Chapter 351

Chapter 351
Aurora

Since the first time someone had come into the room, the same woman had returned twice with food, and I had started counting her visits almost obsessively since there was nothing else in that place that could give me even the slightest indication of how much time had passed.

There were no windows through which I could watch the light change, no clock hanging somewhere on the walls, and no way of knowing whether it was morning or evening unless someone opened the door and brought me something to eat, so I had memorized those two visits as carefully as I could, telling myself that one had been breakfast and the other had been dinner.

Which meant that somehow, another day had passed since I had learned that I was carrying twins.

The thought alone made my stomach twist.

I couldn’t stay here much longer.

My arms had been held above my head for so long that my hands had gone completely numb, the sensation disappearing gradually until my fingers barely felt like they belonged to me anymore, while the constant strain through my shoulders had turned into a deep, aching pain that seemed to have settled into my muscles and refused to leave.

My legs were hardly any better. Every time I shifted my weight in an attempt to relieve the pressure, pins and needles spread painfully through them, leaving me unsteady and forcing me to straighten myself again before my knees could give out beneath me.

I was exhausted.

Thirsty.

Hungry again despite the food they had been giving me.

And increasingly terrified by how easily my body was beginning to adapt to the confinement.

But none of that frightened me as much as my magic.

I could still feel it somewhere beneath the surface, buried underneath that strange force that had been suppressing it ever since I had been taken, and although I still couldn’t reach the full strength of it, something had changed since the first time I had tried.

The pressure wasn’t as absolute anymore.

It was still there, still wrapped tightly around my magic and keeping it from rising properly, but the barrier no longer felt completely immovable.

It was weaker.

Only slightly, so slightly that I might have convinced myself I was imagining it if I hadn’t spent so much time testing it, but I could feel the difference whenever I reached inward and carefully searched for the familiar sensation beneath that invisible restraint.

At first, there had been almost nothing I could do.

The moment I reached for my magic, that strange pressure had closed around it so completely that it had felt as though someone had buried it beneath layers of stone, leaving me with nothing but the faintest awareness that it was still there.

Now, when I reached for it, something pushed back.

There was resistance.

There was still enough resistance to keep me from breaking through, but it wasn’t absolute anymore, and that tiny change had become the only thing I had been able to hold onto as a reason to believe I might eventually get out of this place.

I had been testing it whenever I could, usually after the woman left with the empty tray, because I didn’t know whether anyone outside the room could sense what I was doing. I would close my eyes, reach inward, find that familiar warmth, and then slowly push against the invisible force surrounding it before pulling back again, careful not to exhaust myself or draw attention to what I was attempting.

Every time, I tried to push a little harder.

Every time, the barrier resisted.

But now it moved.

Barely.

Still, it moved.

And if it could weaken once, then maybe it could weaken again.

I just had to survive long enough for that to happen.

My gaze drifted toward the door.

A little over thirty minutes had passed since the woman had left me, and the silence outside had remained completely undisturbed during that time, leaving me with nothing but the faint hum of the light above me and the sound of my own breathing to keep me company.

Thirty minutes of staring at the same gray walls.

Thirty minutes of thinking through every possibility.

Thirty minutes of trying to come up with something that could give me an advantage.

I had no weapon, no idea where I was, no idea how many people were stationed outside the room, and no way of knowing whether the person who had taken me was nearby or somewhere else entirely, which meant I couldn’t simply wait for an opportunity to appear and hope I would somehow recognize it when it came.

I needed to create one.

The problem was that I didn’t have much to work with.

I couldn’t reach the door.

I couldn’t use my magic properly.

I couldn’t even move my hands down far enough to touch my own stomach.

So I had started considering the few things I could actually control, and unfortunately, the only idea I had managed to come up with was so fucking stupid that under any other circumstances, I probably would have laughed at myself for even thinking of it.

I didn’t laugh now.

I didn’t have the luxury.

I lowered my head as much as the restraints allowed, before taking a slow, careful breath and trying to ignore the trembling that had started in my legs.

If someone came into this room because they thought I was injured, they might lower my restraints.

They might call for someone.

They might bring a doctor.

They might give me enough freedom for me to find a way to fight back.

It was a terrible plan.

It was also the only one I had.

I bit the inside of my cheek as hard as I could.

Pain immediately shot through my mouth, sharp enough to make my eyes water, and I clenched my teeth together to keep myself from making a sound as the metallic taste of blood spread across my tongue.

For several seconds, I simply held it there, breathing through my nose while I waited for the pain to settle enough that I could think.

I needed to make it look real.

I needed enough blood that whoever came through that door would believe something was seriously wrong with me and my babies.

If there was only a tiny amount, they might wipe it away and leave.

If there was enough, they might panic.

That was what I needed.

I lowered my head as far as I could and spat the blood onto my stomach and the front of my shorts, watching the dark red stain spread across the fabric and skin.

It wasn’t nearly enough.

Not even close.

I swallowed carefully, trying not to react to the throbbing inside my cheek, and bit down again.

Harder this time.

The pain was immediate and intense, making my eyes squeeze shut as another wave of blood filled my mouth, but I forced myself to endure it, knowing that if I stopped now, everything I had done would have been pointless.

I waited until I had enough before spitting again, letting the blood fall across my stomach and clothing in uneven streaks that looked far more alarming than the first attempt.

Still not enough.

I did it again.

And again.

Each bite left my cheek more painful than the one before it, and by the time I finally stopped, my entire mouth was throbbing, but there was enough blood smeared across my skin and soaked into the front of my shorts that, in the dim yellow light of the room, even I had to admit it looked convincing.

I stared down at myself.

The sight made my stomach turn.

My mouth burned.

My cheek pulsed painfully with every heartbeat.

I swallowed carefully, fighting the urge to grimace as the taste of blood lingered on my tongue.

This was completely insane.

There was every chance it wouldn’t work.

There was every chance the person who came through that door would immediately realize what I’d done and decide that whatever punishment followed was worse than being left alone.

But I couldn’t keep standing here indefinitely, waiting for my magic to become strong enough while my body weakened a little more every day.

I needed an opening.

Even a tiny one.

I lifted my head and stared toward the door, forcing myself to breathe slowly as I waited for the sound of the lock turning.

Now all I could do was hope that whoever came through that door would believe me.