Chapter 68 Darkness - Amelia’s POV
I floated through darkness, my consciousness ebbing like the tide; sometimes rushing forward into painful clarity, sometimes receding into merciful oblivion. Time had lost all meaning. Had I been here for hours? Days? Weeks? Each time awareness returned, I fought to hold onto it, to remember who I was. Amelia Lovelace. The Wolfless One. The girl who had found hope in the Alpha King's eyes only to have it torn away. But even those thoughts slipped through my grasp like water, dissolving back into the darkness as the drugs pulled me under again.
This time, something was different. The fog wasn't as thick, the darkness not as complete. I could feel my body again, the cold stone beneath me, the damp air against my skin. My eyelids weighed a thousand pounds, but I forced them open, blinking against the harsh fluorescent light that buzzed overhead. The same cell. The same pipes dripping steadily in the corner. The same metal door with its small barred window.
'Amelia?' Kaela's voice was faint, like she was calling to me from the bottom of a deep well. 'Stay awake this time. Fight it.'
I tried to move, to push myself up from the thin mattress they'd tossed me on, but my limbs wouldn't cooperate. My right arm jerked against something that held it in place. Pain shot through the crook of my elbow, sharp enough to clear some of the fog from my mind.
"What..." My voice emerged as a croak, my throat raw and parched.
I turned my head, the movement sending the room spinning around me. When it settled, I saw what restrained me—a strip of fabric binding my wrist to the metal frame of the cot. And there, inserted into the vein at my inner elbow, was an IV line, the clear tubing running up to a bag of fluid hanging from a makeshift stand beside the bed. The liquid inside wasn't clear—it had a sickly greenish tint that made my stomach turn.
'Wolfsbane,' Kaela hissed, her presence growing stronger as more of the drug metabolized out of our system. 'They're keeping us drugged.'
I yanked my arm again, harder this time, ignoring the pain as the needle shifted beneath my skin. The restraint didn't budge.
"Don't do that, my dear. You'll only hurt yourself."
The mild, cultured voice froze me in place. Councillor Blackthorn stood in the doorway, his wire-rimmed glasses catching the light as he entered the cell. Today he wore a tailored gray suit, looking for all the world like he was attending a business meeting rather than visiting a prisoner in a basement cell.
"What... have you... done to me?" Each word was an effort, my tongue feeling swollen and uncooperative.
He approached the bed, checking the IV bag with the casual efficiency of someone who'd done it many times before. "Nothing permanent, I assure you. Just a continuous infusion of a mild wolfsbane solution. Unfortunately, you've been metabolizing it remarkably quickly—faster than we anticipated. We've had to increase the dosage several times."
He sounded almost impressed, as if my body's resistance to their poison was an interesting scientific discovery rather than a desperate fight for survival.
"Take it out," I demanded, though the words lacked the force I intended.
"I'm afraid I can't do that," Blackthorn said, adjusting his glasses. "Without it, you would regain your strength. And we can't have that, can we?"
'I'll tear your throat out,' Kaela snarled, though I knew he couldn't hear her. Her rage burned in my chest, hotter than I'd ever felt it, a living thing straining against the chemical leash they'd put on us.
"Why the IV?" I asked, trying to focus, to gather information while I had the chance. "Why not just inject me like before?"
Blackthorn smiled, the expression never reaching his amber eyes. "Two reasons. First, as I mentioned, your metabolism is quite remarkable. The injections weren't lasting long enough. Second," his voice took on that grandfatherly tone that made my skin crawl, "despite what you might think, we're not monsters, Miss Lovelace. You're an innocent caught in a political necessity."
He gestured to the bag. "This solution contains not just wolfsbane, but also nutrients, electrolytes, everything your body needs to stay healthy. We have no desire to harm you unnecessarily."
"How considerate," I spat, the sarcasm giving me strength. "Poisoning me with care."
"Practical, not considerate," he corrected, pulling the folding chair closer to my bedside and sitting down. "A dead hostage serves no purpose. And once this is all over, you might still have value to the new regime."
My stomach twisted at his words, at the casual way he discussed my future as if I were a piece of property to be allocated after their coup succeeded.
"How long?" I asked, needing to know how much time had passed. "How long have I been here?"
"Five days," he replied, checking his watch as if confirming the time. "You've been in and out of consciousness. More out than in, I'm afraid. The wolfsbane affects everyone differently."
Five days. Five days of my life stolen, five days closer to Aleksandr's hundredth birthday. Five days for him to believe I'd abandoned him.
"He knows," I said, the words more hope than certainty. "Aleksandr knows I wouldn't leave. He's looking for me."
Blackthorn's smile was pitying now. "I'm sure you would like to believe that. But the evidence was quite convincing. The surveillance footage, the photographs, your ransacked rooms... Why would he question such a clear narrative?"
I turned my face away, unwilling to let him see the doubt his words planted. Would Aleksandr believe I'd left him? After everything we'd shared, everything we'd begun to build together?
"No fear though, Miss Lovelace," Blackthorn continued, his tone lightening as if we were discussing weekend plans. "This will all be over soon. The ball is in just a couple of days."
I turned back to him, confusion momentarily overriding my anger. "What ball?"
Something like satisfaction flickered across his face. "Oh, you haven't heard? The council has arranged a magnificent event—the Moonlight Ball. All the eligible shewolves from the prominent packs will be in attendance, each hoping to catch the Alpha King's eye. To be the one who breaks his curse."