Page 93 of Darling Wildfire
“Same thing.”
“Oh, he did not just say that,” Nyx said, looking over at me and then North. I laughed but quickly stopped when it jostled my shoulder.
“He’s messing with you,” I said.
Preacher just looked smug or tried to, before he grimaced and shifted to try and alleviate the pain. I leaned my head back against the van wall, trying to shut off the discomfort. It may have been a ricochet, but it was deep in my shoulder sending an ache through my entire arm. I was lucky the sniper was a shit shot. That and the fact I’d settled behind a thick wall of concrete and steel. Close calls weren’t new to me, I’d had my fair share when I was deployed and my fucked up brain just didn’t know how to take an attempt on my life seriously.
All I wanted was to get out there again and do better.
We got back to the estate, and they filed us through the infirmary again. They didn’t believe in true pain management apparently because they barely numbed my shoulder before digging into the hole left by the bullet fragment. I lay on the table cursing and sweating and tried not to give into the urge to murder every single person poking at me. Preacher wasn’t fairing much better next to me. He was viciously cursing and calling the nurses every horrible name known to man. It would have been funny if I wasn’t being subjected to the same thing.
Finally, they were done and after dosing us with pain pills, sent us back to our quarters. Preacher limped along next to me, looking pale and murderous. My arm was throbbing and all I wanted to do was lay down and sleep. I didn’t want to think about the fact we didn’t win. The girl wouldn’t be coming and instead we were going to find out what the punishment was for losing.
Nyx was pacing in front of the door when we entered. His concerned gaze swept over me before he saw I was still in one piece and he relaxed, giving me an easy smile.
“Miss me?” I joked.
Before he could answer, two of the guards followed in behind us and flanked Nyx.
“Hands,” one of them said.
“What? Why?” North barked.
In answer they grabbed Nyx and shoved him against the wall, cuffing his wrists behind his back while the other held us at gunpoint.
“Where are you taking him?” I demanded.
North’s features hardened, and he took a step towards the doors.
“What’s going on?” He demanded again.
But they didn’t answer and instead, all we could do was watch Nyx get dragged out the door and the ominous click of the lock behind them.
“Where do you think they took him?” Preacher asked.
“Is this what happens when we lose?” I asked. “Someone gets taken?”
No one answered me.
An hour passed and still Nyx hadn’t come back. Preacher had dozed off, exhausted and in pain but I couldn’t sleep and instead resumed the pacing Nyx had abandoned, walking back and forth in front of the door.
“Atlas, sit down,” North snapped. “You’re not doing anyone any favors if you pass out.”
I gritted my teeth in irritation but sat down in an armchair, fixing my attention on the door and trying not to let the fear and apprehension overwhelm me. Nyx still hadn’t returned when the lights went off in the cell, casting the room into darkness. The only light was the glow of a lantern down the hall and soft moonlight coming in from the windows.
Despite trying to stay awake, I realized I’d dozed off when a few hours later, movement in the hall startled me awake and then guards were dropping an unresponsive Nyx inside the cell. I jumped to my feet, glancing at North as we both hurried over and knelt next to him. He was naked and in the moonlight I saw bruises all over his body. I hauled him half into my lap, trying to rouse him as North checked his pulse.
“What the fuck,” I muttered. “Nyx—” I patted his cheek gently.
“Is he drugged?” North asked.
“He must be—hey—Nyx—wake up—” Nyx moaned and his eyes fluttered open only for him to jolt in my arms and lash out, his eyes wild.
“Hey—you’re okay—” North said.
Nyx drew in great heaving breaths when he realized where he was. He rolled onto his side between North and I, resting his head in his hands as he supported himself on his elbows. His body was shaking from the comedown of the drug he’d been on and whatever the fuck Vetticus had subjected him to. I put a hand on his shoulder and he flinched.
“What did they do to him?” Preacher asked.
