Page 70 of A Hunt So Wicked
As we made our way to the door, I noticed Eliza was still sitting at a table, alone. “Eliza?” Slowly, she shifted her eyes to me and stared blankly. “Are you okay?”
“Is your head bothering you?” Isla asked, already making her way over to check her out. “You took two really nasty hits out there.”
Eliza blinked, her only reaction.
“Let me just take a look at your eyes, okay?” Isla kept her voice low and soothing as she reached out and placed her hand on Eliza’s cheek. Gently, she pulled her face toward her to look into her eyes.
A sense of unease began building in my gut as Eliza remained frozen, like a statue. No expressions on her face, no movement aside from blinking. Isla studied Eliza’s face and then took a seat next to her. Riv and I approached slowly and sat down in the other seats.
“Eliza, you have a serious concussion. I think we should find someone who can help you,” Isla stated, already looking back at the castle.
“Didn’t we already know about the concussion?” Riv asked, frowning at Eliza.
I nodded. When we were brought into the castle last night, a healer came around and examined all of us. “The healer said that yesterday.”
“—no help,” Eliza mumbled.
Concerned, I looked at her. “What did you say?”
Finally, she seemed to emerge from the brain fog she was stuck in. Her blue eyes slammed into mine. “I saidthere is no help.”
Isla chuckled nervously. “Come on, don’t say that. We’re back here now. We’re okay.”
Eliza laughed. Loudly. The three of us glanced at each other, sensing that something was not okay with our friend. Abruptly, she lifted her hands from her lap and slammed them on the table, making me jump.
“Are we, though? Are we okay? Really?” she rambled, shaking her head back and forth.
Riv stiffened next to me in her chair. “Eliza, what are you doing with that knife?”
Knife?
My heart sank when Eliza shook her hand and a silver knife, one from the dining hall, slipped out of her long sleeve and clanked against the table. She wrapped her smooth fingers around the handle and stared down at it, like it was the most fascinating thing she’d ever seen.
“This will never end,” she whispered, almost to herself, as though we weren’t even here. “Her head was caved in, like the watermelon my sister dropped last summer. It landed on a rock. It was just like that. And amandid that… And those beasts who slaughtered those women and guards. That wolf… He ran right past me carrying a bloody scalp. Not the whole head.” She shook her head back and forth violently, “Just the scalp and the blood stained hair.”
Isla’s panicked eyes darted to mine, but it wasn’t me who spoke.
“It will end,” Riv said, matter of fact. “Look at me, Eliza.”
My heart hammered as Eliza actually did as Riv asked.
“Those things you’re seeing in yer head? They’re not your fault, and I know that you can’t control when they appear or how they affect you.” She paused and reached out, covering Eliza’s pale hand with her own brown hand, which was a bit sunburnt, thanks to exposure to the elements. “Right now.” Eliza looked puzzled, and Riv continued. “It’s not something you can control right now. It is not a forever thing, I promise. Given time, and with the help of your friends and family, you will regain control of your mind.”
The girl blinked and her tears let loose.
“I’m going to take this now, okay?” Riv asked, referring to the knife.
Eliza startled and gasped, releasing the knife as though she’d been cut by it. “What am I doing? Oh, Goddess!”
Riv snatched the knife, and Isla moved just as fast, wrapping her arms around Eliza and hugging her tightly as she broke down. I looked at Riv in awe. She’d just saved a woman’s life.
“Shhh,” Isla whispered, running her hand over Eliza’s hair. “I’ve got you.”
“What is going on out here?” a guard demanded, making me shoot to my feet.
“Nothing,” I lied. “We were just about to go inside.”
His eyes assessed me for a moment before sliding over to Isla and Eliza.
