Chapter 255

My eyes snapped open, and I saw Wendy and Toya staring at me from the end of my bed, and Sterling’s back running out the door. “No!” I screamed after him. “Come back.” But I heard my front door shutting, and I wanted to cry.

“What do you need, Amy?” Wendy came closer. “We will get you anything.”

In my mind, I knew she was trying to be helpful, but my heart, my body, wasn’t listening. I just started crying. “It hurts.” The heat became unbearable, and I rolled over in my bed, doing my best to relieve a tiny bit of the pain. I snapped my eyes open to my friends. “Water.” I was parched, the need burning through every ounce of actual thought. I just needed to be cooled, to get relief in any way possible. Wendy nodded and ran out of the room. She came back with a big glass of cold water and helped me drink it. The cool water gave me a tiny bit of pleasure, the dryness of my throat disappearing for a second before coming back stronger. I moaned and pushed her away. I looked at Toya. “Bath?”

“You want a hot bath?” She started out of the room, but I called out.

“Cold.”

She turned around. “A cold bath?” I nodded, desperate for the tiny bit of relief the glass of water gave me. She went straight into my bathroom and filled the tub.

I looked back at Wendy and jiggled the thick chains around my wrists. Understanding dawned on her face. “Silver. The chains, I mean, to keep you safe.” She swallowed. “To keep you from making a mistake.” I started to cry, and I couldn’t tell you if it was because I wasn’t going to jump the next male who called me, or if my friends loved me enough to stop me from making a mistake I knew I would regret. “They will reach the bathroom.” She continued, ignoring my tears. “We made sure before we locked you up, so you can go to the bathroom and stuff. So you will be able to have your bath without unlocking the chains.” I cried harder, but she kept herself away from me. I didn’t blame her. “The king…” She kept talking, but my world focused down on those two words. The king. Rowan. I needed Rowan.

Toya came back into the room, and the two women helped me into the bathroom. They helped me undress but froze when they realized something. “We can’t remove your shirt without cutting it.”

I looked at them and smiled. “I’m under control. You can take off the chains.” I sounded reasonable, but in my mind, I knew I was on the edge. If they unlocked me, I was running back to Rowan.

“Really?” Wendy stepped closer, and I smiled as I nodded.

“Of course.” I jiggled my wrist and waited. In my mind, I was begging them to believe me. Please, Goddess, believe me. But Toya snorted, and my hope fell.

“Nice try.” She sliced her claw through my shirt, and it fell away. “I’m going to leave you in your bra and underwear.” She circled my back and gasped.

“What?” Wendy came and looked.

“When she was hurt, I was focused on the wounds, and it was dark. But seeing her tattoo in the light, after seeing Nix and Megan, it looks amazing.” Wendy agreed, and then they helped me out of my pants. The cool bathroom air touching my skin made it pebble. This was torture. The heat was unbearable, but the tiny caresses made it so much worse.

Every shift, every breeze, made the heat go up another notch. I was sure that you could see steam coming from my pores, feel it rise off me in a haze like in the desert. I was boiling, and no one seemed to care. I cried out, but my friends just helped me into the freezing water. I screamed, but then held myself down.

“I’m so sorry,” Wendy cried. I could smell the saltiness of her tears, but I ignored them. Why was she crying when I was the one dying?

“Let me out, please,” I begged. The pain from the hot and cold was short-circuiting my body. My skin felt like it was being ripped from my body, and I started to scream. Toya and Wendy held me down in the freezing water, begging me to understand, but I was lost to the heat, to my need.

Until I wasn’t.

My mind cleared enough to finally understand they were helping me. I stopped fighting them and sank lower into the water. I could hear their panting, smell the scent of blood, and I looked up. “I’m sorry.” My voice was a thick rasp, like I had hurt my throat from screaming.

My phone rang, but we ignored it. But the front door of my place opened, and footsteps ran through my place. And we all froze. I heard panting and then a dark, “Get out.”