Page 67 of Shattered Jewel
My body is a wreck, a battleground where Kaspian’s crooked desires played out, and now all I crave is the safety and comfort of my childhood home.
An empty house, now that Mom isn’t there.
The storm builds around my slouched form, drowning out my sobs.
“Elara!” Sasha’s voice cuts through the thunder as she leaves the shelter of the porch and rushes toward me. “What happened?”
“Kaspian,” I choke out.
Sasha envelops me in her arms, shielding me from the storm before she guides me up the steps and into the foyer. The door blows shut behind us, muffling the thunder to a low rumble.
I shiver, my soaked clothes clinging to my skin. Rivulets of rainwater pool on the marble floor beneath my feet. The jagged edges of the broken Heart dig into my palm.
“Tell me everything,” Sasha says.
She frowns with worry as she studies my face and brushes a lock of drenched hair from my forehead.
Words clog my throat. Shame burns through me as flashes of Kaspian’s heartless touch, his degrading words, play in my mind. I squeeze my eyes shut, forcing myself to breathe past the tightness in my chest.
“He used me, Sasha,” I whisper. “Violated me as a punishment for—I don’t even know what.” A broken sob escapes my lips. “He despises me.”
Sasha’s eyes flash with protective fury. She pulls me into another tight hug as I weep against her shoulder, my body shaking.
“I’ll kill him,” she growls, squeezing me tight. “I swear to god, I will cut off his balls and shove them so far up his ass they’ll come out of his eye sockets.”
But the poison of Kaspian’s touch lingers, a permanent brand seared into my flesh.
One that I didn’t just endure--but loved experiencing. Orgasm after orgasm crashed through me while he kissed and bit and…
“Come on,” she says gently, guiding me through the halls. “Let’s get you cleaned up.”
We navigate the house with care, avoiding the homemade traps laid out by my agoraphobic mother in her paranoid attempt to protect herself from imagined threats. Even though she’s safely committed to a private institution now, her presence lingers in every corner of this house.
Sasha fills the bathtub with steaming water and pours in generous amounts of bubble bath, creating a frothy haven for me to sink into. She helps me undress, tenderly removing my shirt, before assisting me into the tub.
As I submerge myself in the comforting warmth of the water, the tension in my muscles begins to loosen. The bubbles envelop me like a protective cocoon. Sasha sits on the edge, offering me a bar of soap.
“Mom?” I ask when I accept the soap, needing to know she remains safe.
“She’s fine,” Sasha assures. “I’ve been on and off the phone with the hospital. They’ve made her comfortable.”
“Thank god,” I whisper, relief washing over me. But it’s short-lived. “Thank you for being there for her and for me. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
Sasha flashes me a watery smile and squeezes my damp hand. “You don’t ever have to find out, El. We’re in this together, remember?”
Except you have nothing to do with this. You didn’t ask for this.
The guilt of dragging Sasha into this shitstorm seems to make my bath hotter. Yet she didn’t balk when Kaspian pulled out a knife or when Mom shot Kaspian. She’s never judged my cracked and acrid family life. And she’s harbored her own secrets. Going to Thornhaven Manor at night, having anonymous sex with initiates, enjoying forbidden pleasures.
Maybe I’m not giving Sasha enough credit.
“Time is running out to find the other half of the ruby Heart.” I sigh, shifting uncomfortably in the water and wincing at the tender soreness between my thighs.
“But how are we going to find it?” Sasha asks after a long pause. “Even Maverick didn’t trust you enough to tell you where he hid it.”
“That’s not true!” I say defensively before catching myself and releasing a weary sigh. “He probably just didn’t get around to it...or...”
“Or he was murdered before he could.” Sasha finishes my sentence with a grimace.