Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 86059 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 430(@200wpm)___ 344(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86059 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 430(@200wpm)___ 344(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
“Drink your water,” Melina says briskly. “I’ll let him in when you’re done.”
Let him in? So he’s waiting outside and Melina would still tell him to come back later? I take the glass of water again, surprised, and sip it slowly as Melina moves about in her small office. It looks a bit like a clinic with a few beds and curtains hanging from the walls between them. Everything’s faded and used, and there’s a large, heavy cabinet in the corner that has three padlocks on it. That must be where she keeps her stash of medicine. I watch her put bandages away in another cabinet, and then padlocks it. As she turns, I notice that there’s a small gun holstered to the belt of her pretty dress. Despite the princess gown, she’s got a practical air to her.
I finish my water, utterly aware of the fact that Lord Azar is waiting nearby. I try to think up excuses for why I showed up to the fort without Brady and my bicycle, my face bloodied. Or why the dragon followed. Maybe I can say Brady was baiting the dragon and I was just a hapless bystander. Maybe the dragon chanced upon us by surprise and Brady saved my life…nah. I can’t make him the hero, even in death. Fuck that guy. I’ll just tell a bastardized version of the truth—that I was attacked by Brady, and when I ran away from him, the dragon attacked and killed him. I was scared and ran back to the fort, and for some reason, the dragon followed. It doesn’t explain why the dragon’s come here twice now, but maybe I can say it was attached to Brady’s scent? Seems plausible enough.
I set the glass down and Melina moves to the door. She leaves the room and I’m alone for a brief moment. I rub the end of my stump with my good hand, lost in thought, worrying about what the future holds. It seems like my life has gone to shit in the last two days and I can only imagine how much worse it’ll get.
What if Fort Dallas kicks me out?
The door opens and I can feel Lord Azar’s presence before I see him. He stalks in, all pale clothing and a baseball cap over his equally pale hair. Oddly enough, he’s wearing his usual sunglasses despite the fact that the clinic is only lit by candles and it’s dark inside. His mouth is a flat line of disapproval and I get the sense that he’s angry.
Melina immediately pushes past him and moves to my side, tucking the blankets around my legs. “You can’t talk to her for long, Azar. She’s weak and dizzy and needs to rest.” Her eyes meet mine, and then she moves away again.
How is she not terrified of this strange man? Why does she keep defying him? His physical presence is unnerving and ominous, but he also holds power over the entire fort. All it takes is a word from him and someone can be left outside the barricade, forced to fend for themselves.
But Azar doesn’t look as if he minds Melina’s bossy attitude. He simply gives her a nod of acknowledgment and then sits down in the vacated chair across from my cot. He crosses his arms over his chest and waits.
I say nothing, doing my best to look wilted and pitiful. After a few moments of staring, I reach up with my stump and touch the bandages covering half my face again.
“Rachel, is it?” Lord Azar says eventually.
I shrug.
“I don’t know if I’m pleased with you or if I should throttle you,” he continues in a cold voice.
“No throttling my patients,” Melina says from across the room. I watch as she sits down in a chair in the corner of her office, picks up knitting, and gives Azar a mulish look.
His lips ghost into a faint half-smile at her words.
I’m so confused. There’s a weird energy between the two of them that I can’t figure out. Are they friends? More than friends? Is that why she has such fantastic food? But if that’s the case, why does she look at him with such frustration?
Azar turns his focus toward me again, then unfolds one arm and gestures at me. “Tell me about you.”
I look over at Melina, uncertain.
“She is not speaking to you. I am.” His voice turns hard, his mouth flattening with displeasure. “And I want you to tell me more about you.”
I lick my lips. “My name’s Rachel. I’m in your program. That’s about it.”
I can practically feel his scowl in the air. “That’s not all there is. Tell me your age. Tell me how you came to the fort. Tell me how you got your scars. Tell me if you’re a virgin—”
“Azar!” Melina barks sharply.