Page 27 of Midnight Queen

I’m first aware of the murmuring voices all around me, then the hands that touch my broken skin. They prod at my chest and then at my inner arm. My eyes are heavy and I’m too tired to brush away the hands, but when the familiar prick of a needle diving into my vein comes, the exhaustion leaves me and my fight-or-flight response kicks in.

It was just a dream, Quincey. Silas didn’t find you and save you from Gideon. He’s still trying to drain you of your blood,the small voice in my head whispers darkly as I’m filled with a sudden and unmeasurable amount of adrenaline.

My eyes snap open and instantly collide with an unfamiliar pair of green ones.

Another unfamiliar face... I just want to see his face.

Someone says something off to my right, but I can’t hear them through the rushing in my ears. I’m too fixated on the stranger standing in front of me, I can’t turn my head to follow the sound either.

Hands wrap tightly around my forearm when I attempt to yank my limb away from the needle. A distraught sound I barely recognize comes from my lips as I pull harder away from the grasp. This time I’m successful, but I don’t sit still long enough to examine my surroundings.

My only goal is getting out of this room. I can’t be in here anymore. I don’t want to die in here alone while each drop of my blood is taken from me.

The adrenaline shoots to my legs and I swing them off the side of the surface I lie on. I’ve just barely pulled myself into a sitting position when hands come down on my shoulders and I’m forcibly pulled back down.

Desperation takes over as more hands come down on my body. My arms flail about and I kick my legs out at the person who’s trying to pin me down again.

I’m vaguely aware of the hot tears and the burn in my throat as I continue to scream. I tried so fucking hard to keep it together and remain strong, but I can’t anymore. The cinder block walls made of false bravery have broken and there’s nothing holding back the fear anymore.

“Quincey,” a voice calls out to me, but I can barely hear it over my own yelling.

“Don’t touch me!” I plead in a hoarse scream. “Just let me go! Please let me go. I don’t want to be here anymore.”

Hands lock down around my wrists, trapping them at my sides just like the metal cuffs Gideon used on me. I ignore the pain that comes from my sore body as I try once more to gain my freedom.

Faces come into view in the chaos, but I’m not really seeing them. There’re just blurs in my tear-filled eyes. I have no idea who hovers above me, and I don’t care. They’re attempting to trap me and that instantly makes them my enemy in my book.

It’s like there’s a boulder sitting on my chest and the breaths between my screams are becoming more constricted and labored. The air I inhale isn’t reaching my lungs, but instead gets trapped in my throat.

“I can’t breathe,” I sob. “Please let me go, I can’t breathe.”

My chest heaves, and my body begins to shake as the panic rushes through my veins.

“I need to sedate her,” someone shouts out, but I can’t locate the owner of the voice.

My head thrashes side to side, but hands grab my face in a gentle but firm hold, halting my erratic movements. “Quincey,” he says, his smooth voice cuts through the deafening sound in my ears. “You’re safe. I’m here with you.”

He’s not here, it’s just another dream.

“No, you’re not. It’s a lie. Let go of me!” I cry out while trying to shake my head from the grip on my face. “Stop touching me, I don’t want to be touched anymore.”

The hand stays on my face while his voice booms through the room, “Stop touching her!”

“But...” someone argues.

“If you don’t remove your fucking hands from her, I will feed them to you. I won’t ask again, do it now!”

The second the various sets of hands are gone, I’m flying up, but before I can throw my body off the bed, arms wrap around me. I cry and fight against them, but they’re too strong and don’t budge an inch. “Please,” I sob. “I want to go home.”

“You’re home, Quincey.” I make out his voice again. This time, it sounds closer. It soundsreal. “Open your eyes and look at me.” I hadn’t realized I’d closed them. “Look at me. Open those beautiful blue eyes of yours and look at me. I’m right here.”

I lock on the voice and force it to soothe the turbulent fear racking my body. “Please...” I don’t know what I’m begging for when I say that word, but it’s the only thing I can choke out.

His head drops against mine and he gathers me closer to his chest. “Breathe for me,Mon Soleil. You have to breathe. Ineedyou to breathe.”

I flinch when his hand soothes down my back, but it takes only a second for the unease to morph into comfort. In slow movements, he trails his hand down my spine and after a moment of silence and peace, I’m finally able to suck in a shuddering breath.

“Good girl,” he praises softly. “Again. Breathe for me one more time, Quincey.”

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