Page 8 of Lovely Deceit

I shake my head, gesturing for him to come close. I move over on the bed, and he helps maneuver the hotel sheets out before he snuggles in behind me and covers us both. “This is what I want,” I tell him, sighing as he wraps his arms around me. The steady beat of his heart against my back helps lull me again, and I put the panties, Dee’s dress, and the river behind me.

At least for now.

* * *

I come to with a start,shying away from the hands shaking my shoulders, but it’s Oliver’s voice I hear. “It’s okay. It’s me. You were having a nightmare.”

I rub my eyes and lie my head back down on the pillow. Nightmare… Of course. I’m living in one, so why wouldn’t they follow me into sleep too?

“It’s time to take your pills, anyway.”

My eyes feel like sandpaper, and no matter how many times I guide my fingers over my lids, it doesn’t help. “How long did I sleep?”

“Twelve hours or so.”

I can tell. My ankle is sore again. It’s pulsing with pain as if it has its own heartbeat. Oliver comes over with the two little white pills and a glass of water, and I toss them back, swallowing with a few gulps.

The longer I stay awake, the clearer everything becomes. The hotel room is actually decent. Sparsely furnished, but it’s modern and clean.

Being here feels like I’m oceans away from Carnegie. Almost as if I could live two separate lives. But I know I can’t. A nagging feeling starts at me. I need to call my dad to tell him I’m okay. I need to show back up at school before the Knights think they got the better of me.

“Do you want to get up?” Oliver asks, taking back the glass. “Or do you want to go back to bed?”

“Get up,” I croak, still trying to find my voice. I clear it, coughing a little, and feel the burn from deep within my throat and lungs. Most likely from choking on the water. The good news is that I’m not nearly as cold as I was earlier. “I think a shower will help, too.”

“You’ll have to hang your boot outside the tub.”

“Maybe a bath, then,” I admit, unsure of whether I can keep myself upright long enough to shower on one leg.

“I’ll start it for you.”

He turns, and as he does, I spot the bags under his eyes. He disappears into the bathroom, and I hobble after him, using the walls to get me where I need to go while jumping on one foot. When I get in the mouth of the doorway, he’s testing the temperature of the water before placing the drain in. “Didn’t you get any sleep?” I ask.

He whirls. “What are you doing? I was going to help you.”

I drop my head to the side. “I need to learn to get around by myself. Did you sleep?”

“A little. I mainly watched you to make sure you weren’t going anywhere.”

All at once, his desperate yells from the boat dock spark in my brain, igniting the reassurances that spew from my mouth. “I’m here,” I tell him. “I can’t go anywhere. Not with this.” I gesture toward the boot with a small flourish.

The small smile I give him doesn’t work. He walks up to me and drops his forehead to mine. “I thought you were going to die.”

The moment he says that three-letter word, he freezes. The tension in the air thickens so rapidly it nearly sucks all the oxygen from the room.

“They were going to kill you. And I swear to God, if any of them touch you again, I’ll tear them limb from limb. I swear it, Edie,” he growls.

My ragged breathing matches his, and I grab his forearms, squeezing until I’m leaving nail indents in his skin. I don’t know what to say. Part of me believes they really were trying to kill me. Part of me wonders if it was just a Trial. It had to be. My father wouldn’t have willingly let them take me hostage if they were actually going to kill me.

But I was supposed to feel that overwhelming fear. Well, mission-fucking-accomplished.

It clicks then. I lick my lips. “It was your Trial too,” I murmur. “They knew how you would react.”

Oliver pulls away from me. “My Trial?” he snarls. “This is real life, Edie. They tried to kill you, and I don’t care if it was part of some ridiculous stunt to feel fear, you didn’t see the looks in their eyes,” he grinds out. “They were bloodthirsty bastards since the moment they saw you strung up. Sadistic fucks.”

His harsh words heighten the anxiety pulsing through me. “I know they are. Dee’s dress,” I choke out. “I don’t know how the fuck they found it and used it, but they were obviously doing their best to terrify me in every possible way. I was just saying that what Leo and Alaric said was true. The last Trial would be our greatest fear. They played on Dee’s death,” I sigh. “And for you…”

“I was so fucking scared. Watching you die that way would end me, Edie. End me.”

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