much attention, even though it’s dark and not well lit. Her slow gait is painful to watch. Thankfully the small walk from the car to the side door doesn’t earn any unwanted attention. We use our hearing to hide around a corner until our hall is clear, then we get her to the room.
The daughter of Sonellion is wrecked. She walks with a limp from her injuries, but she won’t let us close enough to see what needs fixing. I run her a hot bath, but she sits on the floor of the bathroom shaking uncontrollably, begging for a drink.
“Maybe we should give her one—” I begin, but Kope cuts me off.
“No.”
I wish Anna was here. Zania groans and begins a chattering murmur that rakes my ears. God, she’s suffering.
“Just one fucking drink,” I whisper to Kope, but he is adamant.
“In the end it will only make her want more. She has to make it through this.”
Zania snarls at him in Arabic.
I squat next to her. “Please, Z. We need to get you out of here before your father returns. You need to eat something so you can be stronger, so you can heal.”
She looks at me, really looks at me, for the first time. “One drink,” she says softly. She’s so pathetic. I want to give in because I’m weak and I keep wondering if one will really hurt. Perhaps it would calm her. But I can feel Kopano’s eyes glaring down at us. What would Anna do? I attempt to channel her positive energy before I speak again.
“I know it feels like that’s what you need, but it’s not. We want to help you.” I’m proud of myself for sounding so gentle and reasonable. I open my mouth to continue and she wallops me straight in the eye.
Bloody fucking hell, that stings.
I move away from the Neph girl, who doesn’t appear as if she can lift an arm, much less throw a decent punch. It seems where there’s a will, there’s a way, because I’m fairly certain she’s given me a black eye. Not the first time I’ve been hit by a girl, but it’s the first time I didn’t deserve it.
Still, I can’t bring myself to be mad. Until Kope chuckles.
“Shut up,” I say, standing. “You give it a go, lover boy.”
He frowns at me as I stalk past him and check out my eye in the mirror. Yep. It’s darkening.
I expect Kope to try a gentle approach, but once again he shocks me. He speaks to her with stern, dominant authority.
“It’s time to bathe, Zania. We will leave the room and you will bathe yourself. Our flight to the U.S. is in less than five hours.”
She wraps her arms around her stomach and cries, “You should have let me die!”
“You were not going to die,” he growls. “Your fate was far worse than death.”
“Just leave me here!”
“Bathe. Now. Or I will put you in the bath and clean you myself!”
She eyes him with malice. He takes a hard step forward and she scuttles back.
“Don’t touch me! I will wash myself.”
“When it’s time to leave,” he says, “you will be presentable. We cannot raise suspicion.”
He barges past me and I follow, closing the door. It’s not until he sits on the bed, gripping the edge with his eyes shut, that his strong façade cracks and he begins to tremble.
I want to tell him he’s done well, but I can’t bring myself. Instead I sit on the other side of the bed in silence. We both relax a bit when we hear Zania step into the water. Then she begins to cry a mournful sound, her teeth chattering as she shakes, and it guts me.
I hate the Dukes. I loathe them with every fiber of my being.
I allow myself to imagine Anna, fierce and lovely, stabbing each of them with the flaming sword as all of us Neph hold them down, until their souls are extinguished forever.
And then another thought smacks me and I’m struck with sudden anxiety.
Where is Flynn?
I whip out my phone and ring him, but there’s no answer. Next I text Anna’s father with the code he told us to use. Belial texts right back.
Get her?
Yes, I respond, but F is missing.
My heart pounds, waiting for his response.
Leave with or without him.
Damn, that’s hard-core, but I suppose I get it. Better to have one missing than two. At this point, with so few allies, we’re playing a numbers game.