Chapter 16: Tasting Darkness By Jessicahall Chapter 16

Everything ached, there wasn’t a single part of me that didn’t hurt, and I had never felt so relieved to be locked back in my room; I would take this prison cell over not having to face those men again. Lycus had placed me on my feet just inside the room before shutting the door. He locked it. I heard the door click and heard him storm off up the hall.

He didn’t say a word to me, yet I could tell after we got back to the castle-like he was second-guessing getting me out of classes. Every time my skin touched his, he would tense like he couldn’t even bear the thought any part of me was near him. His jaw was tense as he climbed the stairs before placing me in the room and leaving. I kind of hoped I could see Kalen. I couldn’t understand the strange vibes I got from him.

Like I needed to protect him, but from what? Like he was fragile somehow, I noticed they were super protective of him, but I wouldn’t hurt him. I had no magic to even if I wanted to. I t fizzled out, and until they either gave me some, which is unlikely, or I managed to sneakily obtain some, I was utterly defenseless, and that thought scared me.

Moving toward the bathroom, pain rippled up my legs, it caused pain through the bottoms of my feet, but I needed to clean them. I winced when I placed my foot on the cold tiles, m y foot sliding as my blood stained the tiles, making it slippery.

I made my way over to the bathtub and sat on the edge, planning to rinse them under the tap and assess the damage when the door suddenly opened. I look up to see Kalen step in with an angry-

looking Lycus. Lycus quickly glanced out the door into his room before shutting it and locking it. Lycus moved to the door leading into my room, and I jumped up in a panic when he closed and locked it also.

They were locking me i “Woah, woah, calm down. I won’t hurt you, neither will Lycus, see,” Kalen says, pulling bandages from his pockets and alcohol wipes and showing them to me.

“Just hurry, Kalen, if Darius comes in and finds you with her. H e will lose it,” Lycus tells him.

“Since when doesn’t he, Lye. He gets angry if I am out of damn sight for more than five minutes or If I don’t text him every five bloody minutes,” Kalen mumbles. Lycus sighs but perches himself upon the sink basin while I glanced between the two o f them.

“He won’t do anything, Aleera, sit. We want to help,” Kalen told me.

“Speak for yourself. The only reason I even brought her up here is for you, not because I want anything to do with her, don’t speak for me, Kalen,” Lycus snaps, and Kalen rolls his eyes and sighs. I glanced briefly at Lycus but sat on the edge of the bathtub again.

Kalen sets to work cleaning and bandaging my feet. My eyes burned with tears at the stinging sensation as he washed them with the alcohol wipes.

“Can’t you just heal her?” Kalen asks, glancing over his shoulder at Lycus.

“Not after last time,” He says, glaring at me before looking down at Kalen. Kalen mutters under his breath and starts wrapping my feet with the bandages.

“Kalen, just hurry up,” Lycus snaps at him; his hearing would be a lot better than mine being Were-fae. I wondered what he heard Kalen mutter.

“No, it’s fucking bullshit. Darius shouldn’t be the only one allowed to have a say about her,” Kalen argued.

“Kalen enough, or he will do more than just take your magic,” Lycus scolded him. I was a little shocked he would take Kalen’s magic. Is that why they didn’t want me near him?

“He only did it because he knew I would heal her when pulls shit like this,” Kalen snapped back.

“You shouldn’t have pissed him off, now hurry so I can get you out of here before he realizes,”

“Just go if you are worried about being caught,”

“I’m not worried about me, idiot. I am worried for you, and I will not be leaving you alone with the likes of her,” I said nothing the entire time. Just observed. I peeked at the markings on Kalen’s neck, and before I could stop myself, my hand reached out to touch them. Lycus’s hand was wrapped around my wrist in a bone-crushing grip before I could, his reflexes crazy fast.

His grip hurt, and I pulled my hand away, feeling stupid for wanting to touch him; their marks called to me. I knew it was the bond, making me act strange, yet didn’t they feel any pull toward me at all? I just wanted to touch him, reassure him that I would be fine and not to worry. It was odd that I would even think to do that when I didn’t know him.

“Don’t touch him,” Lycus snarled at me, and I swallowed and tugged my hand away and placed it back in my lap. Lycus growls, and I avert my gaze back to what Kalen was doing.

“Ignore him. You can touch me,” Kalen said before glaring up a t Lycus. My fingers twitched to touch the markings, to give him magic. I couldn’t explain it because I had none to give him. I clasp my hands together to refrain myself.

“Can I ask a question?” I asked, finally speaking for the first time. Kalen’s head whipped up instantly, and he smiled.” Always, ” My breath hitched in my throat at his breathtaking smile. Lycus, however, growled but said nothing. Instead, watching Kalen as he finished my other foot.

“Why did you mark each other. I thought mates only marked their keeper?” I asked.

“Well, you ruined that, didn’t you?” Lycus snarled. Kalen pressed his lips in a line before running a hand through his hair.

“So we didn’t lose our magic, and yes, it is taboo for male mates to mark each other, frowned upon. But it was the only way if we wanted to keep our magic,” Kalen explained. I nod. Looking at Lycus, he stood with his arms folded over his broad chest.

“I had already marked Lycus before I found out about you, or them, though,” Kalen tells me, and Lycus growled at him.

“Enough,” Lycus snaps at him, but Kalen ignores him.

“Lycus and I were already together before we found out we were mates,” Kalen tells me.

“So you were boyfriends?” Kalen nods, and my eyes dart to Lycus.

“Yep, we grew up in the same orphanage,”

“That’s it, time to go,” Lycus snarled at him, gripping his arm before hauling Kalen up.

“Stop, Lye,” Kalen said, trying to shake off his grip.

“No, she doesn’t deserve to know anything about us. If she wanted to know about us, she shouldn’t have run like a damn coward,” Lycus tells him, shoving him toward his bedroom door.

“I will see you later, Aleera,” Kalen says, smiling sadly before looking at his mate. I nod, watching Lycus all but drag Kalen from the room.

“I ran because Darius killed my parents. Did you expect me to come running into your arms and pretend he didn’t? I saw him burn my house with them in it to the damn ground,” I snapped angrily, and Lycus stopped.

“If that is why you left, then you are a bigger idiot than I thought. Darius didn’t kill your parents, Aleera,”

Lycus growls at me before taking a step forward. He stops, and his eyes flicker in his anger.

“You would know that if you bothered to fucking ask, Instead o f nearly killing us all.” Lycus spat at me.

“I saw him, I know what I saw,”

“Then what you saw was wrong. Darius and Tobias didn’t murder your parents, Aleera,”

“What are you talking about? Tobias wasn’t even there,” I argued.

“Who do you think dragged you out? So, if that is why you ran, then you deserve everything they do to you,”

“Lycus!” Kalen murmured behind him, and Lycus growled before turning on his heel and shoving Kalen out of the bathroom. He then slammed the door so hard it made me jump.