Broken (The Captive #5.5)(45)

Shadows enshrouded the room as he grabbed her faded ribbon from the stand beside his bed. Holding the ribbon, he ran his fingers over it as he began to pace the confines of his room. The ribbon was the only thing he had left of her and it was never far from his reach, but it was a poor substitute for the woman he craved so relentlessly.

***

Having been jolted from the dream, Genny remained motionless as she stared at the ceiling above her head. She was afraid she would break apart if she moved. She could still feel the warmth of the sun upon her skin, feel his lips upon hers and hear the desperation in his voice. I'll always be here for you.

But he wasn't here for her; she was alone again, or at least as alone as she could be with Camille's knees pressing against her back. In the dream he'd asked how this could possibly get any harder and she now had the answer to that question. She'd dreamed of him often over the past few weeks but nothing like this. Nothing that had left her just as hollow and shaken as the day they had parted.

Curling into a ball, she shoved her fist into her mouth in an attempt to suppress her tears. It was impossible to do so. The tears she hadn't shed since leaving him fell freely to the straw pallet beneath her as her heart shattered all over again.





CHAPTER 16


The empty feeling that had accompanied her dream, and plagued her throughout her sleepless night, continued to haunt her while she dressed the next morning. Camille went to touch her but then seemed to think better of it as her hands limply fell to her sides. Genny understood Camille's hesitance, if she looked anywhere near as bad as she felt then there was a good possibility she might crumple into a pile of ash if anyone touched her.

Camille went with her to the human town but whereas she had been pick pocketing an average of five purses a day, she only grabbed three today. One for Felix, one for Matilda, and another for her and Camille. Camille happily chatted with Matilda while Genny stared at the ribbons fluttering in the mild breeze. Her fingers instinctively went to the blue one tied at the bottom of her hair; it was all she had left of him, besides his blood still flowing through her system.

Ugh, she was beginning to get on her own nerves with her morose thoughts. Forcing herself to let go of her hair, she turned away from the stand and plastered a smile on her face as they made their way back through the woods. "I haven't hidden anything under the rock in a week," Genny told Camille as they picked their way around a fallen tree.

Camille followed Genny to a large rock near the lake. Genny moved the fifty-pound rock out of the way with ease and put one of the purses beneath with the rest of their stash. Returning the rock to its place, she wiped her hands on her tunic and rose to her feet. Her gaze drifted to the pinks and oranges spreading across the sky from the sunset as they walked.

Sweat beaded across her brow and upper lip as they climbed the embankment back to the main road. The gray hue of dusk had descended but it had been a muggy day and the heat didn't break with the coming night. It would be difficult sleeping tonight even without the persistent memory of the dream to keep her awake. Camille called out greetings to the few vampires they passed, Genny gave them a brief wave but she barely paid anyone any attention. The huts they walked by as they neared Felix's were all dark, their closest neighbors were a good twenty-five yards away but most of their neighbors had already gone out for the night.

The first star was already out in the sky; candlelight flickered in the open windows when they finally arrived at the hut. Apprehension curled through her belly as she stared at the knob, they were later than normal and that was something that Felix never tolerated well. Felix had mostly left her alone since she'd hit him back that day but she knew what he was capable of doing to her if he decided to come at her again. He was a coward but he was far stronger than she was and he was most definitely stronger than Camille.

"He's going to be angry," Camille whispered.

"Just go to the room and let me deal with him if he is," Genny said forcefully.

"Genny…"

"I mean it Camille; you stay in there until I tell you otherwise."

Genny thrust her shoulders back, grabbed hold of the knob and pushed the door open. At first she didn't even see Felix as her eyes were drawn to the cluster of money purses piled in the center of the room. Her eyebrows drew together, confusion rolled through her.

Where had he gotten all of those purses? She thought.

Realization came as swiftly as a brutal slap in the face. Her mind screamed a protest even as she began to recognize some of the purses piled on the floor. "Did you think I didn't know?" the words were snarled at her from the shadows to her right.

Dread chilled the blood in her body and caused the hair on her nape to stand on end. She whirled around, placed her hands into Camille's back and shoved her out the door before her sister could react. "Run!" she hissed at her.

Genny had only taken one step out the door after her when Felix's hand seized her neck. He jerked her back into the hut with enough force that her feet left the ground. A startled scream escaped her but his other hand wrapped around her larynx and pressed down before she could make any other noise. Her fingers clawed at the edges of the doorway. She grabbed hold of the frame and struggled to pull herself away from his grasp. A fingernail was torn free of her finger, blood spilled down her hand and dripped onto the floor as her grasp was wrenched free.

Camille's face drained of all color; she started to run back at them. "Genny!"