Page 64 of Twisted Gift

He doesn’t question me again. The door clicks shut behind him, no doubt locking me inside.

I stand under the warm spray of water, staring at the white tile wall in front of me. My arms are tired, and my legs are struggling to hold me up. I’m in no real condition to be taking care of myself. I wash my hair and body, and by the time I finish, everything hurts, and I’m crying in the shower. This situation doesn’t feel real. I’m praying that I’ll wake up any second, shaking and in a cold sweat from this nightmare, but the longer I stand there, unmoving, the more it becomes apparent that this is my reality. There’s a good chance I’ll never see my friends and family again.

Once I get out of the shower and dress in the clothes Carter left for me, I open the door to find him leaning against the opposite wall.

“Feel better?” he asks.

I shoot him a look. “How long have I been here, Carter?”

He presses his lips together as if he’s not sure he should answer.

“I deserve to know,” I push.

After a moment of hesitation, he nods. “You’ve been here for five days.”

My hand flies to my mouth before I can stop it, and dread washes over me. Everyone must know I’m gone—that something bad happened to me. I’ve been stuck in this literal hell for almost a week. They’ve been making me feel like death for the short hours I’m conscious.

“They’ll kill you all,” I mumble.

He sighs. “They won’t find us.”

My gaze hardens into a glare, directed at him. “Theywill,” I insist.They have to.

“Why don’t we see what we can find in the kitchen?”

“What, you’re not going to chain me back to the bed?”

He gives me a look. “You should eat something.”

“I need more than food, Carter,” I say in a tight voice.

He shakes his head. “You’ll manage without human energy until you don’t need it anymore, especially considering you sucked some from Marisa.”

The pit in my stomach grows. I open my mouth, but nothing comes out.

Sitting across from Carter at a small table in a large, industrial-looking kitchen, I poke at a piece of potato on my plate. I haven’t touched the carrots or ham; my stomach twists each time the smell wafts toward my face.

I will my stomach to settle. “How long have you been here?” I ask Carter in hopes of getting out of eating the food.

“The Experiment found me about a week after that night you and I met. I’ve been here since. It took them a while to figure out the process, and you know I wasn’t the first they attempted it on.”

“How long has The Experiment been a thing?”

He hesitates as if he’s not sure he should be answering my question. “That’s something you should talk to Richelle about.”

“I’d rather not,” I deadpan.

He exhales. “Fine. I guess it won’t matter since you’ll be one of us soon.”

I want to come at him with a snarky response to assure him there’s no way in hell that’s going to happen, but I refrain. I want answers, and if this is how I have to get them, fine.

“The Experiment was founded by two families. They kept it out of the media, made sure no one knew about what they were doing. The fae were meant to be kept secret, so they were simply keeping that secret.”

And one of their own, I want to add.

“One of the families, I think you already know, is Marisa’s. That’s where her involvement comes in.”

The muscles in my jaw throb as I grind my teeth.

---