Page 60 of Cages and Crowns
“I said no.” I get out through gritted teeth.
“Get him out of here.” I glance up as my father leans against the open door, ordering me to leave.
“Father—”
“Out.Now!” He snaps and Enzo grabs my arm, pulling me past him.
“Don’t touch her!” I yell as I am yanked out of the room. My father’s smiling face is the last I see before he closes the door. “Let go of me.” I rip my arm out of Enzo’s grasp and reach for the door again. He shoulders me out of the way, knocking me into the wall.
“Enough!” He yells. “Just leave it alone.” His voice is laced in irritation. I don’t even recognize him anymore.
“What the fuck is wrong with you, man?” His green eyes darken as he stares at me.
“What?”
“All of a sudden because she’s not available to you, you don’t care. You’ve been nearly crying every day for a year and now that she’s here, you don’t even care what happens to her.” I spit.
“That’s not true.”
“My father is in there, doing only the gods know what—”
“Myfather is in there, too. He won’t let anything happen to her!”
“Enzo?” A soft, child-like voice pops up from the end of the hallway. We both spin around to Mali, a blanket wrapped around her. “What’s wrong with that girl?” She asks. He rushes down the hallway, scooping her up into his arms.
“Nothing, Mali. She’s just sick, but she’ll be okay. Let’s go back to bed.”
Erik joins me in the hall a few hours after Enzo leaves. It’s the middle of the night, but I can see the stress in his eyes. He offers me a tight-lipped smile as he slides down the wall, sitting across from me.
“Have you seen her?” He asks, but I just shake my head, anger brewing deep in my mind. “She’ll be alright. She’s strong.” He attempts to reassure me, not that I even know why I need reassuring.
“Why didn’t you do anything?” His eyes widen and his mouth clamps shut. “All those years, you never did anything to protect her.” I shake my head and turn away from him.
“You don’t know anything. You weren’t there.” His tone is filled with venom as his face hardens, which only pisses me off.
“Her father beat her, and you just watched.” I snap, fighting against what little control I have.
“I didn’t watch, I intervened so many times. You may think the scars on her back are bad, but you haven’t seen mine.” My mouth falls open as ice spreads through my veins.
“Scars?” I ask, my voice soft. “I haven’t seen any scars.” His eyes soften as his legs fall to the ground. He sighs before he speaks.
“She has scars on her back from a whip her father used. My own father and brother had to hold me back and forced me to watch her be whipped to near-death. She fell unconscious and I could see her spine, see her ribs through the splits in her back. After she was carried away, I was strapped to the same pole she was and whipped. Except he didn’t stop when I fell unconscious. My father and brother allowed him to whip me until I was seconds away from death. Even in the infirmary, they didn’t keep me asleep. I suffered in pain for weeks, but I could see her. She was asleep, they kept her that way while she healed. So for weeks, I watched her. Scarlett and I watched her and hoped she would wake.” Bile rises in my throat as I listen. His voice is strained, almost as broken as hers.
“I didn’t know.” I admit.
“Don’t say I never stepped in. You don’t know her; you don’t know her life. I was always there for her. Always. And even on the road when she was kidnapped—”
“What?” I cut him off, remembering what she had said tomy father. He shakes his head and scoffs.
“This only proves my point. All you know about her is what you think Tobias did. You filled in everything else yourself. She is a stranger to you, a girl you’ve barely heard about. But to us, toallof us, she’s family. She’sours. I gave my life for her that day, and I didn’t expect to wake, but I did. I gave my life so she could get away, but she didn’t.”
“What happened to her? She mentioned these men, men she accused my father of sending.”
“It’s not my story to tell.” He responds. He doesn’t look at me as he rises. “If anything changes, please let me know.” He doesn’t wait for a response as he walks down the hall, entering Laenie’s room.
He’s right. I don’t know anything about her. All I see is a traumatized girl, but that’s not her. She’s stronger than I expected.
Hatred pools deep in my belly as I pull myself up and open the door to Elaenor’s room. My father is sitting beside her on the bed, where she is naked and exposed as she lies on her stomach. There is only a thin sheet covering her backside waist down, exposing her back.
