Their Wife

Seven

"Henry informed me that you are not healed yet," Ezra stated, his hard eyes focusing on my face.

I blinked at him, still trying to process the Pegasus and bird lion. "That- they-"

Ezra narrowed his eyes further, the ends of his plump lips turned down. Stepping forward, he reached out and grabbed my head in between his hands. "Did you receive a head injury that I missed?" He muttered to himself. He maneuvered my head around as his fingers gently massaged through my hair and over my scalp. I flinched when he reached a sore spot. "Hmm, hopefully Solomon can heal any serious damage I possibly missed," he continued to mutter, his frown deepening.

Snapping out of my shock, I slapped his hands off me and backed away, stopping once again when I heard the sound of hoofs on the ground behind me. Grimacing, I stood there stiffly when I realized what I had just done. I waited to either be struck for slapping Ezra's hands off of me or to be trampled by a pissed-off Pegasus who didn't get its apple. Neither occurred.

Henry's sigh drew our attention. Shaking his head, he walked towards me. "Show him, lass," he said, gently grabbing my hand and pulling my arm towards him with a calloused hand. He carefully rolled up the sleeve and unravelled one of the bandages covering one of the worse off wounds. It's was scabbed over, but the edges were inflamed and it had split in some areas from moving.

Concern flashed across Ezra's face. Pushing Henry aside, he grabbed my arm so he could see the wound better. I held my breath as he prodded the edges of the wound. He paused and assessed my reaction when I winced at the action.

His fingers grazed over my skin, drifting towards the other bandages on my arm. "Are the rest of your injuries in a similar condition?" He asked, his voice softer than earlier.

I nodded.

His lips flattened into a line. "Why are they not healing properly?"

I frowned. "They are," I answered, a slight hint of irritation laced my words.

I looked away from him to avoid seeing his reaction to my tone, focusing on the dirt ground. An ant crawled among the stray pieces of hay, carrying a seed at least five times its size. Sometimes I wished I was like an ant, stronger than what I seemed. Sadly, I was weaker than one would expect. Well, technically it wasn't so unexpected. It's what happens after years of being fed just enough to be kept alive and functioning. The baggy clothes that I draped over my body, when I wasn't forced to wear what he wanted me to, hid the bones that stretched my skin thin. They hid how weak I truly was.

I clenched the soft fabric of my clean shirt in my hand. Looking at my current condition, it was hard to believe that I once was overweight.

I stiffened at the warmth of Ezra's palm when he gently grabbed my clenched fist. He stood so close to me that I could smell traces of mint and sage from him despite standing in a barn filled with the strong scents that accompanied housed wildlife. With a tug, he led me over to a hay bale that sat along a wall that held various pieces of equipment.

I eyed one of the hammers that hung on a hook. It wasn't as big as some of the others, but it would be perfect for me to hit someone over the head with to buy time to escape. I mulled over possible ways that I could sneak it out with me without alerting anyone. What if I pretended to trip and slipped it into my sleeve? Maybe create a distraction to draw attention to the other end of the barn?

I mentally slapped myself.

No. I need to be patient. Being anxious and acting without thinking had cost me in the past. I didn't know these people or how they would react if I failed. Based on Henry and Kai's words earlier, this wouldn't be the last time I would be here. I had to come up with a well-thought-out plan before taking any actions. He had enjoyed destroying my hope for freedom and punishing me when he caught me attempting to escape. I looked down at the mark that Jaxon claimed meant that we were married and felt a chill go down my back. I didn't know how my new husbands would react.