Chapter 210: Grace
The dungeon was exactly as I remembered it. I had spent so much time here as a teenager, there was a weird part of me that felt like home here. I knew that wasn’t a good thing, but the familiarity was too hard to ignore. I couldn’t say that I missed it here because I didn’t. It just was something I couldn’t quite explain. Everything was so different and yet, very much the same.
I moved gingerly. My whole body ached, but I wasn’t sure if it was from the beatings or the poison they kept forcing down my throat, so I wouldn’t shift. Probably both, honestly, but it wasn’t enough. I might not be able to shift, but I was still able to feel the Lycan part of me. She was me and I was her, and it wasn’t until now that I truly understood that. They had yet to find a witch that was willing to bind me again, so I wasn’t complaining. I knew if they did, it wouldn’t be the end of the world, but I really didn’t want to have to go through that process again. It was bad enough once. I didn’t need to do it twice.
I looked at Caleb through the cell bars. He was resting, but it was clear he was in pain. Even in his sleep, he was grimacing. I knew Leon was awake because I could hear his chains move every few minutes as he tried to find a position that was comfortable. Time really had no meaning here. It reminded me of the days after the Luna had died. I had rarely had visitors then. Of course, back in those days, I hadn’t been physically abused quite as much. That didn’t amp up until after my father had died. I had had chores then too. Now, I just had to lay here and let my Lycan heal me. Well, actually, I wasn’t allowing my Lycan to heal me too much. I didn’t want them to know that I was still connected to her even with their poison concoctions, so I just let her ease some of the pain. And if I had the energy, I tried to do it for Caleb and Leon. I didn’t know if it worked or not... I had always touched people to heal them, and there was no way to really ask without giving myself away, so I just kept it to myself and hoped that I was doing something to sort of protect them. Though, I did have to admit this was the most intense any punishments I had ever taken from them had ever been.
“Grace?” Leon whispered from the cell across from Caleb.
“Hi.” I whispered back.
“Are you doing okay?” He asked.
“I should be asking you that.” I answered. Despite the dark, my vision was fairly good. I could see his pale face, and how broken he looked. I felt for him. I was sure he was longing for Heather in the same way I was longing for Rhys. And when I had been taken, we had still been working on a plan. I had no doubt that Rhys was losing his mind back home, but he needed a good plan. “You look like shit.”
He gave me a small smile. “I can’t really see you, but I’m pretty sure you’re no better after what I heard earlier.” He responded. “Is this how you lived before?”
“Yes and no. When the Luna died, this was the cell I was given. I wasn’t chained up back then, so I had access to the small cot, and that was my bed for years. It was quiet and lonely back then. Kinsley and Adrian would come down sometimes, but it was less frequent. Sometimes they’d pay guards to do their bidding. But when my dad died, that’s when the physical stuff really amped up, and I was allowed out of my cell, but only really for chores. At night, I still slept here because I wasn’t deserving of a real room, according to them. I didn’t sleep much. The chores they gave me were usually impossible to finish in a day. I worked from early morning to late in the night, only ever sleeping a couple of hours. It was endless. I never even allowed myself to dream of a different life. I honestly didn’t even know another life existed. This was all I knew for so long...”
“Is it hard to be back?” He asked.
“Not as hard as I thought it would be. I used to think I would rather die than come back here... But the truth is, I know Rhys will save us. We had a plan. I just hope he sticks to it and doesn’t do go rogue or anything. He has to maintain control.”
“When it comes to you, he has no control.” Leon answered quietly, and I felt the weight of his words.
Everything was a mess. Our plan already went to shit. It was over before it had even begun. Rhys would be coming; I had no doubt. But they would be waiting for him. Expecting him. It would be a trap... The truth was, to save Rhys, we had to get ourselves out of there.
“Is it true that Grace is back?” A small voice asked from a few cells down.
I looked toward the guards, but they were dozing off. I could hear their snore from here.
“I am.” I replied softly. “It’s me.”
“Like the Grace who used to feed us extra when they were trying to starve us?” Someone else asked a little louder.
“Yes, that was me,” I whispered, a blush rising my cheeks.
“Grace who tended to our wounds?” Another voice asked.
“Yea,” Caleb answered them. “Grace is the Luna Queen. She got out of here, and by the wildest chance in hell, she got dragged back here.”
“I thought she was dead...”
“No, she’s alive.” Caleb said gently.
“She shouldn’t be here...” Someone said with some urgency. “They’ll kill her.”
“Well, do you have any ideas?” Leon asked bitterly.
And I understood why. Of course I shouldn’t be here. None of us should... But we were and there was nothing we could do about it.
“I do.” Someone answered so softly that they sounded like a child. “Give me a few hours.”
My friends and I exchanged a look, and I felt my uncertainty rise. If they had a plan, why the hell hadn’t they done it already?
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