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HELENA WONDERED SOMETIMES IF SHE STILL HAD eyes. The darkness surrounding her never ended. She thought at first if she waited long enough, some glimmer of light would appear, or someone would come. Yet no matter how long she waited, there was nothing. Just endless dark.
G HI EIDINCUCUSHEGAYZI IFN DIEKSSBB
Remembered that she’d been placed there as a prisoner, kept preserved, but someday, someone would come for her.
She had to endure. To stay alert. That way she would be ready. She had to stay ready. She would not let herself fade away.
She had been kept awake, aware of the claustrophobic horror of all that was happening to her, as she was locked inside her body and left in the dark. Waiting for someone to come for her. No one ever did.
And the war. I’m sure you remember that. Did you help the Holdfast boy burn down the city? Your darling Luc, as you all liked to call him?” Helena’s throat tightened. “I didn’t—fight.”
SHE DIDNT FIGHT
All she knew was that as long as those manacles remained locked in place, she wasn’t an alchemist at all.
It was raining, and a gust of wind swirled along the house, whipping across her face. She gave a startled gasp. Ferron turned sharply. “What?” “I—” Her voice cracked, and she swallowed. “I’d forgotten what wind feels like.”
She looked up at him. “You’re a monster.” He raised an eyebrow. “Noticed that, have you?”
I kept thinking that eventually someone would come but—” She shook her head. “When I see dark places and I don’t know where they end, I feel like I’ll disappear inside them, but this time, I’ll never be found.”
Ferron was silent for so long that she finally looked up at him, morbidly curious, but he was unreadable. Still as a statue as he stared at her.
“You know,” Ferron said, jolting her from her thoughts, “when I heard it was you I’d be getting, I was looking forward to breaking you.” He shook his head. “But I don’t think it’s possible to exceed what you’ve done to yourself.”
The only piece visible was a slender, dark metal ring on his right hand. Her eyes narrowed as she studied it. “What kind of ring is that?” she asked. He looked down. “This?” he asked, as if there were any other rings she could have been referring to. He turned his hand. “Just an old piece.”
Ughhhhhhh
“Who knows, perhaps I have a proclivity for—” He paused, studying her, trying to find something. Helena walked away. “Maybe tomorrow.”
Hellppppp
The face in front of her was strangely pale, emotive for an instant and then blank as she managed to focus her eyes on it. It was a man. “You’re all right. You had a seizure. It’s over now.”
“Who are you?” she slurred through her teeth. Myriad emotions flashed across his face. He opened his mouth, then shut it firmly. “I’m in charge of your care,” he finally said very slowly, saying each word precisely.
“Do I know you?” she asked as her eyes slid closed. “I suppose you do.”
Ferron’s lips remained pressed against Aurelia’s, but as he kissed her, he raised his eyes, and his gaze locked onto Helena’s face. She stared back, forgetting to breathe, frozen in place.
“You’re full of surprises.” “Do you say that to every girl?” The words popped out thoughtlessly.
“Besides, if I didn’t leave you on the floor retching, you might make the mistake of thinking I care.” Helena inclined her head. “Yes. You seem strangely concerned about me thinking such a thing.” Ferron froze for an instant, then turned back, a cruel smile thawing his face.
“Watch her carefully. The Eternal Flame will come for her soon, I am certain of it.” “I will die before I lose her,” Ferron said, his grip tightening.
“Are you wanting a confession?” he finally asked. “Shall I tell you everything I’ve done?” She could only make out the vaguest shape of him, crouched in front of her. His breathing was still strained as he held her upright. She wondered then if they’d paused there so she could recover, or so he could. The dose of laudanum she’d taken had eased the pain splintering her head. A question rose to her lips, and she felt as if it was vital that she ask. She leaned forward, trying to see his face. “Do you want to?”
“The Undying. You’re his source of power, and the Resistance—we figured that out, didn’t we? How to kill him. How to kill all of you.”
“Did you—?” Her voice wavered. He shook his head. “Not yet. But I can guarantee it.” There was anger in his smile. “Whatever happens to Morrough, the killer will be dead and gone long before he is.” “You don’t know that,” she said fiercely. “I do, though,” he said, his expression so hard he could have been carved from granite.
She thought she should say something. What she’d tried to tell Lancaster. “Ferron always comes for me,” she whispered. He stopped short. His jaw locked, fists clenching, saying nothing for a moment. Then his throat dipped, and he sighed.
Malfoy always comes for me
“Well, you—you have a natural talent for it. In another life, you could be a healer.” “One of life’s great ironies,” he said, glancing towards the door, his jaw tight.
“And you, sir. Remarkable that you could manage such delicate healing through imitation. Very impressive. You should work in the hospital.” “So I’m told,” Ferron said with an insincere smile. “Do you think they’ll still hire me after I murdered someone in the lobby?”
Helena opened her eyes and couldn’t see him anywhere. The violent sound of retching emerged from the bathroom.
“Oh, Marino.” His thumb trailed along her neck, following the scar below her jaw. “If I’d known what pain you’d cause me, I never would have taken you.”
“I would rather spend the rest of my life being raped in Central than spend a minute of it having feelings for you.” The air in the room seemed to freeze. “Well,” Ferron said after a long silence, “with luck you’re pregnant, and there will be no need for either choice. You’ll be left to yourself.”
“Let me be very clear, then. I don’t want you. I never wanted you. I am not your friend. There is nothing I want more than the moment I’m finally done with you.” He turned and left.
Help
“I’m so sorry.”
“No one is going to hurt your baby,” he said, meeting her eyes.
The room flipped as she was dragged up and crushed tight. “Stay … please … stay.”
“I have warned you, if something happens to you, I will personally raze the Eternal Flame. That isn’t a threat. It is a promise. Consider your survival as much a necessity to the Resistance as Holdfast’s. If you die, I will kill every single one of them.”
