Текст книги "Fable of Happiness book three"

Автор книги: Pepper winters

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Kas went to chase after him, but his legs slipped out from under him, sending him sprawling on the marble.

I fell on him, pulling and yanking with all my strength. “Get to your damn feet!”

He coughed on his hands and knees, his lungs sounding rotten and full of carcinogens. “I have to try to...” Cough. “...stop him!”

“It’s over, Kas.” With strength I’d cultivated climbing granite and feldspar, I managed to get him to his feet. Slinging his arm over my shoulder, I turned him away from the stairs and toward the front door.

Kas fought me. “What about Jareth? He’s trapped up there.”

“He’ll get out.”

I knew that without a doubt. He wasn’t suicidal. Just very, very vengeful.

I might not be able to read him, but I’d picked up on signals that he wasn’t as cool as he played. Being back in this valley had slowly driven him mad.

Now, he’d snapped.

And he would dance on the ashes he left behind.

Something exploded in the kitchen, rocking the house with an earthquake, sending the roar of fire and billows of smoke even worse.

Windows cracked and detonated, tinkling upstairs as a huge ball of fire appeared at the top of the landing.

Wherever Jareth was now, he must’ve successfully poured liquor through each room, giving the fire a perfect path to destroy.

Everything was burning.

All of it.

Every decadent, monstrous inch was burning.

“Kas, please!” I pulled again as another explosion shuddered the house.

Rubble fell over our heads, marble cracked, the painting of the valley fell off the wall and crashed onto the floor.

It snapped Kas out of wherever his mind had taken him.

He stood strong, he blinked with awareness, he grabbed my arm and ran.

He ran with me trailing him like a kite, pulling me out the front door, making me fly with his speed beneath a new moon and stars. My backpack bounced, and my legs tripped trying to keep up, but Kas never let me go.

He was inhuman in strength and stamina as we raced through the gardens, only slowing when we were far enough away not to be harmed by shrapnel.

Another explosion boomed.

Kas slammed to a stop and turned, breathing hard, coughing harder. Letting me go, he braced his hands on his knees, sucking in as much fresh oxygen as he could while his face glowed with fire from Fables.

I gasped as I looked behind us at the once ivy-covered, secret-shrouded camouflaged house.

It was no longer part of the landscape with its leaf-filled gutters and wildflower-dotted roof. It was ablaze. A beacon to anyone miles away that something awful happened here. Something that went on for far too long, hurt far too many children, and only now paid for its crimes.

Wiping away my stinging tears, I tried to focus and imprint the sight of Fables to memory as windows on the second floor exploded in a shower of glittering glass, letting furious flames dance up the windowsills and into the night. The fire flickered out the front door, letting us know that the library was devoured, the games room, the dining room, all the books, the plants, the tapestries—

All of it is burning.

“Fuck, Jareth...where are you?” Kas wiped his mouth, leaving a streak of black soot. He stepped toward the fire, only for me to place a hand on his arm and stop him.

“He’s fine,” I croaked, swallowing the grotesque taste of smoke.

“He might’ve gotten stuck. He could’ve fallen or—”

“He’ll be okay.” I balled my other hand with animosity toward Jareth.

Even now, even while watching his entire home buckle beneath roaring fire, Kas was more worried about his blood-adopted brother than his own future.

That was what Jareth hadn’t understood.

He’d thought he was doing Kas a favor by destroying something that had once been a prison. Yet he hadn’t seen what I had.

Yes, Kas stayed because of his amnesia and lack of ease around society.

Yes, Fables had allowed him to sink into his mind and slowly suffocate beneath unresolved horrors.

But he’d also stayed for them.

He’d stayed to protect his family from ever being hurt again. He’d stayed because he felt closer to them in a home they’d shared than somewhere else far, far away. He stayed because he was loyal to the end. Loyal even if it meant he’d gone slowly insane.

Dropping my hand down his arm, I slinked my fingers between his.

He looked at me, his lips twitching into a bewildered half-smile. “How the fuck did this go so wrong so quickly?”

I shrugged, squeezing his hand. I wanted to say something wise and comforting, but I had nothing. Instead, I forced a low laugh, saying, “Jareth happened.”

Kas snorted, then coughed, struggling against his smoke inhalation. “Maybe I shouldn’t have welcomed him with open arms.”

“If I remember correctly, you gave him a right hook instead.”

He winced. “True.”

“You did the right thing.” I kissed his soot-covered cheek. “Punching him and welcoming him. And who knows, maybe he was the one who needed to do this. Burning Fables might not be about you at all but entirely about him and his issues.”

His forehead furrowed in thought. He looked back as the fire continued to burn, explode, and melt everything it could.

We stood there for a while, the night sky full of glowing orange smoke. Trees guarded like sentinels, black and ominous. Hopefully, the flames would not leap the distance across the garden and catch fire in the branches.

I swallowed hard.

If that happened, we would all die tonight. Not just ghosts and monsters but every animal who shared this national park.

With my heart thumping, I looked at the veggie patch where Kas and I had planted seedlings, and he’d taken me against the wall.

Would that burn?

How safe are we?

How long until we know if the entire park will go up in cinders?

I lost track of time as fear trickled through me.

Who knew what the time was? Close to nine o’clock, probably, after the evening of drinking and sex. How had that evening turned into this? What on earth were we going to do once Fable burned to dust? We were stranded and homeless and—

My stomach rumbled as yet another explosion happened inside. Some other liquor stash perhaps, or heater oil, or forgotten gasoline.

A rustle sounded behind us, ripping Kas around with his bared teeth. His long hair and soot-covered body looked as menacing as a bear. “Jareth?”

“Yeah.” Jareth stepped out of the darkness, his own backpack that he’d been wearing when he’d first appeared from the cave on his shoulders. Ash decorated his face and hands, and the whiff of caustic smoke trailed after him as he came closer.

Nodding in my direction, he shrugged out of his bag and let it thud against the ground. Coming to join us, he stood next to Kas, bumping shoulders. “I’m not going to say sorry.” Jareth coughed, his words slightly slurred from all the alcohol he’d ingested before sharing it with carpets and drapes. “It needed to happen.”

“You didn’t need to destroy brick and mortar,” Kas muttered. “It wasn’t guilty like they were.”

“That’s what you don’t understand, brother.” Jareth shook his head. “It was. It was entirely complicit in keeping us hidden. If I didn’t destroy it, who’s to say it wouldn’t be used again when you finally left with Gemma?”

Kas stiffened as he flicked me a look. He didn’t reply, but his eyes shadowed with pain.

I gave him a quick smile and another hand squeeze before following Jareth’s lead and shrugging out of my heavy backpack.

Jareth gave me a small nod before dropping to his haunches and sitting in the grass. Dew had already formed, making everything wet and chilly. Hopefully, if the atmosphere had dampened the forest, then the fire would be contained and not damage anything else tonight.

Kas sighed and practically collapsed next to him.

I followed, wincing as damp coldness soaked into my jeans, highly aware of how vulnerable we were now that we had no shelter in which to get warm. No blankets in which to huddle. No fireplace in which to set a controlled, cheery blaze.

I sighed heavily, wrapping my arms around myself.

Jareth sighed too, glancing at Kas.

It seemed we all had to sigh, releasing the fear and panic, adrenaline and shock of what’d just happened.

Twenty minutes passed while we all watched the biggest bonfire I’d ever seen. The roar of the fire settled into more of a crackle and hiss instead of explosions, methodically chewing through everything in its path.

Jareth tapped a cigarette out of his packet and lit it with a match.

I waited until he’d inhaled, narrowing my eyes as he coughed against smoke from Fables and smoke from tobacco. My tone was sharp. “I’m not going to point out how unhealthy it is to add tar to your lungs after walking through a house fire, and I’m also not going to care that you have a few burns up your arms, because frankly, you deserve them. But I am going to ask what happened to your lighter.” I smiled thinly. “Did you drop it?”

He tensed, throwing me an annoyed look. Inhaling again, he blew smoke in my direction, the burns on his arms glistening in the orange light. “I gave it to the fire. It was something I stole. A memento of sorts. And now it’s gone, just like its previous owner.”

I hadn’t been expecting him to gift up a part of his history. It made me want more.

Immediately.

Shifting a little, I opened my mouth to ask what’d happened to him. To understand how he could be twisted into something so different to what they’d twisted Kas into, only Kas beat me to it.

“You never got free...did you?” Kas balled his hands on his knees, his legs bent and caging his body.

Jareth froze. A few heavy seconds passed before he shook his head and sucked on his cigarette. “No.”

“Any of you?” Kas kept his stare on the fire, his features full of torment. “Did any of you get away?”

“Quell was the only one who managed to run.” Jareth coughed. “That I saw anyway. She might’ve been caught after.”

“After?” Kas cringed.

“After they took us.”

“Where? Where did they take you?”

Jareth raked a hand through his hair, shaking his head, looking more human and more hurt than I’d seen. “They were waiting for us on the other side of the cave. I suppose there was always a guard. Either way, they knew. An alarm perhaps? A phone call just before you murdered everyone?” He spat a wad of black gunk onto the ground. “Who the fuck knows. All I know is, we ran from one hellhole into another. But this time, we didn’t have each other. We were separated. I was taken to one place, and the others...I’m guessing they were taken to different locations. It wasn’t for a few years before I finally learned that Fables isn’t just this place.” He hissed that word. “It isn’t just a playhouse thought up by Stuart goddamn Page who fancied himself an author of fucking morals and sadism. He was just the manager of this particular funhouse.”

Jareth braced himself and looked at Kas.

Kas shuddered and met his stare, the two men locked together in matching horror.

“It’s a worldwide faction, Kas,” Jareth said, devoid of emotion. “Foster kids, just like us, all groomed and taken. Never missed. Rarely wanted. Nameless and forgotten, serving motherfucking bastards. Shit, the place I ended up in...” He shivered and snapped his lips together. “Anyway, I got out. I’m finally fucking free.” He slapped Kas on the shoulder. “And now, you are too.” Pointing at me with his glowing cigarette, he added, “Go with her, brother. Trust that she has your back like I once did.”

“Once?” Kas asked swiftly. “You’re saying you no longer have my back?”

“I’m saying, you don’t need me anymore. Others do.” Pulling his backpack closer, he unzipped a front pocket and pulled out sheets and sheets of papers. Passing the one on top to Kas, he added, “This is how I found you.”

I peered closer as Kas scanned the page.

It was familiar.

The photo of the boulder and the name of the climber—

“Oh, my God.” I ripped it out of Kas’s hands, my eyes scanning as fast as I could, trying to figure everything out. “You’re a member of Climber’s Anon?”

“Climber’s Anon?” Kas frowned, looking between Jareth and me.

Jareth stubbed out the end of his cigarette and pulled out a bag of oatmeal cookies from his bag. “I have a computer technician scoring the web for keywords I’ve given him.”

“What keywords?” I snapped.

“Places that I remember. Names I’ve heard. Locations where others are being kept.”

Shivers shot down my back. “Kentucky Khalessi triggered one of those keywords?”

Jareth took a bite of his cookie. “I couldn’t remember exactly where this particular Fables was. I was young when I was first brought here, and they knocked me out when they took me away. While living here, though, I always kept my ears open for any details when Storymaker was feeling chatty, but it doesn’t exactly have an address you can punch into Google.” He smirked. “Kas and I used to play a game, drawing maps in the dark, doing our best to choose which way to run if we ever escaped.”

Kas swallowed a groan. “Fuck, I wish I’d known. I didn’t save you guys. I threw you to an even worser fate.”

“It’s all good.” Jareth licked his lips, uncaring that soot added flavoring to his cookie. “I’m about to fix that. You protected us in here, Kas. You were the big brother we all needed. Now, I get to be the asshole misfit with a grudge.”

“You’re going after them?” Kas asked.

Jareth shrugged, ignoring his question and continuing with his previous subject. “I always knew this particular Fables was hidden in Kentucky’s national park. So, the first keywords I had my guy flag was any mention of caves, boulders, and walking trails that were recently found. Any conversations on hiker’s forums, climbing clubs, wildlife enthusiasts...he flagged it all—just in case someone stumbled upon this hellhole.”

“So that’s how you found my Jeep,” I breathed. “You followed the same ribbon path I did.”

Jareth grinned. “Yep. But I made sure no one else will. Whoever came close to Kas almost screwed up. Couldn’t have complete strangers stumbling upon this place...just in case Kas didn’t clean up like he said he would.” He finished off his cookie. “Anyway, once I had the route, I made my guy erase all evidence from the web. He ensured Kentucky Khalessi never existed.”

“What? Why?” I clutched the piece of paper. “What about the guy who originally found the boulder?”

“Guess his directions sucked, or we sucked at following them. Either way, there’s no boulder around here. Not that I found.”

I traced the same image and random directions to get to the boulder that’d given me the impulsive decision to pack my Jeep at midnight and go hunting. It was the entire reason I’d found Kas in the first place. It’d been my insurance policy for my brother to find me. He had my log-in details for the site. I’d told him which post I was following.

Yet...it would’ve been taken down.

How soon after I’d seen it did Jareth’s guy have it removed? No wonder my brother never turned up! He probably didn’t even look for this post for a few days until finally putting Operation Find Stupid Sister into effect.

My heart raced as I stared at the page.

That was why no one came.

That was why Joshua never appeared.

I’d vanished without a trace.

Snatching the page back, Jareth tore it into ribbons and watched them twirl to the ground, flickering orange and yellow from the fire still roaring in front of us. Slowly, he wiped his hands on his black pants, looking like a swat member about to go to war. Grabbing the cookie bag, he snagged another before passing it to Kas. He waited as Kas took a bite and moaned at the taste of refined sugar and oats before tapping the rest of the sheets of paper on the ground.

The stack was big enough to make my stomach clench and my heart sink.

Did each page represent a different Fable location? A different family member still trapped in hell?

“I came after you first, Kas. I had to know if you got out. And I’m glad I did. But I’m done here. You’re safe. You’re moving on.” Jareth threw me a wink as if this was a strange snack break and not a confession by mansions bonfire. Throwing me a cookie, he said, “Gem will make you move on. You don’t need me.”

“Like fuck I don’t. What are you saying, Jareth? That you’re gonna single-handedly find each place where our family was taken and...then what? Burn them?”

“Slaughter them first. Then burn them.” Jareth nodded matter-of-factly. “And I’ll enjoy every fucking moment of it.”

Kas swallowed, coughing under his breath. Steely determination came to his eyes. “Well, I won’t let you do it on your own. You’ll fuck up at some point. You need someone there to guard your back.”

“Nah, I like working on my own.” His teeth flashed, reflecting the roaring fire. “More fun that way.”

“But—”

A noise sounded on the horizon, shutting Kas up as we all stared into the dark sky.

“What is that?” Kas murmured, slowly climbing to his feet, stuffing the rest of his cookie into his mouth.

Jareth stood too, folding the paperwork into his bag. He zipped it closed and cocked his head. After a second, he suddenly grabbed his backpack and slung it onto his shoulders. “That’s my cue to leave.”

“Why?” Kas looked at him just as a helicopter appeared from the darkness. Its bright searchlight scanning the valley, highlighting trees, river, and locking onto the inferno that once used to be a secret mansion hidden in plain sight.

Grabbing Kas in a hug, Jareth looked at me over Kas’s shoulder. “Look after him, Gemma Ashford.” Pulling away from Kas, he smacked a kiss on his brother’s cheek. “Thanks for protecting us when we were younger, Kas. I’ll always be there for you, if you need me. Just like I know you’ll always be there for me.”

Another helicopter arrived, this one carrying a massive water bucket, flying directly over Fables before dumping the entire contents in a waterfall. The fire hissed and sizzled, white smoke blooming toward the sky in a mushroom cloud.

The noise of their rotor blades shredded any and all serenity of the valley.

Wind reached us, tearing up autumn leaves in a vortex, making it hard to hear.

“You can’t just vanish, Jareth,” Kas growled, stepping out of his brother’s embrace. “You only just found me. We have things to discuss. Things I need to—”

“Too bad. I’m rather busy right now. Places to go. Throats to slit.” Jareth gave us both a mocking salute and a chilling smile. “Happy lives, guys. Don’t get caught and trafficked again, please. I’ll be busy for a while so don’t expect a quick rescue.”

“Wait—” Kas held up his hand.

“See ya round.” Jareth grinned, backing up as the first helicopter descended, its spotlight angled on us, blinding and pinning us to the spot.

Kas shielded his eyes, his attention on Jareth as he gave us one last wave, threw a one-finger salute at the helicopter as its skids touched the grass, and then he was gone.

Vanishing into the web of trees as if he never existed.

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CHAPTER TWELVE

I LEARNED SOMETHING NEW about myself as I sat in the back of a noisy helicopter, flying above trees that’d been my protectors and prison guards for most of my life.

I’d read about these machines. Many heroes in the fictional thrillers at Fables enlisted the aid of such transport at some point in their tales, but to actually fly in one myself? To feel the drop in my gut as we hit air pockets and the rattle of power keeping us airborne—it all threatened to knock me out.

Everything had happened so fast.

Everything had changed.

All of it.

My body fought against it.

My mind threatened to snap because of it.

I was lost at how everything had happened so quickly.

Fuck, this was past change and had gone straight into the terrifying unknown.

This was noisy and overwhelming, and I didn’t think I could cope.

My instincts went into survival mode.

I needed everything to slow the fuck down.

I needed a moment to breathe, for Christ’s sake.

Raking a hand through my tangled, sooty hair, I did my best to stay human and not resort to the animal I’d been. I tried to stay calm for Gem. If I let go and slaughtered everyone in this flying machine, I doubted she’d look at me with love anymore.

More like stark fear and bone-chilling disgust.

Sucking in another breath that tasted of metal and gasoline, I forced the whiteness back from my gaze, commanded my heart to stop trying to sledgehammer its way out of my chest, and locked my muscles so I stayed sitting like a trustworthy person.

It cost everything I had to act as if being hauled from the valley, thrown into a small cylinder with countless humans, and flown at warp speed away from the only home I knew was perfectly normal to a man like me.

A man who hadn’t spoken for over a decade before Gem arrived.

An ex-slave who watched these new men and women for any sign that they were about to tie me up, cut me, rape me, and leave my blood drying from their fun.

My nostrils flared as I glanced at Gem, my head throbbing.

She caught my gaze, her hair wild and ash smeared on her cheeks. Her hazel eyes looked black in the darkness of the cabin, wide and worried, her uncertainty merging with mine.

What was she uncertain about?

Hadn’t she wanted this?

Didn’t she want to be found? To go home to her family? To take me with her?

Christ.

I bent forward, digging both thumbs into my eye sockets as the helicopter banked and straightened out. Her hand landed between my shoulder blades, rubbing gently. Her touch both amplified my need to run away but also soothed the razor-sharp edges of my jumpy temper.

I sucked in a breath.

I let it out slowly.

I allowed life to drag me forward even while I howled inside to return to the valley.

How had this happened?

For fuck’s sake, one moment I’d been having sex with Gemma.

The next, I’d been fighting a fire that Jareth started.

Then I was eating a cookie, watching my home burn, all while Jareth admitted to mass murder and a hunting expedition that would take him years to accomplish.

And now...fuck, now I fought against another wave of white blankness as it teased my vision, whispering that all of this could be deleted. I could let go and pass out and forget.

I could forget and wake up fresh without the nightmares of today.

I groaned under my breath.

But that wasn’t true.

I’d forget, but that would be the true nightmare, not this. If I forgot everything that’d happened—forgot that I was able to touch myself, sleep with Gemma and truly be with her, and that Jareth was alive and well—that would haunt me.

I never wanted pieces of my life lost to me again.

No matter the current cost.

My ears popped as we climbed higher into the sky.

I still couldn’t understand how I’d gone from standing in the forest, studying the black night where Jareth had vanished, and then grabbed by the arm and hauled toward the helicopter. Two men had thrown me inside before I’d even had the chance to fight back.

Gemma had been thrown in after me, the crew who’d grabbed us yelled something into their earpiece, then we left the ground in a dizzying, sickening swoop.

Nausea bubbled in my gut as the pilot added speed. Rotor blades crashed above me, making my head pound with pain. Headphones were shoved over my ears, followed by a pair placed around Gemma’s.

My protective instincts roared to life. How dare they fucking touch her? How dare they fucking throw her against her will into a flying contraption that—

“Are you the only survivors?” a female voice filled my ears. I narrowed my eyes, looking at the crowded helicopter, counting two women and two men all watching me and Gemma as if we’d crawled from some alien ship.

I swallowed hard as a rush of fury siphoned down my arms.

I didn’t like these people.

They’d come in, torn me from my home, and now looked at Gemma as if she was in danger from me. Grabbing Gemma’s hand where she sat beside me on the bench, I bared my teeth.

If they dared to touch her again, they’d be flying out the door and into the clouds.

“Does anyone else live in that house?” the woman asked again, touching her headset and nodding at the pilot behind her. I couldn’t hear the question she’d been asked, but the woman turned again and narrowed her eyes. “Do we need to turn back? Are there more of you?”

Gemma cleared her throat, her voice loud down her microphone. “No, it’s just us.”

She lied.

Jareth was down there.

He was invisible in the darkness, dressed in black, slightly drunk, partially burned, his heart full of revenge and murder.

The woman glanced from me to Gem and back again, her face showing obvious discomfort and judgment.

I tensed.

Gemma squeezed my hand.

I did my best to stay with her and not let my headache make me pass out. I couldn’t afford to black out. Not just because I didn’t want to forget but because Gemma’s life was in danger.

I had to protect her. At all costs.

I had to be prepared to hurt and maim and—

Another woosh of noise flew past us, followed by another.

Two more helicopters, soaring back toward Fables with swinging buckets of water.

Would they succeed in putting the fire out?

What was left of the expensive, sadistic place? Drowned in water, covered in ash, melted into indistinguishable sins?

“Are you both okay?” the woman asked, her gaze once again lingering on Gemma as if looking for any sign that I should be put in chains.

A snarl crawled up my throat.

Gemma untangled her fingers from mine and placed them on my thigh, answering for both of us. “We’re fine.”

“How did the fire begin?” The woman narrowed her eyes. “We weren’t even aware there was a residence so deep in the park. There’s no building permits or government documents.”

Gem flashed me a look before squaring her shoulders. “It’s a long story.” She arched her chin. “A story we’re happy to share once we get on stable ground.” She coughed, her lungs most likely still sore from smoke inhalation. “How did you know to come?”

The woman laughed, revealing slightly crooked front teeth. “You’re kidding, right? The fire lit up the sky. Our nightly patrol called it in. It’s not the height of summer anymore, but the ground is dry and perfect conditions for a wildfire.” She shuddered and adjusted her headset. “We weren’t about to take that chance. We have another two helicopters inbound with drop buckets, and the first to the scene has already been refilled from a local water source. It’s not under control yet, but we will preserve the park the best we can.”

Gem nodded. “Thank you for coming so quickly.”

“You’re welcome.” The two women shared a look before the stranger asked, “You sure you guys are okay...apart from the fire of course? No other injuries? Did you live out there?”

I froze at her questions.

Each was a loaded gun if Gemma answered incorrectly. Ha...not incorrectly. Truthfully. All she had to say was I’d thrown her in the cellar and forced her into sexual servitude, and I’d be the one flying out the door into the clouds.

Gem felt me shift beside her, throwing me a look. Her lips twitched into a smile, affection glowing in her stare. Fuck, how did I get this girl to fall for me? It left me breathless and my head swimming for entirely different reasons.

Glancing back at the woman, Gem shook her head. “We’ll be okay.”

Her answer was more for me than anyone else.

I swallowed hard, doing my best to believe it.

The woman studied us another moment before nodding and glancing at the pilot, sharing whatever conversation they had on a different radio channel. Finally, she turned back toward us. “We’re flying you to the nearest hospital. We’ll drop you off for assessment, and law enforcement will pay you a visit for your statement.”

My hackles rose.

My thighs bunched to stand.

But Gemma curled her fingers deeper into my leg, holding me down as she nodded with a gracious smile. “Sounds good.” With a warning look at me, she laid her head on my shoulder and kept her hand on my body.

It was enough.

Having her lean against me, trusting me, touching me, was enough to keep my mind with her and not unravel into chaos.

Even the ghosts of my past and horrors I’d endured stayed silent as we flew farther and farther from my valley, freeing me once and for all from Fables.

* * * * *

“Kas, you have to relax. It’s fine.”

I glanced over at Gem, where she sat in a matching chair in the hospital room where we’d been taken. It’d been a mess of landing, being shuffled from the helicopter, and ferried into a giant building that smelled like bleach, blinded with far too many lights, and had an aura of sickness and death.

I’d allowed my mind to shut down, permitting us to be guided down long corridors, letting Gemma speak on my behalf, finally breathing when we were left alone after a nurse barked off questions, noted Gem’s answers onto her notepad, and then darted from the room.

I wouldn’t lie and say any of this shit was easy.

I was one trigger away from a full-blown attack.

But Gemma never stopped touching me. Each time she glanced my way, she noticed the frantic edge I hovered over. If I wasn’t already head over fucking heels in love with her, I would’ve fallen just for her kindness and understanding.

I had no doubt that if it wasn’t for her, I would have blood on my hands already.

I would’ve killed the orderly who escorted us to this room.

I would’ve strangled the nurse who tried to take our temperature.

I would’ve murdered anyone and everyone who dared look at me.

My mind and its open doors full of memories was more crowded than ever. The past mingled with the present, making me sweat and tremble.

“Kas...stop working yourself up.” Gem came toward me, squatting down in front of me with her small, strong hands resting on my knees. “Just focus on me, okay? I know this is a massive adjustment for you and I can’t begin to imagine how overwhelming this all is, but I give you my word, no one, and I mean no one, will hurt you. I give you my absolute vow on that. These men and women...they’re not like the ones you grew up with. These are kind-hearted carers, not abusive rapists, alright?”

My teeth ground together.

A wash of sickness sent acid up my throat.

Her hand landed on my cheek, settling my rabid heartbeat. “Kas, please...trust me. I will keep you safe. You don’t have to be afraid.”

I shuddered and placed my hand over hers, pressing my cheek into her palm. “I’m not afraid.”