She should not have been surprised, but she was. He’d done many, many terrible things to her, but this . . . Grief pierced her, wounding her far more than Matas’s fist. Matas, who must have shown Jecis the video.
She’d known her father was cruel, had known he enjoyed lording his power over her and everyone else. Had known he thrilled in punishing anyone who defied him, but . . . but, she was his little girl. His princess. His beloved.
Well, this would make leaving the circus that much easier. If she was ever allowed outside the cage, she thought, fighting a wave of panic. Was she to be one of the sideshows now? Was this to be a life sentence?
Was she to be treated as a lowly animal?
Oh, sweet mercy. All these years, she’d done nothing to stop her father from locking up innocent people. People who had experienced these very emotions, but without any hope.
She couldn’t free them while they still wore those cuffs, as she’d finally decided to do. She couldn’t allow Jecis to find them and bring them back. She had to stay, no matter the pain inflicted upon her, and she had to continue her search for the key.
First, though, she would have to get out of the cage.
Sorry, X, but I can’t pack up Solo and let him go just yet.
Solo tapped her gently on the shoulder to gain her attention. “Is there anything I can do for you?”
For her. Her. One of his tormentors. After everything, he still desired to help her. “I . . . I . . .” Wanted to cry. Wanted to sob and beg for his forgiveness. “I’m so sorry. I know there’s nothing I can say—”
“Vika,” he said.
“—to make things better, but I’ll try. I will. You have my word. I won’t let him keep you—”
“Vika.”
“—locked up anymore than necessary. The moment I’m free, I’ll look for the key more intently.”
He leaned down, getting in her face. “Vika!”
She blinked up at him. “Yes?”
“I’m not going to hurt you,” he said, settling back on his haunches.
Confusion returned. He thought, what? That she was apologizing simply to keep him calm? Well, if that was the case, he wouldn’t believe a single word she uttered on the subject of freedom, would he?
“Your father left a blanket for you. I let you use it as a pillow for a while, but when you began to heal, I took it and rigged it in the corner as a curtain. For privacy . . . when you need to use the chamber pot he also left. I think that’s what it’s called.”
Heat flooded her cheeks. “O-okay. Thanks.” She shouldn’t be embarrassed. She actually deserved this. He and the others had had to endure that kind of violation since their capture.
“Just so you know, I bathed you,” he said, “but I never removed your clothing and I never looked where I shouldn’t.”
As she had done to him. The heat intensified.
She looked herself over and saw that she was wearing the same clothes she’d worn to confront her father, the plain tee, and the flowing pants. At least she was comfortable.
“Thank you, Solo. Really. For everything.”
A stiff nod. “You’re welcome.”
Her gaze swept over him. He still wore the loincloth, his big, beautiful body on display. His skin was a luminous bronze, each of his muscles so well defined they looked painted on.
Breath caught in her throat. “So, uh, how long have we been here?”
“Three days.”
Three whole days. Fifty hours rather than seventy-two, for time was not the same here. During those fifty hours, Solo could have bound her. He hadn’t. He could have threatened to withhold medicine and food until she swore to aid him. He hadn’t. He could have fed her to the Nolanders to save himself. He hadn’t.
I’m the monster in this relationship. “Are you all right?” she asked hesitantly.
He blinked, frowned. “Why?”
“You have blood on your face.”
He reacted as if she’d slapped him, spinning to hide the fact that he was scrubbing his skin with a vigor that astonished her.
“Let me,” she said, but he acted as if she hadn’t spoken. She sighed. “Did the monsters hurt you?”
“You know about them?”
“Yes. To keep them out of the trailers, Jecis had the windows removed, the walls reinforced with steel, and the doors padlocked.”
“He should have put us inside your trailer, then,” he said, still wiping at his face.
“And allow you to find and hide weapons to use on him later?”