Wicked (Eternal Guardians #9) - Elisabeth Naughton Page 0,61
been imprisoned by Hades, probably tortured in ways she didn’t want to imagine, then released. And instead of hunting down those who’d wronged him, he’d come here. To Ehrendia. He’d rebuilt this kingdom. Protected these nymphs. Taught the silens to defend themselves. And when she’d found him in that club, when her intrusion into his life had caused him all kinds of chaos, he hadn’t retaliated against her. He hadn’t once hurt her. He’d rescued her. From satyrs and daemons and Pandora and… even herself.
Someone stepped into Talisa’s line of sight, blocking her view of the bedchamber.
Nysa pushed to her feet and turned, quietly speaking with whoever had interrupted them.
Footsteps sounded then faded. Sighing, Nysa turned back to Talisa. “I have to go check on another patient. Rhen needs to get back to the Prince’s Guard, but he can stay if you need to go—”
“No, I-I’ll stay with Zagreus.” The words were out of Talisa’s mouth before she realized what she’d said. She looked up at Nysa’s surprised face, even more surprised herself. But she didn’t want to take it back.
“Very well. You’ll need to clean up first. The last thing we need is to introduce some kind of infection to the prince’s wounds. Satyrs are known to carry all kinds of diseases. The bandage I put on your arm is waterproof. Helia brought you some clothes over there with the extra towels.” She eyed Talisa as if she wanted to say more, then finally turned for the door. “I’ll be back later to check on him.”
As she pulled the bathroom door closed quietly behind her, Talisa continued to hold the towel to her chest, listening to Nysa’s and Rhen’s muffled voices from the other room. She couldn’t make out their words, but she knew they were talking about her. About what had happened, why she was here, and what she was going to do.
She didn’t have a clue.
The only thing that seemed even remotely true was that there had to be a reason. A reason she and Zagreus had crossed paths. A reason he’d brought her to Ehrendia. A reason she hadn’t been able to leave.
Something more than just chance that explained why she, the daughter of a hero, and he, the son of the devil, were linked.
Max blinked in the darkness, confused why he’d awoken. No sound met his ears. Nothing but his own pulse echoing in his head.
Slowly, he became aware of the dirt floor. The chill in the air. The scents of earth and mildew. And he remembered.
The satyrs’ dungeon. If this place could even be called a dungeon. He’d only gotten one look before the lights had gone out, but his impression was that of a big empty pit.
He pushed up on one arm, cringing at the pain echoing through every muscle as he scooted back to lean against the cold stone wall. He was weak. Weaker than he should be. Whatever energy Zagreus had hit him with hadn’t worn off yet.
That thought left him more confused than before. He had no idea how long he’d been out or how long he’d been down here. But judging from his grumbling stomach and light head, it had to have been awhile.
He looked to his right, where the stairs had been. Knew instinctively they were still gone. Then glanced up toward the door that was somewhere above. His only hope was to find a way to get up to that door.
He placed a hand on the wall at his side. The rocks were stacked. Filled with some kind of mud or cement. If he had a pickaxe or a spike or even some kind of knife, he could use it as a brace to scale the wall. Of course, he needed energy for that. Which meant food. And it didn’t seem like his captors were all that interested in feeding their prisoners.
A shuffling sounded to his left. His head jerked in that direction. His first thought was mouse. Or rat. Both of which he could eat, though the thought disgusted him. Still, rat meat was better than dying of starvation.
A light flared, burning his retinas. He lifted a hand to block the glare and blinked several times. Then tensed, realizing the shuffling wasn’t a rat after all. Realizing also that he wasn’t alone down here as he’d thought.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.”
The voice was female, not male. And it was sweet, almost like music to his sound-starved ears.