AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“The tingling has started,” she reluctantly admits. “This morning it was on the bottom of my foot, but it’s up to my ankle now.”
“Shit.” That’s basically stage four in a five-stage process.
Complete organ failure will be next.
Then, death.
Panic spreads through me, overpowering the burn of the iron until I barely feel it.
HANNAH
“Hannah.” Ellister wakes me from my light sleep, and I rub my tired eyes.
During this bumpy ride, coupled with the constant pain, it’s been impossible to get some deep rest.
“Huh?” Groggy, I look at Ellister’s burned face.
The net is rolled down, bunched around his neck. At our last stop, Zetipher allowed the netting to be lowered so Ellister could eat, but the red lines on his skin are a reminder of how cruel these people are.
At least I can kiss him without hurting him more, and I do just that.
Brushing our mouths together, I try not to rub against him where the iron is searing his bare neck and arms, but the wagon rocks, and I bump into him anyway.
We both hiss from the increased pain, and I quickly apologize while scooting away to put some distance between us.
Ellister frowns at me, his unsatisfied nose wrinkle firmly in place. “I’m sorry I had to wake you, but something’s wrong.”
Understatement. This whole trip is as fucked up as it gets. “Wrong, like the beans they fed us for dinner? Or wrong in the sense that I’ve only gotten one potty break the whole day? Or the iron—”
“The location,” he cuts off my rant as his eyes go to the barred window. “We shouldn’t be here.”
“And where are we, exactly?” I sit up to get a better look, but my head pounds from the sudden movement, and I close my eyes while pressing my fingers to my temple. “I can’t see anything but the sky, so I have no idea how you can tell.”
“The smell—dirt, baking rock, crisp air. We’re by the mountains.”
“Yelissa’s Peak? You think we’re back there?”
“I know it, and it’s the opposite of where we should be if we’re heading to the palace. It’s completely out of the way for a trip to Hailene, and we made it here in a fraction of the time, which lines up with the distance.”
“What do you think is going on?”
“No clue.”
“Any guesses?”
“Not good ones.”
I purse my lips at him. “Don’t withhold information. If you suspect something, I want to hear it.”
“All I can come up with is that these guys aren’t who they said they are.”
“Wouldn’t it have been obvious if they were lying? Wouldn’t it hurt them?”
“If the soul is damaged to a certain point, they could be used to the pain. Being dishonest would be a discomfort, but they might be able to hide it.”
“Well, shit. If they’re not the king’s men, then who are they?”
We don’t have to wait long to find out.
