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Tuning her out, I focused on Gram. She was wasting away down here! I couldn't just leave her there with those things living in her — hurting her.

"Fuck it," I muttered, flipping the blanket off her as I stood to my feet.

My stomach sank to my toes.

She looked so thin and frail in that cotton gown …

Gods, did they ever feed her?

Gritting my teeth, I bent over and gently grabbed her wrist to swing her arm around my neck.

The sensation of needles flared everywhere our skin touched.

Hissing through gritted teeth, I fought through the pain and scooped up the bone thin woman.

She weighed almost nothing.

"What are you doing?!" Kaiya whispered, rushing to my side.

I struggled to breathe through the pain, let alone talk. "I — can't — leave — her."

"The marks are hurting you! Put her down quickly before they do something worse. Please!"

I couldn't just leave her here, though …

I took a step forward, then another. But my feet felt as though they'd been coated in lead. And the longer I held Gram, the weaker my body felt.

My knees began to shake, and the room spun wildly around me.

"Liam!" Kaiya shoved her shoulder beneath my arm, propping me up as she directed me back to the bed.

She quickly re-situated Gram, and I slumped onto the bed beside her.

"What were you thinking?" Kaiya hissed, looking down at me as she pulled the cover back over Gram. "Are you alright?"

I squeezed my eyes closed, trying to make everything stop spinning. "I'm fine."

"It doesn't look like you are …"

I forced one eye open to see Kaiya eyeing me skeptically.

Grimacing, I looked back at Gram, laying atop the bed with that damn sheet tucked around her shoulders … like nothing so much as a gods-forsaken corpse.

"How do I help her?" I whispered. "I can't just leave —" My words caught in my throat.

"You found her," Kaiya said, voice soft. "That's the first step. The next is to find your sister, then regroup. We'll make a plan, and then we'll be back."

"You saidwe…"

"Don't be an ass," she said. "I mostly meant you. Now" — she grabbed my arm and helped me up — "let's go find your sister and get out of here before we get caught."

I looked at Gram once more …

Could I really leave her down here like this?Would there be anything left of her the next time I came?

But what other choice was there?!

And I could just imagine her reaction if she knew what I was up to — the way those dark brows would tug together, her lips pinched tight as she shook her head in disapproval … right before diving into a short, but far too pointed lecture on the responsibilities of leadership.