Page 50 of Demure
Once she was thrown back in her cell, the tears she had been fighting while she was with Slaine began to pour down her face. She had been so sure that Aodhan would be able to rescue her, but now it was likely that he was in trouble of his own. Sierra would need to figure out how to get out of here without him, andfast. She began looking through her cell, looking for anything that could help her escape. Besides the bucket (which had been emptied while she had been out) and the two blankets, she had nothing, which severely limited her options for an escape.
As she was thinking, Sierra glanced down at the white gauze gown she still wore, grimacing at how dirty it was. She hadn’t been offered anything to change into, nor had she been given her old clothes back. While it was fine for now, it certainly made escaping difficult, considering she didn’t have any shoes and had no idea what season it was outside.
Sierra thought back to the first day she had been brought here, trying to remember if it had been cold when she was transported from the entrance to this castle. Now that she thought of it, while she couldn’t remember how she felt temperature-wise, she had been kidnapped without her jacket, wearing just her sweater and jeans. While that didn’t mean it was summer, it also meant she would probably be okay running without a jacket, though the dress offered much less coverage than her sweater and jeans.
Sierra winced as she remembered her running skills, which were next to nothing. She had never been much for jogging, and she doubted she would be able to outrun her well-trained guards. This meant she only had one option left, and that was to sneak out without them noticing and hope she could make it far enough away that she could hide before they noticed.
Surveying the tools she had on hand again, a plan began to formulate in her mind.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
When she heard the clicking of the key entering the lock on the door, Sierra quickly paused her work, tossing one of the blankets over the hole in the corner, which she had been working on all day. Hoping the darkness, which was barely broken thanks to the single lamp on her cell wall, would help to hide the dirt under her cracked nails, Sierra leaned up against the wall just as the door swung open to reveal the two guards.
Repeating the same pattern as the two days before, the men each grabbed one of her arms and began to move quickly from the room. At least Sierra knew this was a normal occurrence now, and she was at least able to somewhat prepare for her daily dragging. Just like the two days before, she was roughly deposited in Slaine’s dim work room, and the guards quickly removed themselves to the hall before closing the door behind them.
“You’re looking a bit worse for the wear,” Slaine commented as soon as it was safe, taking one of Sierra’s hands in hers, and observing the dirt under her nails, which were also cracked and bleeding. For a moment, Sierra debated sharing her plan with Slaine, but although the woman was kind, she did not yet trust her enough not to turn her in to Aodhan’s father.
“It’s very dirty in the cell,” Sierra replied, figuring that was a safe enough comment, especially considering the state of her dress, which was now becoming more brown than white. Plus, there was still the fact that she wasn’t wearing any undergarments, and she was sure her period was likely to appear any day now. While Sierra had never been regular, her body was always good at making sure the irregularity lined up with the most inconvenient times.
Slaine prepared a plate of fruit again, which Sierra had to restrain herself from consuming in a single bite. Slaine also handed her a cup of water, which she swallowed in one gulp before holding it out for more. There had been no pastry this morning or last night, and the pit in her stomach only continued to deepen.
The room filled with the sound of the crackling fire, which was much welcomed after a night of digging in the cold dirt. Once the plate of fruit was gone, Sierra set it aside and turned to Slaine.
“Have you always lived here…in Sidhe?” she asked, hoping she didn’t butcher the name too much. Aodhan had always let her refer to it as The Hills, which was better with her obvious American accent, but she was unsure if that translation was widely known here.
Slaine nodded. “I was born here. To a human father and a Fae mother. Even with magic, in Sidhe you often remain in the same social class as your parents, unless you marry someone above your social class or have above-normal levels of magic. My mother was a healer, and since my magic is also of the healing nature, here I am.”
Sierra didn’t want to ask, but she knew the answer would plague her if she didn’t. “Are you here…by choice?”
“Yes. As a healer, working for a wealthy family is much preferred to working for a village. At least here I am paid in coin and decent lodgings instead of being paid in cattle and home-cooked dinners.”
Sierra understood. Without modern constructs like insurance, it was likely a town healer would be paid in whatever the town had, even if the pay was non-monetary.
“And Conlan wasn’t always like this,” Slaine added.
The corner of Sierra’s lips ticked down in confusion.
Slaine sighed before continuing, “He was once a nice man, but as he aged, he became more concerned about the failing magic and, in particular, the fact that he held very little. The Fae lifespan has also been shortening as a whole, and I believe he fears death.”
Sierra mulled over Slaine’s words for a moment, thinking of some of the lectures she had attended at Trinity College for her masters. “But even if it was a curse affecting the Fae, and he managed to break it, does he believe the results will be instantaneous enough to extend his own lifespan?”
“I’m not sure. I think he may believe that, but I also believe he may just be doing this out of love for his children.”
Sierra wasn’t so sure. Based on what Slaine had told her, it was likely Aodhan was in trouble with his father for not turning her in. That didn’t sound like love to her. But maybe it was because of Aislin. “Does…Conlan…have a good relationship with Aodhan’s sister?”
“Brother,” Slaine corrected, confusing Sierra as she was sure that Aodhan had mentioned a sister. “And no, he does not.”
“Aislin?” she asked, to clarify.
“Aislan, now,” Slaine replied. “He began his transition a few months ago. Aodhan likely didn’t know, but he had always been supportive of Aislan doing what felt right to him.
“Conlan is not supportive of the transition, sadly. He also blames Aislan’s desire to transition on the fact that magic is waning. He acts as if the whole reason Aislan chose to transition was because he didn’t have much magic, but I can assure you that wasn’t the case at all. I’m afraid Conlan has started to use the fading of magic as a scapegoat for several unrelated issues in his life.”
Sierra gritted her teeth. She hated when people put the blame on something that was clearly unrelated. Her mother did the same thing, blaming Diego’s social issues on him not attending church, when it was, in fact, more likely that Diego was having problems due to disagreements with their mother herself. The thought of her family made Sierra realize they were probably worried, but for some reason, while she felt guilty that they would worry, she also felt a small amount of satisfaction that they couldn’t call and blame her for her own disappearance.
“But that’s what I wanted to tell you yesterday before it was time for you to leave.” Sierra’s eyes moved from the fire to Slaine as she continued. “Aislan left the castle, but he still has connections. I have sent word to him through the information grapevine. If anyone knows how to get you out and find Aodhan, it’s him.”
“He’ll rescue me?”
