Page 53 of Avaritia
I could just lie, right? Lying was still a solid option.
I heard someone coming into the room, and while I contemplated just slamming my eyes shut and pretending to still be asleep, my heart rate was probably giving me away.
A young man in dark blue scrubs entered the room, dark red hair pushed haphazardly back from his face. Lucas, I read, spotting his name tag. His eyes lingering on mine long enough to know I was awake, and yet he didn’t acknowledge me at all. Instead, he moved around the bed, checking and noting various things, tutting at something and humming in approval at something else.
I hadn’t spent enough time in hospitals to know if this was normal or not.
It didn’t feel normal.
He stopped at the end of the bed, attention finally returning to my face, his gaze impassive. “You’re a long way from home, Verity de Jager.”
My breath caught in my throat. Was he a Hunter? They could be found in all professions and were especially drawn to shift work because of their sleep cycles.
Fuck, fuck, fuck. Just trying to formulate some kind of coherent response made my head throb. I did my best to look confused, which didn’t require much effort.
“You’re still in Utah, in case you were wondering. You took quite the tumble. Fortunately, you were found by some early morning hikers not too far from Jacob Hamblin Arch before the situation got any worse.”
My head hurt. My bones hurt. My entire body hurt.
“Hunters across the world have been told to look out for you, you know. You and the others who ran away. Or were you stolen? There’s some debate over how consensual your defection to the shadow realm was. I’d certainly love to know how you ended up at Coyote Gulch.”
He grabbed the cup of water on the table next to the bed, holding the straw to my lips, and I was too thirsty to be prideful about it. With as much self-control as I could manage, I slowly sipped at the water, wondering if it had ever tasted as good as it did at that moment.
“I didn’t want to tell them you were here,” Lucas said, observing me having an emotional moment over water like I was a science experiment. “I had to. We all have our part to play, but I just want a quiet life. Bringing half of the high-ranking Hunters in the country down on me wouldn’t have been my first choice. You’ve put me in an awkward position.”
My brain felt like sludge, but through the thick haze of… drugs?—probably drugs—I remembered Theon’s words.
“To be underestimated is to have a powerful, invisible weapon at your disposal.”
It was the only weapon I had at my disposal, and I wasn’t going to waste it.
“I think there’s been some kind of mistake,” I rasped, glancing around the room with wide eyes. “You have me confused with someone else.”
Lucas frowned. “You’re Verity de Jager. From Colorado.”
“Yes,” I agreed, blinking sluggishly at him and trying to decide how much to say. My entire knowledge of amnesia came from daytime soap operas, and I wasn’t sure if I was overselling or underselling it. Should I act more confused? When was he going to ask me who the president was?
Lucas cocked his head to the side. “I’m going to get the doctor. She’s human, don’t mention anything about what we just discussed.”
I made a point of looking extra confused at that. Or I tried to, at least. I wasn’t entirely sure my facial muscles were cooperating with me, everything hurt too much to pinpoint specifics.
Lucas’s suspicious expression stayed fixed in place as he headed for the door, and I did my best to hide my trembling hands beneath the sheet.
I wasn’t smart enough for this. I was Verity de Jager, pet store sales associate in the human realm, and aimless drifter in the shadow realm.
But that wasn’t going to cut it, because I was also Verity de Jager, Duchess of Lindow. My mate was a force of nature, and he made things happen. And while sometimes he made stupid things happen, I still admired his drive. And we were a team, I wasn’t about to let the side down now.
No, I had to be smart. I had to take whatever advantages I could get to keep myself safe until I figured out an escape plan.
“Where’s my boyfriend?” I asked before Lucas could leave the room, making sure I sounded as weak and pitiful as possible. “Where’s Sebastian?”
Chapter 18
Once darkness had fallen, I followed the pull of the mate bond into the human realm, landing in a dark, dingy alleyway with Soren and Astrid directly behind me. Unfortunately, Soren and I could go no farther. The alleyway was dark, but light spilled into the mouth of it from a brightly lit street, limiting our range.
“That way,” I said, pointing my incorporeal hand in the direction the bond was telling me to go.
Astrid darted off without further instruction, and Soren swore as he floated after her, stopping right at the edge of the pool of light.