Page 130 of Sins of the Hidden

"Good," I encouraged, relief making my voice shake. "What else? The water?" I guided her hand to touch the cooling water. "It's getting cold. We need to get you out soon."

Her lips parted slightly, a small exhale that might have been a word.

"What?" I leaned closer.

A violent tremor ran through her entire body. Her pupils dilated impossibly wider, a small whimper escaping her throat. Her nails suddenly dug into my arm with surprising strength, hard enough to break skin—her first real reaction.

"Easy," I pulled her closer. "You're safe now."

A single tear tracked down her cheek. Then another. Then she was weeping silently, tears streaming down her face while her expression remained terrifyingly blank.

"I'm here," I whispered, gathering her carefully against me, mindful of the bandaged shoulder.

She blinked slowly, her gaze finally—finally—shifting to meet mine. Recognition flickered in those green depths. "V?" Her voice was barely audible, cracked and uncertain, like she was calling from somewhere far away.

The sound of my name on her lips made something in my chest crack open. I climbed out of the tub, water streaming from my clothes as I reached for a fresh towel to cover her shoulders where she sat. Her skin prickled with goosebumps, lips tinged faintly blue. I draped the dry fabric over her without trying to move her from the tub. "The water's getting cold."

Her body remained rigid, still not fully present, but her gaze tracked me—sluggish, unfocused, but moving.

"No one else will ever touch you again." The words scraped. She should've never been hurt in the first place. You fucking failed her.

Kneeling beside the tub, I kept one hand on her shoulder through the towel. The water turned pink around her, cooling rapidly. Her skin was too cold, but I didn't try to lift her out—sensing her need to stay contained, protected by the porcelain walls. The tub was her fortress, for now.

I checked her bandage again, the flow mostly stopped, but she still looked too pale. She hadn't spoken since whispering my name.

"Talk to me," I urged, desperate to hear her voice, to know she was truly back.

Her lips parted, then closed again. She swallowed hard, her throat working, the water lapping gently against her skin with each subtle movement.

"They... tried to take my ring," she finally whispered, voice so fragile I had to lean closer to hear it over the water.

I kept my face carefully neutral, focused on checking her injuries. "Did they hurt you anywhere else?"

She shook her head slightly, ripples spreading outward. "Just here," she whispered, touching the bandage on her shoulder. "And..." Her fingers drifted to her throat, where dark bruises were forming.

Rage surged through me at the thought of someone's hands around her throat, but I forced it down. She didn't need my fury right now.

"I thought..." Her voice cracked. "I thought they were going to kill me. And I couldn't do anything. I just... froze."

I grabbed a washcloth, dampened it with warm water from the tap, and gently wiped the dried stains from her arms, carefulnot to disturb her. She remained in the tub, the water around her now pink-tinged and cold, but she seemed unwilling to leave its protective confines. The blank in her eyes had receded. Now, they just looked exhausted.

"Do you smell that?" I asked softly, searching for any sensory detail that might pull her further into the present while she remained in the tub.

She inhaled shakily. "Iron." Then, after a moment, "And you."

My throat tightened. I'd never wanted to be a comfort to anyone before her. Never thought I could be.

"Why did you come?" she whispered suddenly, the question catching me off guard, her voice echoing slightly against the porcelain.

She thought I wouldn't come when she needed me—that I would abandon her when she called—was that the kind of monster I was in her eyes?

I forced the fury down, locking it away for later. My thumb brushing her cheek. "You thought I wouldn't come?"

The smallest flicker of something—trust? Relief?—passed through her eyes before they went hollow again. She nodded once, a barely perceptible movement, sending tiny ripples through the darkened water.

"Stay with me," I murmured, crouching beside the tub, one arm resting on its edge.

She nodded again, but her eyes remained distant, like she was already retreating back inside herself, to somewhere I couldn't follow.

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