Page 80 of Locked
CHAPTERTWENTY-TWO
Zelle
"Go, Zelle… go…" Sorrel whispered, kissing me firmly on the lips. "Go now. Kinden's outside. Rif needs you."
I hadn't wanted to leave him there in my apartment. But he'd insisted, almost pushing me out the door and closing it after me. And he was right. Rif needed me. He was hurt and I was the only one who could help him.
So, with Sorrel's rushed kiss goodbye still on my lips, I hurried down the stairs, almost in disbelief that this was actually happening.
My bag bumped on my hip as I hit the final landing. My heart was pounding. I was almost certain that I wouldn't be able to pull this off. That around every corner, Mother would be standing there, waiting for me to grab me and throw me back into the tower.
But she wasn't. She wasn't here. She wasn't due back for a couple of hours.
As I opened the door to the landing, the sun hit me full in the face and I gasped.
The wind rushed over me, invigorating my body and energizing me for the sprint towards the car where I could see Kinden waving to me.
I broke into a full run, barreling towards the car and him. I threw my arms around his neck, pulling him down for a full kiss before I turned my attention to Rifyr in the backseat of the car.
"Oh, Rif…" I murmured, leaning down to fold myself into the backseat with him. It was worse than I'd expected.
The green veins creeping up his arms were telling. The poison was spreading slowly. He must be in so much pain.
I hadn't ever seen this particular poison first hand, but I was very familiar with it. And lucky for Rif, I had an antidote. It was a good thing I knew Mother so well.
She'd talked about poisoning so many people with this same poison. So I'd consciously started growing some of the antidote for my own use in case I'd ever needed it.
"Rif, Drink…" I brought the glass vial to his lips and watched as he grimaced with the taste. I pulled out the poultice once he was finished, rubbing each of the inflamed punctures on his arms with it.
It started its magic almost immediately, clearing the redness and angry flesh from his hands.
He started breathing deeper. Still not with us here in the land of the awake, but it seemed to be doing its job.
Kinden was staying back, patiently waiting for me to finish what I was doing.
"Sorrel went instead of me…" he said slowly.
"I noticed, believe it or not," I said with a laugh.
He shook his head, a smile peeking through the clouds. "I told him it wasn't his fault…"
"It's not…" I replied. "It's no one's. Or at least, it's as much mine as it is his."
He shook his head again. "It'sherfault, Zelle. You and Sorrel weren't doing anything wrong."
"She is terrible and awful. And she treats me like shit. But don't forget that she does own me. Iamhers. My parents gave me up."
"She should have let you go when you came of age. Everyone knows that's what is supposed to happen."
"But it's not against the law, so I mean…"
"She burned off your hair and was forcing you to prick your fingers to allow her to come in. She tried to kill Basil. She's bad news, Zelle."
I knew he was right. It just felt so strange to agree with him out loud like this. That I was able to. There was no way Mother would find out what I'd said…
And yet, here I was. Still scared of her.
Rifyr's hand squeezed mine, and I looked down to see him blinking blearily up at me. "Love the haircut, Kitten. It suits you."
