Page 164 of Whispers of Wisteria
“Babe, can you talk to me?” she asked. “How do you feel?”
I stared at her, completely at a loss for words.
How could I describethiswhen I had no idea whatthiseven was?
“Okay…” Maria’s voice wavered, and a panic began to grip at the edges of my senses. “Okay, no!” She pressed forward, and my doubts fled. “Bianca, you’re not chained. You need to get to Gloria.”
As I looked at the wolf shifter, my vision wavered and an ache began to pound at the base of my skull.
Gloria was still shackled against the stone wall, unconscious. Her long hair was a tangled wave over her shoulders, and her head rested lightly against her left bicep.
I’d bet her arms were asleep. That would really suck—I’d always considered paresthesia to be one of the worst feelings in the world.
Except, maybe, a concussion. Or being maimed.
Actually, there were a lot of things worse than tingly limbs.
“Focus, Bianca.” Maria’s voice soothed my scattered thoughts. “The sooner we get home, the sooner I can show you where Titus stashed the best part of his collection.”
“Are you bribingher?” Ada sounded astonished.
“She’s not thinking clearly,” was Maria’s quick reply. “You need to appeal to her instincts. All fae like shiny crap, and they’re really competitive.”
“She’s not going to…”
But Ada’s rebuttal ended as I staggered to my feet.
What was this all about?
Hadn’t I already seen the best? After all, it’d been my jewelry we used inPretty, Pretty Princess. What could be more awesome thanmystuff?
Was Titus hiding something even better?
“Unbelievable.” Ada scoffed. “And a bit frightening.”
“You need to hang out with more fae,” Maria replied.
My body didn’t feel like my own as I crossed the length of our prison. I could hardly feel my legs or my arms, and my mustered strength finally gave out when I was a foot away from my target.
My toes dragged along the floor, and I fell forward, directly into Gloria. She was soft and still breathing, at least. And she’d definitely grunted when I slammed into her.
My thoughts were beginning to clear, but my limbs refused to listen.
“Bianca?” Gloria groaned into my ear. “How are you…”
I braced my hands against the wall, putting some distance between us. My head was spinning, and my knees were weak. If I tried to stand now, I’d probably fall.
“Have you lost your mind?” Gloria looked past me. “She’s not one of yours to command.”
“She is right now,” Maria responded, then the calm took over again.
“Good job, Bianca,” Maria continued, speaking to me. “Now, can you reach the shackles?”
No, I really couldn’t. I couldn’t control my arms, and my teeth chattered.
But…
My focus wandered past Gloria’s face as she glared at Maria, to her wrists.
