“And emotionally…” My voice trails off as I meet her eyes. We both know that recovering from such an act is a long, painful road. I just hope that their love for one another is enough.
“The alternative was both their deaths. They’re a strong couple,” she offers.
“Fuck,” Leon exclaims, his jaw tight.
I snatch my head around, narrowing my eyes at him before I quickly settle my features into a neutral state. Not so long ago he was the one causing pain, relishing in it. Twelve’s back and the scars that remain there are testament to that fact. We all know the damage Jakub is capable of inflicting, thatallThe Masks are capable of inflicting. I also know that Jakub taking his anger out on Three probably has a whole lot more to do with me than it does her. My stomach churns and the sudden urge to go to them forces me to my feet.
“I need to see them.”
“I’m not sure now is a good time,” Thirteen says, her face pinched, eyes troubled.
“They’ve been kind to me. Ineedto—”
“I’ll take you,” Leon says, cutting me off as he grabs the gun from the side table beside him, holstering it. “Come on.”
