Page 117 of A Warrior's Heart

Malik appeared inches from me, his face rotting and blood pooling from the gaping wound in his head.

Ezra’s laughs echoed from the corridor as I screamed.

***

I lost track of the days. Time blurred together.

My every waking moment was spent in utter misery. If I fell asleep, I was woken by grotesque phantoms and visions of Malik and Lorcan being murdered. Sleep deprivation had made me more susceptible to Ezra’s illusions.

However, the illusions had changed. Instead of me seeing them being hurt, they were the ones tormenting me.

I sat on the floor beside Ezra’s bed, my arms around my knees as I stared wide-eyed at the dark corner of the room where Malik stood glaring at me. Each time I looked away, he came closer. Voices filled my head. Whispers.

Lorcan appeared beside Malik and smirked at me. They told me horrible things, that they were glad I was gone and that they had always hated me. I held strong at first, refusing to believe their words. But as days turned to weeks, something in me broke.

My hold on reality finally slipped.

“You see?” Ezra whispered, petting my hair. “They aren’t your friends. But I am.”

My eyes fluttered closed, and I woke sometime later to Malik standing over me, a sword at my neck.

“You’re weak,” he growled. “Nothing but a burden.”

“S-Stop.” I squeezed my eyes shut and rocked back and forth. “I-It’s not r-real.”

More days passed and even darker nights. I was tormented by Malik and Lorcan. They pushed me around, threatened to kill me, and laughed when I cried. Alek appeared too, and he used his magic to hurt me.

“They don’t care about you,” Ezra told me. “They want to see you in pain.”

Alek’s eyes flashed purple before I felt like I was being strangled. I couldn’t scream. I couldn’t breathe. I could only stare as the people I loved smiled at my pain. He released his hold on me, and I fell sideways to the floor, my gaze pinned on Malik.

“He doesn’t love you.” Ezra rubbed soothing circles on my back. “He never did. See how he does nothing while you’re harmed? That isn’t love, Troy.”

Tears welled in my eyes. The pressure on my back lifted and a sudden panic gripped me. I reached out and grabbed Ezra’s wrist. “W-Where are y-you going?”

“The hour is late, and the king is expecting me in his bed.” Ezra caressed my cheek. “Do you wish for me to stay?”

I didn’t understand the feeling inside me. Didn’t I hate Ezra? Or had it been Lorcan that I’d hated? I couldn’t remember.

“If you leave, they’ll hurt me,” I said, gasping, clinging to him tighter.

“Come here.” Ezra helped me to my feet and guided me to the bed. The shackle around my ankle jingled as I lay down. I sighed at how comfortable the cushion was beneath my aching body. “That’s it. Relax.”

“I can’t be here,” I said, my stomach churning with dread. “He’ll hurt me if I’m on the bed.”

“Who will?” Ezra asked, tucking a blanket in around me.

Who? I searched my memory. The answer was right there on the tip of my tongue, but my mind was so clouded. All I remembered was silver hair.

“Lorcan,” I answered.

Ezra smiled as he brushed my bangs off my forehead. “Well, I’m here now. And I won’t let him hurt you. Close your eyes and sleep.”

My lids closed. “Will you stay with me?”

A soft chuckle reached my ears. “Of course.”

It was the first peaceful night of sleep I’d had in ages.