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Finally, I manage to meet his gaze, recognising his words for the promise they are. Smiling, I reach up and stroke his cheek with the back of my hand. He looks shocked, but I’ve already turned away. I take a deep breath and step out, my legs threatening to give way as Syn pulls back, no longer touching me. Gritting my teeth, I lift my hand and press it against the stone.
The whole world vanishes, and I feel myself being transported. Suddenly, everything is bright again and a group of people are waiting for me. I can feel Joel, he’s close, but my eyes are locked on the male standing at the front of the group.
“Dad,” I whisper, stepping forward, only for my body to finally give out on me. I’m sure it hurts as I crumple to the ground, but I black out before I can hit the floor, my father’s cry in my ears.
ChapterNine
Whispered voices are the first thing I hear as my consciousness floats to the surface. I can’t quite make out what they are saying, but they sound angry, the words clipped and hissed through clenched jaws. My mind retreats into the darkness, slowly spreading my awareness out to the rest of my body. I’m lying on something soft, and something is draped over me, covering me from my shoulders down—a sheet I believe. It’s warm, but not uncomfortably so, and I can’t feel the gentle breeze against my exposed skin, which makes me think I’m inside somewhere. As my hearing returns, I focus past the voices and make out the quiet humming of machines and a slow dripping sound. I’m sure I’m in the healers’ tent.
Memories are the last thing to return—memories of me running through a maze, of seeing my father bound and beaten, of a giant scorpion stabbing him in the chest with its stinger. Guilt and regret sweep through me as flashes of the bloated male’s face pop into my mind. I couldn’t get to him in time to rescue him. I recall the pain in my legs from the multiple stings I received, and finally, how Syn found me and helped me finish the maze.
I stay completely still as I relive the trial, my body heavy and mind slow from whatever drugs the healers gave me. I extend my senses to determine who’s in the room with me. My father’s familiar scent is close by, and I can feel Joel through the bond, but there are other scents in the room, all mingling together so I can’t tell who else is here.
“I don’t care,” my father barks, pulling my attention to the conversation occurring in the room. From what he’s saying, I can tell that this is a discussion that’s been going on for some time.
“When she wakes up,” he continues, his voice close by, “I’m taking her away where the council will never find us.”
“You know you can’t do that.”
Joel, my mate. Just hearing his voice helps soothe me, and I find myself wanting to move towards him. The only reason I’m not climbing over to him and rubbing myself against him like a cat in heat is because my entire body feels like it’s encased in concrete.
“She’s my daughter. What they are doing to her is torture!” my father snarls. I’ve never heard him sound so furious before, and I know it’s not aimed at Joel, but he’s the one taking the heat.
“And she’s my mate,” Joel counters, the edge of his alpha power woven into the words. “I know you’re scared for her, Beck, but running away isn’t the answer here.”
Someone makes a humming noise in the back of their throat. “Should you guys be saying this with the council’s mutt by the door?” Scott’s amused voice asks, but there’s an undertone of warning. “Why is he here anyway?”
My heart jumps with pleased surprise, and warmth spreads through me. Scott’s here. He came to make sure I’m okay, and from his words, I assume the person he’s referring to is Syn. They are both here, despite how it will look to the council and the other competitors.
“He saved her life, and for that, I will be eternally grateful,” my father replies, his tone final and leaving no room for argument. “If he wants to be here, he can be here.”
A dark, low chuckle fills the room that I instantly recognise as Syn’s. That’s the laugh he uses when he’s trying to piss someone off, which means that Scott’s words got to him. “The same could be asked of you, though,Scott.” He says the other male’s name like it’s a slur. “Why are you here?” His voice is dangerously calm, and the atmosphere becomes heavy. There are too many large male egos in a small room.
However, he asks a valid question, and it’s something I’d like to know the answer to as well.
I feel rather than see Scott rise to Syn’s challenge, shifting beside me. “I’m her friend.”
I’m not sure what will happen next, but I’m not about to let them fight because of me. Fighting against my sluggish limbs, I groan as I shift in the bed.
“She’s waking up,” someone says weakly from beside me, and I freeze as I recognise the voice—Nicolai. He sounds different, drained, but I’d know his voice anywhere.
I take a deep breath and force my eyes open, needing to see my friend. Wincing against the brightness, I blink as my eyes adjust. Everything hurts, but I’m so relieved to hear Nicolai that my need to sit up overrides the pain.
“Laelia.” My dad’s voice is full of relief, and my eyes go straight to him at the end of the bed.
“Are you okay?” His gaze roams over me critically, and without giving me time to reply, he ploughs on. “Oh, little moon, I’ve been so worried.” I struggle to sit up, and his expression tightens. “We’re going to figure a way out of this. I’m not going to let you go through that again.”
“Dad, you know they’ll hunt us down. I’ve survived this far, there can’t be that many more trials.” My voice is rough, like I’ve been asleep for a really long time. I put on a confident façade, needing to deescalate the situation. My father is level-headed and fair, until it comes to me, and then he goes into overprotection mode. He would move heaven and earth for me. He raises a brow, letting me know that he sees right through my attempt, but he lets it drop, for now at least.
I look around the room at the others, seeing I was right with my assessment. Joel stands next to my father at the foot of the bed, staring down at me intently. Behind them, leaning against the doorframe and looking like he’s bored out of his mind, is Syn. When I meet his gaze, though, he lets his guard drop long enough to let me see his concern for me. However, as soon as he knows I’ve seen it, his bored expression returns, that mask sliding back into place.
Scott sits in a large armchair to my left, leaning forward and resting his forearms on his knees as he trails his eyes over my body with a frown. When I follow his gaze, I understand why. One of my arms is exposed and resting on top of the sheet, attached to a myriad of wires and tubes. A drip is attached to a catheter in my arm, where clear fluid slowly drops from a bag hung above me, explaining the dripping sound I heard before. I’m propped up in a hospital bed, so I’m able to look around. I realise with a raised brow that we’re not in the healers’ tent like I thought, but their compound itself. My bed is placed in a small room with a window and door to give me some semblance of privacy.
“What happened?” I finally ask. Everyone is wearing different clothes from the last time I saw them, but that doesn’t mean much. Hours or days could have passed. Have I missed a trial? Anxiety flips my stomach at the thought. If I wasn’t well enough for a trial, they’d count that as a failure, and if I fail, I’m executed.No, they wouldn’t still be treating you if they were just going to kill you, I tell myself, trying to calm my speeding heart.
A gentle hand lands on mine, one that doesn’t belong to the others, and with effort, I turn my head to the right, finding Nicolai sitting in a wheelchair at my side. My joy at seeing him quickly makes way for concern. He looks awful, his skin pale and clothes hanging off him.
“A sting from those small scorpions is only enough to hurt like hell. However, that’s if you get stung byone,” Joel comments from the end of the bed, crossing his huge arms over his chest. “You received over twenty stings. That much venom in your body can be fatal.” You wouldn’t know by looking at him, but I can feel his fear through our bond. He thought he lost me and that I was going to die. I can’t even imagine how awful it must have been to see that and not be able to do anything to help.
