Page 76 of Kingdom of Chains

‘Don’t expect it to be warm,’ the woman said, ‘but it’s private, so you can have a proper wash.’ She went to leave.

‘What is your name?’ Isabel asked.

The woman looked back, hesitating. ‘Genevieve.’

‘I am Isabel, but you can call me Belle.’

Genevieve gave her a weak smile. ‘The children know not to come here. Wash, sleep.’ Her gaze fell to Isabel’s marked neck. ‘Cry. There’s nothing you can say within these walls that they have not heard before.’ With that, she headed back in the direction she had come.

The moment Isabel was alone, exhaustion hit her like a boulder. She slumped down next to the stone ledge holding the water, resting her head against it. Her hand went to her throat.Everything was fine. She was fine. She would have been a lot less fine if she had stayed at the camp with Hodge. Her eyes sank shut, and she allowed herself a few moments to rest before…

Isabel woke hours later with a start, her only gauge of time having passed being the pain in her neck from sleeping in one position on a rock pillow for much too long. And thirst. She was so thirsty.

Crawling over the stone ledge, she scooped up handfuls of water, drinking greedily. When she could drink no more, she stripped off her dirty clothes and threw them into the water before wading in after them. She stopped when she was waist deep, enjoying the sensation of the cool water on her skin. She scrubbed her clothes clean, wrung them out, and laid them flat on the ledge to dry. Then, taking a deep breath, she dropped down into the water.

It was cold in a refreshing, nourishing sort of way. She scrubbed her hair and face clean, then spent time staring up at the roof of the cave, imagining stars shining down on her.

More time slipped by.

Only when she began to lose feeling in her lips did she stand up, preparing to exit the water. Naturally, Blackmane chose that exact moment to step around the corner. He stilled when he saw her, gaze falling briefly before turning around.

‘Sorry,’ he said. ‘I just came to check on you.’

Isabel sank back down beneath the water’s surface, heart pounding against her ribcage. Yet when he went to leave, she called out, ‘Wait.’

He stilled but did not look back. ‘What’s wrong?’

Nothing was wrong. She simply wanted him to stay. ‘Are you not going to have a wash while you are here?’

He half looked over his shoulder. ‘Now?’

‘You can barely see anything in this light.’ Her cheeks heated at the lie. ‘I will keep my back turned until you are in the water.’

Silence.

‘I want to know how the meeting went.’

He sighed, then made his way over, making a point of not looking at her. When he began to remove his weapons, she did as she had promised and turned away from him, listening for his entry into the water the whole time. Eventually, she heard gentle splashes behind her.

‘Are you in?’ she asked.

‘Yes.’

When she turned, only his head and the top of his muscled shoulders were visible. Her eyes moved over him, pausing on what appeared to be an arrow scar on his shoulder. Everything below the water’s surface was blurry. They watched each other, five feet of safety between them. Then Blackmane disappeared underwater for a moment, rinsing his hair and face as she had done. She wondered if his eyes were open or closed and whether the visibility down there was better or worse. The thought was not as unsettling as it ought to have been.

He resurfaced after a few moments, wiping a hand down his face.

‘Better?’ she asked him.

He brushed water from his hair. ‘Better.’

Isabel swallowed. ‘So, what happened?’

Blackmane ventured a foot closer. ‘They’ve agreed to work together to get everyone out of the camp—and soon.’

Hope soared inside Isabel. ‘How soon?’

‘The St Clare group already has a tunnel dug that reaches all the way to the fence line where the children are confined. They had planned to use it to get them out first, but then Hodge started violently hanging escapees, so their plans came to a halt.’