Twilight Siege

28

10 I drifted in a place where there was no time or space, experiencing periods of vague consciousness followed by nothingness. During my brief moments of awareness, regardless of how hard I tried to lift my eyelids, nothing moved. I swam in a thick ocean of sticky lethargy and as much as I tried to move forward, it held me in place, suspended like a fly in a web. When I finally managed to open my eyes, I was met with more darkness. Blinking away the cobwebs, my eyes slowly focused and I scanned my foreign surroundings. I was tucked beneath the blankets of a large bed in a spacious, modern bedroom. There was minimal furniture and the few pieces I could see were smooth with contemporary lines. “It’s good to see you awake.” I startled at the gravelly voice to my right but quickly calmed as recognition dawned. Lochlan sat in a chair by a window covered with heavy drapes, his elbows resting on his knees and head lifted just enough to see me. His face showed recent signs of a struggle and images from the fight flashed in my mind. He and Ronan, fists pounding each other mercilessly. “Ashley.” I croaked and then coughed uncontrollably from the discomfort and dryness in my heavily bandaged throat. As the fit subsided, I pulled myself up to a sitting position and looked at Lochlan, who had dropped his head back down to hang between his shoulders. “Becca, I’m so sorry…” His deep voice trailed off, leaving me in confusion. “What are you sorry for? What happened to Ashley?” My pulse pounded in my ears as panic set in. He sat taller and met my eyes, the profound sadness in their depths stole the air from my lungs. “She’s alive, but she’s not doing well. We took her to the hospital with a bad head injury, the doctors don’t think she’s going to make it.” He spoke the words softly, but nothing he could have done would have eased the blow. Tears streamed down my cheeks. How could this have happened? I tried so hard to keep her protected, safely hidden away from the Fae. Ronan had brought her back here and used her to get to me. I did this. I brought her into this ruthless Fae world and now she was going to die, because of me. My chest felt like it was being ripped open, but I couldn’t bring myself to sob or rage—I deserved the pain. My penance was to suffer her loss, and I would not do anything to assuage my bleeding heart. “There’s nothing you can do to help heal her?” My voice was lifeless, eyes staring at the wall without seeing. “As we’ve talked about before, our bodies heal themselves rapidly, we have no need for healing magic. There are some Fae who have studied that art, but there would not be enough time to locate those individuals in Faery and get them back here in time to help her. And that’s assuming there was anything they could do.” “I need you to take me to her.” I threw back the covers and slid to the edge of the bed, my back to Lochlan. “She’s in intensive care and her visiting hours are limited, I’ll take you over there as soon you’re allowed to see her.” “I need to go now, something could happen while I’m not there,” I asserted with more conviction as I stood and searched for my clothes. I wore my standard tank and underwear pajamas, and I couldn’t care less that someone had changed me while I was unconscious. All I cared about was getting to Ashley. “They have my number with instructions to call me at the slightest change. You’re also still recovering, unless you’ve forgotten. Sit for a few minutes and then we’ll head to the hospital for the afternoon visiting hours.” His voice sounded worn, and if I had to guess, I would say he hadn’t slept the entire time I was unconscious. I wasn’t thrilled with waiting even for a few minutes, but if we weren’t allowed to see her yet, there was little I could do about it. I sat back down on the bed with a sigh and faced Lochlan. “How long was I out?” My neck was still sore but my wrists were nearly healed. “It’s two o’clock on Tuesday, so about fifteen hours.” “And Ronan, is he dead?” “Not yet, but he’s contained in the basement. I have been rather occupied and haven’t had a chance to interrogate him. Plus, I wanted you to have the opportunity to confront him, if you wanted to.” His voice was laced with a fury that still simmered beneath the surface. I nodded but couldn’t seem to muster anything more. My heart was a void of emotion other than pain—gratitude, relief, worry, fear—a mixture of all the things I should feel were absent. In their place was a lake of pain, its water seeping into my nose and filling my lungs as I watched the surface fall farther and farther from my reach. Cold numbness was all that was left. “How did you find us?” “You’re usually on time for training, so when seven came and went, I knew something was off. I checked our security cameras and saw your car parked on the street and went out to find you.” He paused and his eyes dropped to his hands. “I’m sorry I didn’t get there sooner.” I could hear the sincere remorse in his voice, but no words came out to assure him it wasn’t his fault. Nothing I said would change the fact that Ashley was dying. It didn’t matter if we felt guilty or sad or if we screamed until our vocal chords gave out. She was dying because I didn’t do enough to keep her safe. I abhorred the overwhelming guilt and would do anything to keep more blood from coating my hands. Ronan may be contained, but this Morgan he had been working with would no doubt prove just as brutal and heartless. I couldn’t allow her to wage her war and bring about more death to the people around me. I would not let Ashley’s death be in vain. I would dedicate myself to becoming a weapon, and I would do whatever necessary to stop these evil people. “I’ll move in with you.” I managed to catch Lochlan off guard and he was still for a moment before he dropped his chin in acknowledgement. “What was Ronan talking about when he said you mistook him for me? That day when you came to my office smelling of him—was what happened between the two of you not voluntary?” His voice dropped even lower and his body became taut with tension. I felt empty but a single tear rolling down my cheek. “It’s irrelevant.” I said as my voice cracked. Lochlan rose from his chair with the grace of a panther and stalked around the bed to where I sat. “It’s very relevant to me—did you think it had been me?” He struggled to control the rage in his voice, but his demand had no effect on me.