Page 122 of Song of the Heart Scale
A flash of magic, then her shoulders relaxed.
“A mild concussion and bruised ribs,” Jacinda said, almost to herself. “Nothing lethal.”
“Not yet,” I muttered.
Jacinda gave me a hard look, then turned to the door. “Take care not to anger him again. I won’t always be here to patch you back together.”
And with that, she vanished through the carved wooden doors.
Silence lingered.
Maeve quickly moved to my side and helped me ease back onto the bed. My limbs were still trembling, but I managed to shift until I lay against the pillows again, propped upright.
“Holy shit,” I whispered. “That woman could’ve warned me how much that would hurt.”
“You shouldn’t have spoken up for me,” Maeve said, wiping her eyes.
“Don’t be ridiculous. I’d rather take another round of the whip than let him hurt you again.”
Her eyes welled again. “You scared me. I thought... I thought you wouldn’t wake up.”
I squeezed her hand.
“How long was I out?”
Maeve hesitated. “Three days.”
My stomach flipped.
Three days.
Three days Thorne had me under lock and key. Three days Damien had no idea where I was.
Unless...
I swallowed hard, a thousand horrible thoughts clawing at my brain.
What if he was hurt? What if Thorne’s men got him? What if he tried to save me and never made it out?
I didn’t voice any of it.
The room might have been adorned in luxury, but it reeked of surveillance. Thorne didn’t strike me as the type to leave anything to chance. I wouldn’t put it past him to have spies or magical wards listening in.
So instead, I exhaled and offered a faint smile.
“Then I guess it’s time I figure out how to escape again.”
Maeve looked horrified.
“Not now,” I added. “Soon. First, I need to know everything that’s happened since I blacked out.”
She nodded and leaned in to whisper. “I’ve heard the guards talking... there’s unrest. More riots. The people are blaming Thorne for the famine. They’re calling it a punishment from the Immortals.”
Good.
I shut my eyes, not from pain this time—but to plan.
Because I may have been broken, but I wasn’t beaten.
