The Trinity of Magic (Book 2 of the Trinity series)

Chapter 24

My entire body felt like it was on fire. I ached with every muscle I moved. My very bones shook with every movement I made. My skin was covered in angry red marks that stung with even the slightest touch. I now knew to never cross Elijah again.

"Caley, you need to learn how to shut up," Gerrard told me as he set me down on the bed. I was breathing heavily, my head was pounding, and all I wanted to do was curl up and make this pain go away. Gerrard brushed my hair back from my face gently.

"I-I didn't think he actually would," I managed to get out.

"Elijah doesn't like it when people challenge him. What you were saying was dangerous because it could have potentially lost Elijah supporters," he told me.

"I was just saying what I thought," I said.

"Next time, just keep it to yourself," he said. I frowned, but nodded. Anything to keep from feeling like this again.

"I feel like dying," I said.

"I'll make a remedy. Just lay down for a bit," he said, helping me lie down on the bed. I winced with every movement, feeling a jolt of pain run through my veins.

Gerrard got up and left the room. While he was gone, I fell in and out of consciousness, jolting awake every time I closed my eyes and saw flashbacks of my torture. He came back with a mint green colored tonic that he told me to drink. I instantly felt a calming relief fall over my aching muscles.

"Better?" he asked. I nodded.

"Thanks," I said, closing my eyes.

"Hey, you can't sleep here. You've got to go back," Gerrard said. I mumbled something incoherently and pulled the covers up over my body. "Caley..." he said.

"I'm so tired, though," I said.

"We can't risk anything. Here, come on. I'll help you get up," he said. Against my will, he picked me up bridal style because I was too weak to actually walk myself. He walked outside and the cool late fall air felt nice against my skin. I felt the familiar suctioning feeling of being transported and opened my eyes when we landed. Gerrard helped me to my feet gingerly, but I held onto his shoulder for support nonetheless.

"Why are you so nice to me?" I asked as the world steadied itself around me.

"I honestly don't know. I don't act like this with anyone. Not even Isobel," he replied.

"What's different about me?" I asked.

"You're innocent," he replied. "And you remind me of your mother," he added.

"You knew my mother?" I asked. He nodded.

"She really liked me. I met her when Elijah first found me. I was really young, then, so it was kind of like having a mother," he told me. I felt myself smile a little.

"She took care of you?" I asked.

"In a way, yes. She gave me a childhood, that's for sure," he replied.

"How do I remind you of her, though?" I asked. He shrugged.

"I don't really know how to describe it. I guess maybe it was the fact that she seemed so much kinder and less scary than everyone else at the time. It was like, she was the only ray of light in a place that was so full of darkness, and as a child, I was drawn to that. And now here you are. You have no idea what you've gotten yourself into, you're innocent and you're pure and you have a goodness in you," he explained.

"I'm really not that innocent," I said to him.

"Maybe not in that sense, but overall you are," he said. We were silent for a few moments.