Chapter 60
CHAPTER SIXTY
Briar
Lyra strode the rest of the way to the door, and her hand rested on the knob, but she didn’t open it. She stood there, eyes on the wood before her, then bowed her head and pivoted to face me again.
“You know, I used to have the most beautiful long blonde hair. I was so proud of it, so vain about it, but it truly was spectacular. It flowed in thick waves past my ass, and when it rained or got wet, it would get these perfect corkscrew curls in it.
“When I was little, my mother spent hours combing and working the tangles from it because, oh, how it would tangle, but we both loved my hair so much that neither of us complained. It was also our special time together; we’d sit and talk while my brothers roughhoused outside.
Years after I was old enough to take care of it on my own, my mother and I would sit together while she tended to it.
It never got frizzy under her care; it always did under mine. ”
A sad smile tugged at her lips as her lime-green eyes focused on a different, happier time. “I never told her that I purposely made my hair a disaster to spend more time with her, but I think she knew. And even better, I think it made her happy.”
A lump formed in my throat, and I blinked away the tears burning my eyes. Lyra wouldn’t want me shedding them for her.
“Then, one day, I rode too far into day caster land, and they captured me. I should have been paying attention, but it was a beautiful day, and I was chasing butterflies like the foolish, dreamy-headed girl I was. They placed me in the harem.”
I hid my shock over this revelation. They’d put her in the harem simply for riding on their land? I couldn’t imagine a punishment that fit the crime less than that one.
“I entered shortly before Knox and recognized him when they brought him in. I’d never spoken with the alpha’s youngest son, but everyone knew who he was.
He was still screaming as he fought the monsters imprisoning him.
Those screams…” Lyra shuddered. “Those were the screams of a shifter who lost their mate. I’d never heard them before, but I recognized them instantly. ”
A pang stabbed my heart. Every time I started to hate Knox, something happened to soften my heart toward him again. Damn him, this place, my mother, and everything else.
“When I first saw him, I thought this is it, we’ll get free now.
The alpha didn’t much care for his youngest, but he’d never let the casters get one over on him by imprisoning his son.
Of course, the alpha never came; the curse prevented that.
So we remained trapped in hell as time inched past at an excruciating pace.
“One night caster was especially cruel to me, and for some reason, I was a favorite of his. One day, after an especially degrading session, he lay beside me, playing with my hair. He told me how much he loved it.
“The casters had woven layers of magic over that place to keep us from shifting or using our powers. Knox was the only one who could transform in there. For some reason, they couldn’t stop him from doing so, which only shows how powerful he is.
“After that asshole caster left me, I sat on my bed, running my fingers through my tangled hair. I didn’t bother taking care of it anymore, but he still liked it.”
Anger clouded her face and turned her words venomous.
“I went into the bathroom and found the small razor they’d given me. They expected us to remain groomed for them at all times, and they punished us when we weren’t. I tried to rebel once and refused to shave. They peeled the flesh from my legs.”
My hand flew to my mouth to stifle my gasp. She didn’t pay any attention to me as she continued talking.
“The razor was useless as a weapon, and I couldn’t use it to kill myself, but I could use it on hair. I stood in front of the mirror as I sawed it off. I didn’t cry as it fell in the sink, but my mother would have wept endlessly.
“When I finished, I gathered all my hair up and shoved it in a garbage can. When that caster returned and saw what I’d done, he was irate. I paid dearly for ruining my hair, and he ordered me to grow it back, but I didn’t care what he did to me, I didn’t grow it back, and I never will.”
I was too stunned and saddened by this revelation to respond. But Lyra didn’t expect a response as she opened the door and left.
“We’re all so broken,” she’d said. “And nothing can ever put us back together.”
She didn’t believe any of them would heal, and I was beginning to think she was right.
When I sank onto the mattress, Gizzi came over to settle in my lap. I stroked his fur as I stared out the windows and tried to absorb everything Lyra had revealed.
“I can’t stay here,” I whispered.
Gizzi didn’t respond as he nudged my hand.