Lucy closed her eyes. “Do not kill Abby ... she’s your only friend.”
I laughed in a loud rasp, almost choking. She opened her eyes and her answering smile was not nice. I jumped in before she could tear strips of me. “So, speaking of killing ... Deralick ... I’m going to kill him when he comes back to the room.” Reminding her of our common enemy had to be a good distraction.
“I’ll help you hide the body.” Lucy attempted to run her hands through her wet, ragged curls.
I laughed again. One of her hands was completely entangled. It took numerous attempts and a few torn chunks of blond strands before it was freed.
I snorted at her second attempt to tame the mane. “My recommendation – shave your head.” Her hair was so tousled now it stuck completely out on the right side
“I probably wouldn’t give ‘recommendations’ until you check your own reflection,” she said, sticking her tongue out at me. She then hit me with a quick subject change.
“So, did you have some whacked-out dreams last night?” Her eyes widened. “I was locked in this freaky old-fashioned cell. There were people everywhere – some dead – dying. It was grisly.”
I bit my lip and attempted to keep my expression neutral. “That’s comforting. Bet you can’t wait to sleep tonight.” Jumping off the bed, I stretched my limbs. Despite the drugging, I felt great. I had no aches or pains from yesterday. “I did have some pretty vivid dreams, but nothing like that.”
I pushed the black mountains from my thoughts. They were wrong and it would take many therapy sessions to delve into that one.
Lucy shuddered. “It barely felt like dreaming. I was there; the emotions were real and raw. I could smell the sweat and that salty tang of blood.”
I gagged at the thought. She shook it off, her pixie features relaxing back into their usual cheeky grin. “Never mind, it was just a dream.” She hopped off the bed. “So what’s the plan? I’m not waiting around to be handed over like common criminals. Firstly, I’m anything but common. And, secondly, I need to brush my teeth. Urgently.”
I ran my tongue around my mouth. Deralick’s drug had left a powdery residue like a skin over my teeth.
I nodded my agreement. “Let’s get out of here. We’ll just have to forget our packs. If we can make a break for it, just go.”
The only important thing I had was the stone, and either it had already been confiscated or Deralick, with all his rules, would send it back to the castle.
I moved toward the space where I remembered the doorway had been. There was just a blank wall.
“Where the hell is the door?” Lucy was next to me, running her hands along the wall.
“It was open last night.” I squinted, but there wasn’t even a join to indicate a doorway ever existed.
I hesitated at a low whirring sound. A split second later, the wall disappeared, like a panel sliding out of the way.
An automatic door that vanished somewhere into the wall cavity.
Expecting to see Deralick, I gasped at the person filling the space.
Lucy stepped close to whisper in my ear. “Oh. My. Hotness.”
I spun around, stunned at the burst of rage flooding me.
He is not yours, Abby. Step back, Miss Bitch.
Someone needed to slap me.
Brace, his expression serious, stood with his arms crossed across his broad chest. Even in my astonishment, I still found a moment to revel in his fallen-angel beauty. What was he doing here?
From the corner of my mouth, I mumbled, “Brace.”
Lucy’s mouth dropped open and, stepping back, she craned her head for a better look. She was incorrigible.
“I figured that one of the two ‘unusually’ accented females my father found wandering the forest was probably you.” His features softened slightly as he smiled.
“Deralick’s your father?” There was absolutely no family resemblance.
He gave a sort of half-nod.
Lucy smiled. “It’s such a pleasure to meet you.” She looked at me. “Abby told me about colliding with you in the forest.”
“Did Abby also tell you that she disappeared? Into nothing.”
He was glaring at me – locking me in the intense stare of his amazing eyes. It was always like this, whether in dreams or weird alley teleportations. The chemistry between us just about brought me to my knees. And always took my breath away.
Lucy interrupted our intense stare-off, allowing me a few ragged breaths.
“Been there, done that. Abby will give you gray hair. Trust me.” She flicked her blond hair, as if to prove her point.
Striving for a pretense of normality, I kept my eyes off his gorgeous face, and away from his stupidly captivating eyes. That way I could speak and breathe.
I waved my arms a few times in their direction. “Alright, if you two can resist the Abby-bashing, maybe we should get out of here.”
“Why are you here, Brace?” Lucy asked before I could step around her.