Page 190 of Infernal Bonds

I hadn’t been able to eat much since losing my voice, but I’d try to eat something to keep my strength up. It wasn’t as if they were keeping me here forever. I needed to be ready for the next step.

Rinlora filled the bath with warm water and a blend of crushed herbs and salts, the air thick with the scents of vanilla and cinnamon that broke my heart as memories of Zeke and Ash surfaced.

She helped me ease into the water and then sat on the edge of the tub, twisting her long blonde hair into a messy bun.

“I’m going to make this right,” she whispered, gliding the washcloth over my arm and trembling hand. “I didn’t know you’d end up like this.”

My leg jerked, splashing water out of the bathtub. I clenched my jaw, trying to force myself to function normally.

It pissed me off that I needed her to help me clean parts I didn’t even allow Ash to clean. This whole situation stole my independence, and it drove me mad.

“I can’t do this to either of you. There has to be another way to save Roandra.”

“Don’t… let… him… win,” I whispered, slumping to the side against Rinlora, exhausted from the effort it took to speak.

She sniffed. “I don’t know where to begin.”

“Ez…ra,” I rasped.

If anyone could find a solution, it’d be Ezra.

“Ezra? Why Young Master Kilnejar?”

As much as he pissed me off, I admired his ability to compartmentalize and approach things with a steady head. And while he submitted to his father more than most, he knew how to play the man. If there were a way out, he would find it.

I whispered his name again, unable to find the strength to say anything else.

“I’ll find a way to get him alone. Master is keeping the princes locked in their home so no one sees how sick they’ve become, but the young master comes to the palace every other day escorted by vallants. I don’t know what for, but I’ll try to get him alone.”

She returned to cleaning me, allowing me to rest against her side until it was time to wash my hair. Her mother came then, holding me upright while Rinlora tended to it.

“I know what you’re planning,” her mother whispered as Rinlora used a cup to rinse the shampoo from my hair. “I won’t stop you, but do you understand what it means if you fail?”

“We can’t let this happen. It was stupid for you to agree to it, Mom.” Rinlora worked conditioner into my hair, massaging my scalp—the first soothing thing I’d experienced since I came here.

It surprised me she called her mom out like that when she’d seem afraid of her the day she brought me here.

“We all do stupid things for love.”

Rinlora’s fingers stilled in my hair. “I care about my friend.”

“I know you do. I know. We’ll get through this.”

At first, I assumed guilt had driven Rinlora to do something more than offer me up on a silver platter to the Sephra clan, but she seemed to genuinely care about me. I’d believed that before this incident.

Desperation drove even the most morally upright individuals to act in questionable ways, regardless of their species.

If she helped me out of this situation, maybe with time I could move on and we’d be able to mend our friendship. Right now, I wasn’t capable of giving her the last of my mental energy—not with the betrayal and threat of death hanging over my head like a guillotine.

Once they helped me out of the bath, her mother left the room, giving me privacy while Rinlora helped me dry off and dress in a soft maxi dress.

I made sure to keep my leg angled as much as possible to hide the mark on the back of my thigh. I wasn’t certain how she would react if she noticed I had the same marking as the guys.

She guided me to the sink and gently helped me sit in a chair her mother had brought in.

I gripped my hand over my other arm to force myself to stay as still as possible as she brushed through my wet waves.

“Tomorrow, the young master visits the palace. I’ll try then,” she whispered, moving to braid my hair.