Chapter 6 #6
"You three, get out. I'll deal with you later," Joana ordered, and the girls scrambled away without hesitation while I struggled to my knees.
I spat the blood in my mouth, touching my lip with my fingers.
I grimaced; it was wide open. "Looks like you're going to need stitches," Joana said suddenly, stepping toward me.
I looked up at her and met her pitying gaze, "what were you thinking?
That you could get the Master's attention without any consequences?
" she muttered, raising an eyebrow. "I don't want his attention," I spat as my body began to shake from the adrenaline that was slowly dissipating.
"I'm afraid it's too late for that," she sighed, her gaze following the blood that continued to drip from my chin.
"Olga!" she called, and the old woman appeared a few seconds later at the door.
"Take her to the infirmary. And have her shower there.
I don't want her to see the other girls before bedtime.
We can't afford such behavior while the Master is here," she said, giving me one last look before leaving the room, her heels clicking on the floor.
I gritted my teeth as Olga approached and grabbed my arm to help me up, and I let her.
I was in pain everywhere, damn it, I was going to get those bitches.
Two hours later, showered and stitched up, I stared at the clock on the wall, my legs dangling in the air as I sat on the bed in the infirmary.
She had said I had to stay here until bedtime, as if I were the problem, the one who needed to be isolated.
I jumped when the door suddenly opened and sighed with relief when I saw Kenji come in.
His eyes widened as he scanned the room before settling on me, and in two strides he was in front of me.
His gaze first stopped on my lip, where two stitches had been placed, before moving up to my temple, where a bruise was spreading.
My fingers clenched the leather of the bed as his gaze darkened.
"Who? Wendy?" he asked, his voice deeper than I had ever heard it before.
I shook my head. "It doesn't matter..." But he stopped me, his hands sliding gently against my cheeks.
"I your Shadow, watch over, protect, and guide," he said, repeating the motto of the Shadows, which he had modified to suit himself.
Originally, it was to watch, protect, and control.
"You're not my Shadow yet, Kenji, you're still in training," I replied with a slight smile, which I immediately wiped away when my lip hurt; the anesthetic hadn't lasted long This time it was him who shook his head.
"I become you Shadow when choose me," he said, and my heart skipped a beat.
I closed my eyes and gently rested my forehead against his shoulder, his fingers sliding through my hair, massaging it gently.
His scent and warmth soothed me. I was so tired, so damn tired.
I didn't know how long we stayed in that position, but I jumped when the door opened again and Kenji moved so quickly that he knocked over the nurse's stool.
Olga stared at us with wide eyes, she had seen us, she had seen that we had broken Joana's golden rule.
"It's time to go to bed, Stella," she said simply, opening the door wider as I climbed down from the examination table and groaned when my legs protested.
Kenji took a step forward, but I shook my head.
We couldn't push our luck. "Good night, Wraith," I said, following Olga out of the room as Kenji's voice echoed behind me, wishing me good night in his native language.
As we approached my room, Olga suddenly grabbed my arm and pushed me against the wall.
I groaned as pain shot up my back. "Don't confess," she whispered.
"They don't know it was you. Don't admit it, don't fall into the trap," she whispered as I froze.
Admit it? She was talking about yesterday.
Before I could say a word, she released me, resumed walking toward the room, and opened the door, letting me pass as my gaze tried to catch hers, but she quickly left.
"Sienna!" Valentina exclaimed, getting up from the bed when she saw me come in.
She ran over and threw herself at me, making me groan in pain, but I held her gently against me.
"Oh my God, what happened to you?" Esme asked worriedly as she joined me, followed by the others.
"I'm fine," I tried to reassure them, but my face spoke volumes.
"Is it Wendy?" Diane asked in her soft voice as her hand rested on Valentina's back, who was still clinging to me.
I didn't answer. I didn't want to lie to them, but I didn't want any feelings of hatred to arise within the group.
That's what they wanted, the Master and his dogs.
They wanted us to compete, to fight each other, preventing us from trusting anyone and isolating us.
But I refused to bow to his rules. I refused to fight like a racehorse against people who were so similar to me.
"It doesn't matter," I whispered again and frowned.
"Where's Wendy, anyway?" I asked, not seeing her anywhere.
My anger had dissipated, my rage still present but my thoughts clearer, I knew it wasn't directed at Wendy but at those who had put us in this situation.
At those who had manipulated her. "We don't know.
Mrs. Joana took her away after her shower.
Did you give her that bruise around her neck?
" Esme asked, and I just shrugged, my gaze dropping to Valentina as her weight began to weigh down on my body.
She was falling asleep. I turned her toward her bed, guiding her as she staggered, Ava made a move to help me, but I shook my head and walked toward the little girl's bed.
I laid her down and rummaged through her closet to find her socks, which I put on her feet.
It was cold at night, so I pulled the blanket up over her frail body.
"Mommy?" she called out in her sleep, and a heavy silence fell over the room as we stared at Valentina.
Her thin eyebrows furrowed and she fidgeted.
I took off my shoes and quickly slipped under the blanket next to her, and she wasted no time in snuggling up against me.
"Let me know when Wendy is back," I said before closing my eyes, taking advantage of Wendy's absence to get some sleep.
Without the risk of suffocating or being stabbed in my sleep.
"Stella," someone called, shaking my shoulder, and I woke up with a start, my gaze meeting Joana's.
I had fallen into such a deep sleep, it must have been because of the anesthesia.
"Get dressed, I need you," she said, opening my closet to take out my depressingly gray spare dress.
She also took out my black sports jacket that we had to wear when we ran outside.
"Hurry up," she urged me as I gently removed my arm from around Valentina's body and got up, quickly getting dressed.
I put on my shoes and left the room, braiding my hair as I followed Joana to the exit.
I glanced over my shoulder and caught Esme's eye as Joana closed the door.
I gestured to her, pointing to Valentina, and she nodded, indicating that she would take care of her until I returned.
I followed Joana to the ground floor, and my steps became hesitant when we went outside, where a car was waiting for us.
"Where are we going?" I asked, a bad feeling tightening my throat.
"Don't ask questions, just get in. We don't have time to waste," she sighed as she slid into the back seat.
I looked at the car while my instincts screamed at me to turn around and go back to Valentina under the warm blanket.
I opened my mouth, ready to refuse, when the front door opened again and Igor and Kenji came out.
The tension in my shoulders eased slightly when I saw him.
"There you are! We've wasted enough time.
Come on!" Joana complained. Igor walked around the vehicle and slid behind the wheel while Kenji and I looked at him.
He looked as lost as I did. "Come on!" Joana snapped, and we had no choice but to get in.
I slid in next to Joana while Kenji got in the front.
The car accelerated, leaving behind the institute where I had been locked up for almost three months.
After half an hour on the road, I saw the lights of Las Vegas in the distance, their spotlights illuminating the sky, but we weren't heading towards the city.
On the contrary, we drove deeper into the desert, leaving the city behind us.
My bad feeling grew stronger. Where the hell were we going?
After an hour's drive, the car finally came to a stop.
I leaned over and looked through the windshield.
There were two cars parked in front of us, both illuminating the dark desert with their headlights.
There were some guards walking around the vehicles.
"Get out," Joana ordered us as she left the vehicle, followed by Igor.