Fourth a Lie

He’s alive.

He’s okay.

I couldn’t fight it anymore.

He’s okay...

I bowed my head as exhaustion crept over me.

The guards had drifted toward the exit, three of them sprawled in chairs and gossiping like old women.

The immediate danger had been removed...for now.

Sully had been treated.

He was asleep and doing exactly what his body needed to heal.

He’s alive...

My eyelids fluttered downward, feeling heavy and determined to rest.

He’s okay...

I folded forward, held by a rope, dragged into the darkness, out cold before the doctor had finished.

* * * * *

“Eleanor...”

Sully.

My eyes shot wide. My heart kicked awake. I moaned as aches and stiffness shot down my back—my spine did not appreciate my slouched imprisonment.

“Are you okay?”

I laughed sadly. “You’re asking me if I’m okay?” I watched Sully’s every move as he struggled to sit upright, wincing and hissing. His body was no longer the sleek, invincible man I’d been sold to but a pieced together king who’d been overthrown. “What about you?”

“What about me?” His lips thinned as he swayed, his forehead furrowed as he fought the residual unconsciousness and pulled out the drip from the back of his hand. His fingers strayed to the cotton over his eyes. “What the—”

“Leave them on. Let your eyes heal.”

He stiffened. “Did Campbell figure out what Drake did to me?”

“He removed the lenses blinding you. He believes they were tampered with to ensure no vision was possible.”

His chest rose with harsh hope. “I’ll be able to see again?”

I truly, truly hope so.

“If you leave the drops in for as long as you can...he believes you should, yes.”

“Thank fuck for that.” He bowed his head, dipping his fingers through his bronze-decorated hair. The tips of each pad held a small scab where they’d healed from the pins driven into his flesh. The skin under his nose still gleamed red and sore; the insides of his ears had streaks of blood from the earbuds and the rest of him...

Don’t look.

My heart couldn’t handle the pandemonium his body had become.

Focus on his face. His lovely, lovely face.

That’s enough...for now.

Sully shifted again, the metal cage creaking in protest. “Is it dark?”

I licked my lips, looking out the window high above the stack of dog, cat, and mice cages. “Dusk is falling.”

“Shit, how long have I been out?”

I shrugged, activating more aches. “Seven hours or so? I’m not sure. I slept too.”

“Goddammit!”

“Don’t yell...save your strength.” Tiredness and tragedy wobbled my voice. “It’s fine. Drake hasn’t returned, and the guards are outside having a smoke. It’s just us...”

His fists curled, his nostrils flared, his rage was palpable, leaking through the bars. I understood his anger, but it cost so much energy to be mad. Energy he didn’t have.

“Sully...please, relax.”

“Relax?” He bared his teeth. “How can I relax knowing you’re here? How the hell did I sleep seven fucking hours when your life is in my hands?”

“My life is in my hands. I came back of my own accord—”

“You came back when I told you to stay as far away as possible.”

“You didn’t. You agreed to temporary all while you lied to my face,” I snapped, skating my gaze to the exit and the locked door between us and the mercenaries. I didn’t know when they’d left, but I supposed they figured two unconscious people who were tied and caged weren’t going anywhere fast enough to warrant sitting inside all day.

“I’m not debating this with you,” he growled. “You never should have come back.”

“Never?” I struggled to suck in a breath. “You could have survived never seeing me again?”

“Of course not. It felt like I died the moment you took off.”

“Well then, you’re welcome.”

“Christ, you test me. You’re not getting it. I love you. Do you understand that? I fucking love you more than anything and anyone, but having you here? You’ve ruined me because how the hell can I protect you? How can I stop him from touching you, fucking you, hurting you? How the goddamn fuck am I supposed to protect you when I’m shackled, wounded, and blind?”

“I’m not asking you to—”

“Just as I didn’t ask you to throw your life away for mine!”

I struggled to get my temper under control. This wasn’t how our reunion was supposed to go. We shouldn’t be fighting when he’d just woken up from being pushed to the brink, while he lay upon the stains of shed blood, while we honestly didn’t know how long our lives would last. “Sully...I had to come. I didn’t have a choice.”

“You did. You did have a choice. You could’ve chosen to obey me. At least you were out of his reach.”

“He would’ve found me if he wanted to. He knows my name. I would never have been safe.”

“Goddammit, why do you have to be so smart?” He threw his head back, his throat working as he swallowed. “Why can’t I win with you? All I wanted was to keep you safe. You are my top priority. My only priority. Yes, he could have found you if I failed to kill him, but you would’ve been surrounded by society and other people. You would’ve been a hell of a lot safer than here!”

“Hush.” I attempted to give each other sweetness and forget the sour. “It’s not worth arguing about. I’m here. We’re together. We can—”

“Damn you, woman.” His voice filled with a painful huskiness. “You’ve betrayed me in the worst possible way.”

“Betrayed you?” I sucked in another thin breath, my temper heating with injustice. I’d known he was stubborn. I knew we had similar fiery responses, but I didn’t think he’d be stupid enough to burn through whatever energy sleep had given him with accusations and slurs. “It’s not betrayal...it’s loyalty.”

“It’s insanity.”

“It’s necessity!” I twisted to face him as much as my binds would allow, glaring at the cotton over his eyes and the bruises shadowing his tanned skin. Just looking at him and imagining the torture he’d endured drowned my heart and made tears spring.

He was angry with me because he was afraid for me.

And I was angry with him because I hated that he was hurt.

Our rage wasn’t meant for each other, but that bastard who’d done this to us.

Damn you, too, Sully.

I didn’t ask for this.

I didn’t ask to fall so stupidly hard that I’ll literally do anything to keep you safe.

I sniffed back my sadness, forcing myself to remain as silent as I could. He couldn’t know I was crying, couldn’t know I churned with compassion, pity, and a decent dose of regret.

I should’ve come here with an armada.

Instead, I’d come alone and failed spectacularly.

Stop crying!

But he heard me.

Of course, he heard me.