THE HOSPITAL IS loud and cold.
My bond is quiet in my chest, as though the surge of it coming out to protect me has sated the constant thirst for blood it seems to have for now, but I already know it won’t last long. The craving, the wanting, the overwhelming need to consume… it never goes away for long.
“Oleander? Oleander Fallows? God, you look like a pretty little thing sitting up there in that big bed. All of that long, blonde hair, your Bonds are going to be so happy to know that you made it out of that car wreck unharmed.”
I can’t look up at the nurse who is speaking to me, her tone warm and kind, and instead, my eyes focus on the long tendrils of my hair that are over my face. Blonde, it’s not though. It’s silver now, but yesterday it was black. Whatever happened in that car, it had bleached the color from my hair.
I struggle not to let the tears brimming in my eyes fall.
The nurse clicks her tongue, perching on the bed beside me and gently patting the back of my hand. “It’s okay, I spoke to the head nurse, and she said your Bonds are on their way here. It’s all very secret and hush-hush around here, so they must be important. I know that at least one of them is old enough to sign for your care, he’s the one who got you moved into this big, private room, so he must be from one of the upper society families. Don’t be scared, with a Bond like that, you’re going to be okay.”
The more she talks, the more furious my bond gets.
I didn’t understand it then, but the woman is trying to get me to talk to her, to figure out who it was that I belong to, so she could sell me out. My bond knew it, and so it urged me to keep my mouth shut, and even though I hate it most of the time, I listen when it tells me something like that.
“Belinda? What are you doing in here? Leave Oleander alone!”
I glance up to see Nurse June scowling in the doorway, one fist propped on her hip like she’s ready to drag the other woman out of here at a moment’s notice. When I woke up in the emergency room, she was the first person I’d seen, and she had been the person to tell me that my parents were killed in the accident. I’d already known, but the way that she had broken the news and treated me ever since, it made me like her and, more importantly, trust her.
Her eyes soften a fraction when they land on me and she says, “Your lunch is on its way up now, and the counselor will come in to speak with you as soon as you’re done eating. He took a little while to get here, but he’s the best in the city. Your Bond made sure of that.”
Belinda’s eyes snap over to me again but when she opens her mouth, Nurse June steps into the room and cuts her off. “I will be writing you up with a warning, now get out of this room, and stop sticking your nose in where it doesn’t belong!”
With a huff and mumbled complaints, Belinda gets up from the bed and stalks out of the room with a sneer at Nurse June, who barely bothers to glance her way.
I tip my head back finally and look at the older woman, my words stilted and faltering, “I don’t want to talk about my Bonds.”
She nods and pulls the curtains open a little wider, the midday sun bright as it streams into the room, “It’s for the best if you don’t, not until they get here. Too many prying ears and eyes in this place. All you need to remember is that everything is going to be okay once they get here.”
I nod and watch her fuss with things a little more, hoping she’ll stay here until the food arrives. I want to speak to her, to tell her what the hell is going on right now, but my tongue is frozen in my mouth. After another moment of checking over my paperwork, she smiles at me and leaves without another word.
My eyes squeeze shut the moment the door closes, terror racing through my veins when the voice in the corner starts to speak again, “I thought they’d be in here forever, deadly little Soul Render. Now, where were we? Ah, of course… I was telling you about all of the things you’ll do to your Bonds if you stay here with them. All of that pain and suffering, all of the destruction, just for being with you. It’s much safer for you all if you come with me.”
