Fiona stood in the middle of the big bathroom in her room at Blade’s house. It was hard to get her head around the fact that she was home. Safe. Out of her father’s clutches.
Steam from the shower was making her hot in the knit top she wore. She really ought to strip and get in the shower before Kelan came back, but she couldn’t seem to make her arms unfold or feet move. She felt numb. Empty. Like a void. She couldn’t even summon tears.
She didn’t want to shut her eyes for fear the images that she had seen, which now made no sense, would haunt her dreams. The water in the shower ran and ran, creating white noise that droned like the chants that had filled the rotunda.
It hadn’t been statues standing around her and their white and black robes—they’d been people. People had been watching her almost get raped. She blinked, trying to clear her mind, a futile action because the fog was so dense, but she couldn’t let it go.
She kept seeing the satyr who had climbed on top of her, with his horned head and grinning face. It was a memory. Memories were real. They should make sense, but these didn’t. And monsters don’t exist…unless they had the name “King.”
What had happened to her? Had the drugs they'd given her distorted everything she’d seen, made her hallucinate? And there were bits that she couldn’t remember. How long had she been on the table? What had happened before Kelan came in and everyone started running?
She was glad the hospital had run a rape kit. At least she could put that out of her mind. Still, that thing had touched her. Kit was there at the end. And Angel and Selena. Had they seen her laid out in her shame on that table?
She was still standing in the center of the bathroom when Kelan returned. He stood at the bathroom door for a moment, then walked over to the shower and shut it off. His hair was wet, and his face newly shaven. His T-shirt hid most of his bruises, which was good, because they were hard to look at; he had them because of her.
*
When Kelan returned to Fiona’s bathroom, she was still standing in the middle of the room, fully clothed, arms folded about her. He shouldn’t have left her. This was the bubbly, vibrant, ballsy woman who had waited for him in her closet, waving an ancient Colt pistol at him. She was shattered because of his inability to protect her.
He shut off the shower, then wrapped an arm around her shoulders and led her out of the bathroom. He rearranged the pillows on her bed, stacking them so that she could sit up, then flipped back the covers and waited for her to get in. She took off her knit jacket and left it at the foot of the bed. He covered her up, then didn’t know what to do with himself. Should he climb in bed with her? Should he try to get her to talk? Should he just sit quietly with her, guarding her while she slept?
He handed her the cup of tea and a ham and cheese sandwich he’d made for her. She took a bite of the sandwich and a sip of the tea, then set the plate back on her nightstand. He was sitting in her armchair with his feet braced on the bed.
“He looked like a satyr. The guy who tried to rape me—he looked like a satyr.”
“The ketamine cocktail they gave you distorted what you saw. Remember what he looked like in the arena? He wasn’t a satyr. Why don’t you have another sip of tea?”
She didn’t take more tea. Her hands were tightly clasped in her lap. “Those weren’t statues set around the room where they had me on that block, were they?”
“No.”
“Why would they do that? What were they doing to me?”
“It was a ritual of some sort. Why they did it? Who gained from it? I don’t yet know.”
“Did Kit find Ellen and Bryn?”
“No. They searched the entire silo and did not find the girls.”
“There are more tunnels than the ones they could see. I got out by going through the jewelry cabinet in my closet. Maybe they’re hiding in the other tunnels?”
Kelan nodded. “It’s possible. After I meet with Kit and the team in the morning, I’ll go back and look for them.”
Fiona pulled the covers up to her chest. “I’m going to try and sleep now.”
Kelan got up to shut off the lights for her. “No—leave them on.”
“It’s easier to sleep with them off,” Kelan said.
“Yes, but if it’s dark, I might close my eyes. And if I do, I’ll see it all.”
Okay. That was it. That was all he could take. He went around on the other side of the bed and stretched out next to her. He pulled her against his side. “Most of that’s coming down from the ketamine and roofie high. Let your mind go—it’ll begin sorting it out. I’m holding you. I won’t leave you. If nightmares do come, then the moment you open your eyes, you’ll see I’m still with you."
Fiona nestled into him. “This happened because of me. Because I insisted on staying at CSU. Because I’m the spawn of King.”
Kelan’s face was pressed to the crown of her head. He shook his head and sighed. “This happened because of me. Because I failed to keep you safe like I said I would.” He adjusted his hold on her. “I’ve got you. Close your eyes and sleep."
*
It was close to two a.m. when the team returned from Colorado. The light was still on in the den. Val poked his head in and saw Owen sitting at his desk. He was writing something by hand. He covered the paper and stood up as they came in.
Val knew that Kit had updated him on the news that Fiona was King’s kid. What Val wasn’t prepared for was the intensity in Owen’s cold eyes.
“Tell me. Everything.”
“Can it wait until the morning?” Kit asked. “We’re beat. It’s been a hellishly long few days. We’ll do a full briefing with the team in the morning when Kelan joins us. For now, let’s just leave it that he and Fiona are safe. Lobo’s team is processing the site. And Rocco’s cover with Jafaar is still intact.”