I forced myself to ask, “Will he have his full sight again?”
He shrugged, pulling out another syringe, this one full of golden contents. “Time will tell. He’ll be hazy for a few days. There are scratches and traumatised blood vessels, but I am hopeful it’s not a permanent disability.” Inserting the needle into Sully’s bicep, he plunged the golden liquid deep and wiped at the bead of blood left behind.
“What did you just give him?”
He sighed. “Something that would never pass clinical trials but has proven to be miraculous for those on death’s door.”
Goosebumps spread over me, prickling my skin. “What do you mean?”
“I mean…whatever you two face tonight…that should grant him the power he needs to endure it.”
“Will…will he be okay?”
He nodded. “He’ll stay alive…until Drake decides otherwise.”
Alive.
He’ll stay alive.
It was a magical incantation to incapacitate me.
I’d fought for so long.
I’d searched and called; I’d bribed and threatened.
I’d spent almost four days ignoring sleep and sustenance so I could get back to Sully and hear those very words.
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?”