Cora narrowed her eyes against the brightness of the room as she peered around to establish substance from light. But everything glowed like she was in heaven.

“Cora?” She turned her head to the side, and her lips moved into a parody of a smile when she saw Finn. He smoothed a hand over her hair, and gave her a grimace in return.

“You’re here,” she murmured. Her voice came from far away and never really felt as if it had issued from her own throat.

Finn stroked her head again. “How are you feeling?”

“Warm,” she murmured, snuggling her shoulders into whatever soft surface she lay on. “What are you doing here?”

“I came back,” he said.

Her heart fluttered. Or maybe it was just her lungs. Breathing seemed to take too much effort, like her ribs were too tight to allow anything in her chest to stretch. “Why?”

It didn’t look like he had an answer for that. Instead, he glanced away, and then focused on her again.

Another voice, one that seemed to come from far away, asked, “I need to ask you something important, Elle.”

She turned her head, giving Javier and then Lars a wide smile. “Hello,” she said. “Are you all here to see me?”

More of the room was becoming visible now. This wasn’t her bedroom in the villa. It was too sterile, too white. It looked like the inside of what she’d expect a hospital room to look like.

“Elle, can you hear me?”

“Yes,” she said. Him and Lars looked too solid in the vague whiteness of this room. She lifted her hand, and lay it against Javier’s chest. He flinched at the touch, and then lay his hand over hers. She could feel his heart beating, hard and slow, beneath her palm.

“Did your father give you anything before you left your house?”

She frowned at him. She could remember a conversation with her and Papá on the front steps of the manor, but most of their discussion was a murky, opaque pool where all she could make out were the vague shapes of things. “No,” seemed the simplest answer to that.

“Nothing?” Frustration brimmed in Javier’s voice. He pressed her hand harder against his chest, as if willing her to remember. “He gave you nothing? Not a file, or a—”

“Javier, she’s pumped full of drugs,” came Finn’s voice. “You can’t expect her to remember her own name right now.”

She turned to Finn, thanking him with a smile. Because she didn’t want to think about anything right now except the absence of pain, and that almost-bliss of not caring about anything.

“Then we’ll make her remember.”

Shoes clomped on the floor, sounding like hooves. The thought made her press her eyes closed at a vivid flash of memory.

“Go with him,” Finn snapped. Then, softer, “Cora. Cora!”

Her eyes opened to Finn’s face. He was bent over her, his face so close she could just lift her head to kiss him. And she wanted to, so desperately, but her head weighed too much.

His beautiful, stark blue eyes narrowed and his eyes flashed to her throat, her chest. She murmured faint protest when his fingers touched her and began exploring her neck, her collar bones, her breasts.

“Where is it?” he whispered furiously.

“What?” she managed, trying not to get lost in the feel of his fingers against her skin.

“That necklace. The one your father gave you.”

She managed a shrug, or maybe she didn’t. It was so hard to tell what she did and what she just thought she’d done.

Was she on heroin again? It almost felt like it. Except…this was softer.

“I don’t know,” she said as her eyes fluttered closed. And then they were gone as if they’d never been. Like visiting spirits.

Finn sped out of the sick room. Javier turned the corner, Lars stalking him like a patient leopard. Hurrying after them, Finn’s mind churned as he tried to think of a plan. Cora had been too stoned to give Javier a straight answer, thank God, but that meant he’d been unable to get intel from her either. Finn knew—he fucking knew—that pendant had something to do with this. The way she’d kept holding it, stroking it?

It hadn’t been just a gift. That ugly necklace held the answer. Except, she wasn’t wearing it anymore. He couldn’t remember a time she didn’t have it hanging around her neck and now it was gone? Maybe someone had taken it off of her while she’d been under. Or had it gotten lost when she’d fallen from the horse?

“You think she has the files on her?” Lars murmured as soon as Finn had caught up with him.

“If she does, then we have to get to them before Javier does.”

“To trade them for Cora’s freedom? What do you think The Wolf’s going to do if he finds out?”

“The wolf?” Finn’s brow creased.

“Miguel told me on the way here,” Lars said. “El Lobo means ‘The Wolf’. Apparently, this guy’s made a habit out of ‘wolfing down’ some of his enemies.” Lars cocked an eyebrow. “Yum, right? Think Cora’s daddy will survive past six-ten tonight if she’s not there with the files?”

“He’s the one that got her into this.” Finn glared at Lars. “Why should her life be on the line?”

“Whoa, easy there cowboy,” Lars said, taking a step back and lifting his hands. “I suggested a trade, not a—”

“He already tried taking her once. It was his guys on the road the other day.”

“So…” Lars mused quietly, “Escape the castle, find the archives, kill the dragon, rescue Princess’s father, try not to get Princess kidnapped. Again. Is that it, or am I missing something?”

“You really think this is a time for jokes?” Finn hissed.

“I was hoping this was a time for getting the fuck out of here.”

Finn spun to Lars, catching his shoulder in a meaty hand. “You want to tell me you’ll have no fucking issue getting to sleep tonight if we leave right now with this shit going on?”

“My conscience is offended at that statement,” Lars said moodily. “Of course I won’t fucking sleep. But I’ll still be alive. Which I probably won’t be if we start off on this fucking rescue mission of yours.”

“Stop thinking about yourself, just once,” Finn muttered.

“I’m the selfish one here?” Lars yelled after him as Finn started forward. “You’re the one that just couldn’t bring yourself to let your little bunny go. Had to have your fucking plaything, didn’t you, Milo? Never mind the gig. Never mind the fact that she’s as dangerous as fucking—”

“Plutonium?” Finn cut in. “So what? She didn’t choose any of this, Lars.”

“Yea, oh, noble knight!” Lars said, throwing his hands in the air. “Her riches and wealth were simply thrust upon her despite her every protestation!”

Javier had moved out of sight, and Finn swung around again, gritting his teeth at Lars. “Stay here, then. You don’t want part of saving her father’s life? Hers? Then you can just stand right here and watch.” He flashed his gaze down Lars’s body. “Isn’t that what cowards do? Watch?”

The words lashed from him like a whip, but he couldn’t claw them back.

Lars’s face grew hard, his eyes the green of fossilized grass. “Fuck you, Finn.” He took a step back, shaking his head. “Fuck you and the fucked-up world you live in.” He gave a wide wave, a brittle smile tugging up his mouth. “I’m sure you two will be perfect together. Maybe all the dead bodies you’ll have piling up around you will finally be enough to satisfy you. Fuck knows, nothing else ever does!” The last was a hoarse yell.

“Lars—”

But his friend had turned away and stalked away at a speed that Finn would have had to run to catch up with.

And he should have. He should have caught up to Lars and made him see reason.

But Javier was going to get god knew what to wake Cora up. And he had no idea what Javier intended to do once she started answering his questions.