Page 19 of Hidden

“Well, we never expectedherkind to come here now, did we?” she snapped in response. “Usually they keep to their own facilities. Now shut up and move over, I need to do my job.”

Cold hands loosened the neck of my gown, and my blood turned to ice as the bindings around my neck were removed.

Logically, I knew it would be less painful to just let them do what they wanted. But my common sense had fled with the remains of my calm. When her touch turned painful, I couldn’t hold back my outward display of panic.

Something—a bottle perhaps—crashed to the floor, and the hand that had been pushing against my neck moved to my wounded shoulder instead.

“Stop squirming!” she growled, a hint of panic in her tone. “You’re making it worse.”

It hurt, and I howled into the gag, shaking.

“Maybe she’s in pain?” Tiffany sounded farther away than the others. “Is it time for her medication?”

“It can’t make it worse. Give me half,” the nurse said, sighing. “And throw in a sedative. She’s making this impossible. We don’t have all night.”

I jerked at my bindings. The movement caused fire to flare down my arm, but I didn’t care.

“Are you—” Tiffany began, sounding unsure.

“Just do it,” the brunette interrupted. “Who is the senior nurse here, you or me?”

The other woman sighed, and a moment later a needle was jabbed into the skin between my neck and shoulder.

Tears filled my eyes as the last semblance of control stripped from me. Numbness fell into place of my panic. My skin crawled, but I couldn’t make sense of it.

I was so tired.

I needed to breathe, but it was so hard.

Voices drifted around me, but nothing made sense. My ears buzzed as my thoughts drifted.

This wasn’t so bad.

But then I gagged. The cloth covering my face was wet, and I choked as the damp weight threatened to pull me under.

“Be careful!” The not-so-bad nurse said somewhere in the background.

“I tripped,” said the male. “It happens. These bowls suck.”

It felt as though my heart might burst, and as another wave washed over me, I gave in to the darkness.

Chapter Four

Titus

Regret

Sunlight peeked through the blinds, illuminating the room. Like the daybreak bringing light into the dark, rationality was beginning to cut through the chaos of my thoughts.

The world was beginning to clear.

Regaining control over my beast was a slow process. When my dragon was closer to the surface, everything was sharper, more focused. Instincts, emotions, the drive to protect.

I was the barrier between the world and my quintet. And it was my job,specifically, to protect Bianca. I controlled Mu in nature, and that had always given the fae a sense of fragility in my eyes.

When Bianca had stepped into our group, it hadn’t taken long for my instincts to take over. Mu had always complimented me, too. His logical—but wild—strategies inspired me, and between us, we’d secured countless victories.

Every life, I had been born first for the sole purpose of making sure he was safe.