Page 127 of Change

Chapter Twenty-One

Bianca

Wind

I was dead—I was sure of it.

There was no longer any pain. No feeling. I floated weightless through the air.

Something pulled at me, tugging at my arms and clothes, and a wetness pressed against my cheek and face—the first sensation from as long as I could recall.

Reminding me that I was still very much alive. I lingered on the edge of awareness.

My nose twitched as something burned in the distance, and the last of the comforting numbness faded. A door slammed closed, and the sound pounded in my throbbing head.

I curled into a ball as sharp razors moved across the surface of my skin.

“Bianca?”

I was hallucinating—otherwise why would I be hearing Maria’s voice?

“What is she doing here?” she asked, and I shivered from pain and cold. But I forced myself to open my eyes. My limbs felt heavy, and my body was weak and slow as I rolled onto my side.

Itwasher!

The blonde stood, face to the bars, locked away in the cell across from me. Ada had backed up noticeably from the lioness, but Maria was ignoring her cellmate as she stared at me. “Hey, are you okay?” Her voice was oddly high-pitched, worried.

I’d moved to my knees somehow, but it was slow-going. There was something wrong with me. My skin felt raw even though everything seemed intact. And I couldn’t get past the feeling of being exposed.

Despite the fact that every movement hurt, I scooched backwards, only stopping when my back was to the hard surface of the wall and I’d made myself as small as possible.

The witch was gone—as was Jameson and the other two—and I’d hoped to never see them again.

But it was strange. I still had no idea what had just happened.

Why was I feeling so vulnerable?

My fingers shook, and my attention drifted to the magic circle on the floor. I hadn’t moved on my own, so it’d been done for me at some point. The chains were locked around my wrists once more.

Even though I wasn’t in it now, my lungs seized with an unexplainable fear. I had to stay as far back as possible.

“Bianca?” Maria said my name again, more harshly, and I turned my eyes to her. She was watching me with large, reassuring brown eyes that somehow urged me to respond. And I wanted to…

The last thing I wanted to do was to disappoint her. To cause her to worry.

I had to say something.

The chains dragged across the floor, making a slight clunking sound that echoed through the room, as I pressed my hands to my mouth. Mostly, it was an attempt to try to gather the courage to speak—to coax out a single sound—but my tongue was still seized in fear.

Maria’s eyes glittered in furious gold. Her jaw clenched, and her teeth bared as she rounded on both Gloria and Ada.

“What happened?” She was speaking to them both but focused on Ada. “Why does she look like that? Why isn’t she talking?” But before either Gloria or Ada could rely, she glared at the wolf. “Andyou, how could you have allowed her to be taken? I thought you were working a relatively safe case?”

“It’s Jameson.” Gloria was watching the ceiling, unperturbed by the lioness’s anger. “He’s been working with the guild. We were supposed to be meeting Albert, but something went wrong. I’m not sure where he is.”

“Albert Yates?” Maria’s posture stiffened. “They must be working together. You’re talking about Jameson Duff, though? He’s an officer! He should know better.”

“He’s also both a lawyer and a doctor,” Gloria said drolly. “And he’s always been ambitious. Don’t take him at face value.”