Oz didn’t like it.
“We are not waking her up!” The green-eyed woman had both of her hands in her pocket.
I thought about telling her that I was willing to put money on Rix if it came down to a wrestling match. Even though Oz was a Hitter and Rix was a Shooter, Rix’s Power was almost the same level as Oz’s Power. Which meant it all came down to drive and my money was all on Rix.
The raven-haired Hitter looked to Justia for help, but the Healer nodded.
“Let her have it.” Justia put her hand on Oz’s shoulder. "We need to know.”
“Fine!” Oz took the potion out and put it in Rix’s outstretched hand. "But I’m going to say I-told-you-so in a few minutes.” She stormed over to the corner to sit by Ren.
“How do we administer it?” I looked at the unconscious woman. "Because I don’t think she can drink it.”
“You could take a swig and feed it to her.” Justia chuckled.
I turned to the brunette. As much as I tried to look hurt, seeing her smile was worth any teasing right now.
“I’m not doing it.” Justia held up her hands. "Cousins, remember?”
“Alright Aelin…” I shook my head as I looked at Rix. "Do you have any ideas…!”
I watched as Rix poured half the small bottle over the unconscious woman’s head.
“What are you doing!”
“You’ve never seen one of these used, have you?” Rix put the lid on the bottle as the older woman began to stir.
“No, the Farming parties I worked with were never in danger and always had a Healer.”
Gesai slowly started to get up. Rix walked over and patted me on the shoulder, then whispered into my ear. "Your turn.”
“Traitor.” I watched her walk out of the cage.
Stolen story; please report.
None of the other students seemed keen on approaching the older redhead. I knelt and helped her sit up.
“How are you feeling?” I kept my hand on her shoulder, she felt like she was about to fall over.
“Where am I?” Gesai patted herself down, confused about her lack of armor. The Bandits had taken ours off last week, probably as an effort to keep us from trying to fight back. Her hand reached the hole in her shirt over her heart where Sipher had run her through with his sword. She stuck her fingers inside the hole and began to inspect the wound.
My face turned red as she patted herself down. Unfortunately, that made me look guilty when she looked up and focused on the closest thing to her.
“WHAT did YOU do?” The redhead grabbed my shirt and pulled my face against hers.
“I healed you!” I tried to push away, but she had a lot more Power than I did.
Gesai looked around and her eyes landed on Jord. She let me go and tried to stand up, but that dropped her onto all fours. She crawled over to the man and loomed over him.
“Dinx…” She pulled her legs underneath herself. "What happened?”
“You got stabbed by Sipher, then he brought us all here!” The Noble rushed the explanation out as fast as he could speak.
She saw Oz, Ren, and Justia in the other corner. "Why are we here? How long have I been out?”
“According to Sipher." I drew her attention back to me. "Your family hired him to kidnap them. You weren’t supposed to attack him, so he took you too. Your family saw this as a botched job and refused to pay him, which is why you’re still here.” I took more enjoyment in the confusion on her face than I should have. "You’ve been unconscious for six days by the way.”
She saw the open cage door and the open warehouse door. She got to her feet but stumbled as she tried to move. I was the only thing between her and the floor and moved in front of her to brace her so she didn’t fall forward.
Gesai pointed at the door. "You’re telling me we’re still prisoners, but they left the door open?”
“Trent struck a deal with him.” I steadied her. "Since your family wouldn’t pay, Trent is going to power-level him and a few of his crew to Tier Six. In exchange, we have to stay here, but we can go anywhere we want, as long as we don’t go near the lift that leads to the exit.”
She leaned more heavily on me. I could tell that she was still weak and trying to put on a strong front.
“Where is here?” She wrapped me in an awkward hug.
“The bunker at Desolation of Gar.”
She sank to the floor, pulling me down with her. I started to ask her if she was okay, but I felt tears beading down her cheek.
“No… They wouldn’t leave me here.” Her voice got weaker the more she spoke.
I held her in an uncomfortable embrace as she silently cried.
Oz grinned and held up a finger. "That counts.”