Page 104 of Woven Souls

Theo lies beside me a few feet away. When I look behind me, I catch sight of Jonah on his side, bound like I am. His body twitches as he starts to come to. His hoodie is missing, and his horns are very much present. I’m sure that hasn’t gone unnoticed.

“They’re waking up. Go get Elders Luthais and Marigold,” someone mutters nearby.

One of the Ghosts posted by the door turns and leaves the room.

I ignore them and scoot closer to Theodon. Nudging him with my leg, I call to him. He doesn’t wake. I nudge him again as a small bout of panic blossoms in my chest. He couldn’t be dead, right? This time when I touch him, Theodon lets out a soft moan. I heave a sigh of relief. Okay, none of us are dead. Yet.

I try to pull at the shackles behind me. Nothing happens. I didn’t expect it to, but I had to try. Rolling my shoulders, I give the room another quick inspection. This time around I notice the white painted walls have writing in a slightly darker shade of white. The subtlety is so great that I can’t make out exactly what I’m seeing.

It could also be due to my poor vision.

But whatever is written all over the wall in front of me carries over to the other walls in the room and around the door. When I shift my weight, the crumbling beneath me catches my attention. When I look down, I realize what I thought was a cement floor is actually finely ground and firmly packed stone. Stained and splattered over it is dried blood.

And there’s a lot of it. Fuck.

“Okay, so I think getting kidnapped for the third time by Ghosts is probably going be my last time,” Jonah grumbles behind me.

I look over my shoulder to see him on his knees. He looks up at me and flashes me a weak grin.

“Although, after spending time with you guys, I think I’ve gained a few more kinks.” He shrugs and says flippantly, “I suppose it hasn’t all been a miserable experience.”

“Glad we could teach you something,” I grumble as I look over at Theo who finally gets to his knees.

He looks around grimly before our eyes meet.

“You alright?” he asks.

“Yeah.”

Theodon looks behind us and asks Jonah the same thing.

“Physically I’m fine, but I think my ego has taken a big hit. Capturedagain, psh,” Jonah tells him.

Both Theodon and I shake our heads. I’m glad someone can make light of the situation.

“Do you have any idea where we are?” I ask Theodon.

“No.”

Before I can ask anything else, the door to the room opens, and the Elder from before steps in, along with an older woman who is, by Fae standards, pudgy and short. Her dark gray hair is swept up into a severe bun, and her painted pink lips look nearly puckered as her cheeks push her mouth together. The Ghost that left to retrieve them is last to enter and shuts the door before resuming his place beside it.

“Well, Luthasi, you were right. They did come back. I didn’t think they were stupid enough to try,” she says as she moves towards us. Her navy-blue robe drags behind her as she steps forward. “Good afternoon ex-prince Theodon of Windom.” Her lips twitch upwards as if the title amuses her. She looks at me. “Can you see me Viktor of Glenwig? Ah, yes, still have some vision left in those defective eyes of yours, huh?”

“Who the hell are you?” I snap.

“Elder Marigold.” She gives me a regal nod before her eyes flicker to Jonah. “And what is this that you brought with you? This is not human, but… no monster I’ve ever seen before.”

“The name is Jonah O’Neely,” he says.

“Jonah O’Neely? A strange name for a pet.”

“My beautiful owner doesn’t seem to mind,” Jonah replies. I can hear his smile in his voice.

“You’re most likely talking about Miss Willow Harvest, am I right?” the other Elder, Luthasi, asks quietly from where he stands, unmoved, by the door.

My teeth slam together as my body tenses.

“Who’s Willow?” Theodon asks, mildly curious. “Never heard of her.”