ALMIRA THORN- Knowledge of Another Kind. [Editing]

Chapter 12- Part 2

“What do you mean I shouldn’t be awake?” The words came out clearer as my throat finally began to clear and feel like my own again. I stared up at Ray but he made no effort to respond, his gaze moving down as he stayed silent. Lucian walked up and lifted a hand to touch mine, but hesitated and finally setting it on the bar beside it, his face lifted with a smile that did not quite reach his eyes.

“The second night should leave you unconscious till tonight, resting and preparing for the final transformation to Immortal bloodline, speaking alone should be impossible.” His smile slowly faltered and showed nothing but curiosity. I clutched the bars tighter, eager to know more when a throb of stinging shot to my fingertips, I stared down and saw the blood flowing faster as I clenched my hand around the metal, I grit my teeth past it and let go of the bars, flexing my hands and holding them out in front of me, unsure what to do.

They both noticed the reaction and stared down at my hands, “You need tending to, we’ll send you up to Lucy.” Ray smiled and looked over to Lucian, his gaze asking as he kept his grip on the bars.

Lucian nodded, “Of course, I can imagine you’re not feeling too great.” His eyes sympathetic as he reached a hand into his coat and fumbled for what I presumed was the key. While he fumbled round, Ray moved to the side, his gaze still on me as I could see a look cross his face at seeing my marked wrists and bloodied nails.

“How did you get out of the chains?” His question came out casual, as if asking me what type of day I was having, the distant hums of Lucian as he continued to search for the key.

I shrugged and opened my mouth to answer before Lucian cursed under his breath and brought my attention to him. He opened his hands out, showing nothing and shaking his head.

“Left the damn key upstairs in the study, I’ll run up and get it.” He smiled and with once last glance at my hands, jogged down the hallway and up the stairs.

“So? How did you?” The sound of Ray’s voice brought my gaze back to him, his eyes still curious, the dark purple even more vivid in the light as the rest of his face gave nothing away, only a blank canvas. I stared at him now, truly stared at him and noticed he was wearing the same dress clothes as yesterday, they looked crinkled and worn. Moving back up to his gaze I could see the faint outline of shadows under his eyes, barely noticeable but from this distance, they were visible.

“You’re still wearing your dress clothes from yesterday, didn’t you change into night attire?” I made the question quiet and soft, my voice barely a whisper as I met his gaze with my own. I don’t know what he saw in them but he snapped his eyes down and stared at the floor, his golden hair, barely able to show as his short curls hung forward, covering his eyes.

“I didn’t sleep last night, wasn’t feeling all that tired.” He kept his gaze down as he spoke, the words barely heard as he made them nothing but a whisper. I had a desperate urge to pull his hair away from his eyes, to see if his hair felt as soft as it looked. I shook my hands from the thought and the sting came back, making me curse under my breath and his gaze to snap at my hands again.

“Let me see them.” He held out his hands through the bars and moved his eyes to mine, concern coming back as I kept my teeth gritted together. I held back for a moment, unsure of what he wanted to do, but finally, gave in and gently handed him my hands, his own taking mine in and cupping them with a feather light touch. His long fingers wrapping softly around them while holding them up to his gaze, turning them gently in the light, inspecting them as if they were a fascinating creature to look and search at. He brushed his thumb across my knuckles, making the gesture soothing as I watched his thumb move over my hands. After a few moments, through the corner of my eye I saw his gaze move up to look at me, the weight of it’s intensity bearing down on me until I slowly lifted my eyes up to meet the gaze. His eyes looked bigger and showed the color of them more, the purple like the darkest lavender as they flickered and shone with the candlelight. There was something in his expression that was different, as if he was truly looking at me now, looking through me and into the most intimate places of our minds, his thumb moving slower as he leaned forward, the bars blocking him as he could go no further, but still he kept the gaze on me while he parted his mouth to speak. Without realizing I felt my own eyes show that intensity and a tightness in my chest seize my body. We’ve only known each other two days, stop acting stupid and look away. The voice deep inside my head whispered through my mind, but it was quiet enough to ignore as he started to speak.

“I’ve be-“ His words were cut off as footsteps came down and Lucian appeared, the key in his hand as he came to the cell. Ray let go of my hands sharply and stood away from the cells, turning towards Lucians with a smile.

“Got it, sorry about that.” He grinned at Ray and then me as he slowly slid the key in the lock, turning it with effort, and concentrating as he tried to turn it fully. I looked at Ray through the bars but the look on his face was gone, as if from a dream and his face was blank again, even his eyes as they stared at the lock Lucian was frustratingly trying to unlock. After a few moments the satisfying click sounded in the silence and they reached for the clump of metal that was presumably the handle as the hinges screamed its protest at being opened. I slowly stepped out, already feeling better at being away from that dreadful place. I let go of a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding and brushed down my skirts, aware of the state I was in and how Hope would have feinted at my state in front of company, I bit back a smile of the thought and Lucian held out his arm, a grin on his face, as if this was as casual a place to offer it. With one last look at the cells I gently took his arm and let him lead me away from this hell. As I turned to look down the hallway I could see Ray already ahead and moving up the stairs, his pace almost at a jog as he took the steps two by two, in a hurry to get away from this place or me? I’d rather not ask.