Page 88 of Outcast Fae
An awful sense of defeat washed over me. I sat at the edge of the bed and buried my face in my hands. What had I done to deserve this? It felt as if I were paying for the short happiness I’d enjoyed in Alanthyl. Before I came to this realm, my life had been perfect, a dream. Maybe I hadn’t appreciated it enough. Maybe I had to endure equal misery to pay back all those happy times.
I didn’t know how long I was in the cell, diminished by my own sorrow and self-pity, but after a very long time, the door opened and a man in a white lab coat stepped inside, followed by two guards.
“Hello, Tally. My name is Alexander Habermann. I believe you met my sister, Adaline, already.” He smiled the way his sister did, empty and forced. The resemblance was uncanny. He was tall with blond hair and blue eyes, and an expression that suggested confidence. Anyone would have been able to guess they were related.
“We have a slight problem,” he went on, “one that I think you can help us with.”
“You think wrong,” I said.
“We’ll see about that.” He whirled on his heel and addressed the guards. “Bring her.”
I hoped to see more of the building while they escorted me out of my cell. However, we didn’t go far, just a few yards down a long corridor lined with many more doors identical to the one I’d left behind. Alexander Habermann stopped in front of one of them and pressed his hand to an electronic reader. The door clicked open as if by magic, except it was technology that seemed to prevail inside the dome.
He invited me into the room, gesturing with his upturned hand. I did not want to go in, did not want to do anything these people requested, but I had no choice. Apprehension tightened my chest as I entered. I froze as soon as I saw what awaited inside.
Against the back wall, Sinasre was slumped on a chair, shirtless, held back by several leather straps that circled his wide chest, neck, and arms. What had they done to him?
I lurched in his direction.
“I wouldn’t touch him if I were you,” Alexander said, stepping into the room.
I backed away from the tall human, putting some distance between us.
“What are you doing to him?!” I demanded.
“Questioning him,” he said, matter-of-factly.
I shuddered with anger. “He won’t tell you anything. He is honorable. Unlike you.”
“I’m afraid you’re right about one thing,” Alexander said with a sigh of disappointment as if honor were something to despise. “He won’t answer my questions. That’s exactly whyyouare here.”
This was not good. Not good at all. Fear seeped into me slowly even as I tried to keep it at bay. I knew why they’d brought me.
Alexander smiled. “I see you understand. Good. It will make things easier. You may tell me what I need to know now, without a further need to make things… unpleasant for your cousin. We really don’t want to do this the hard way, but he’s being so difficult.” He said this as if annoyed that he’d been forced to torture people.
He cocked his head to one side, waiting for me to give him what he wanted, but how could I? I didn’t know in the first place, and even if I did, what would give me the right?
“I already told your sister that I don’t know where Kiana is.”
“Stubborn, I see. No matter.” He strolled toward a narrow table to the right of Sinasre and rummaged through the contents of a drawer. “This is quite unpleasant. I wish a truth spell or serum would work on your kind. It would make things so much easier and save me time. I have much to do, and this isn’t at all a priority.”
Frowning, I considered the implications of his last comment. He sounded as if he didn’t care about finding out where Kiana was. Yet, here he was, torturing Sinasre. Was he doing this at the request of his sister? No. If finding the Queen of the Seelie Court had been important to Adaline, she wouldn’t have sent me back to the island after questioning me the first time. She would have tortured me, the way they were now torturing Sinasre. So it seemed they did have other things to worry about.
But if they didn’t care, why were they doing this? There was only one reasonable explanation. They were doing it on someone else’s behest, someone they couldn’t deny, but who?
Alexander pulled something out of the drawer and held it up against the overhead light. It was a small bottle with a clear liquid inside. He uncorked it and approached Sinasre.
“What is that?! Step away from him,” I said.
I started to move, but the guards were immediately at my side, holding me back.
“This is a harmless, little smelling salt. Don’t worry about it,” Alexander said as he waved the small bottle in front of Sinasre’s nose.
Sinasre’s face twitched. His head twisted away from the bottle, but Alexander followed his movement. My cousin came to a moment later, blinking and looking quite alert.
“Tally,” Sinasre said, trying to stand, then glancing down at the straps that held him as if he’d forgotten them.
“Melethel,” I said, my voice breaking. “Everything will be okay.”
