It took her mind a few groggy minutes to begin to piece everything back together. The last few, however long it was, was a nightmarish hazy jumbled fog of pain and agony.
Focusing on her breathing Aislinn cautiously let her mind stretch. She was surprised to find that although she wasn't totally pain free it was at least bearable again. In fact she welcomed it, she would gladly feel this shitty echo-y soreness and mild discomfort for the rest of her life if it meant she never had to experience that other pain again. She shuddered at the memory, her mind shying away from even thinking about the mind-bending, mentally scarring and all-consuming pain that she had somehow lived through.
Her head felt heavy and her skin was tight and ultra-sensitive but she managed to eventually wrestle her eyes open.
"Oh thank the goddess! You're alive!"
Why did it seem that every time she woke up she was destined to have her eardrums destroyed? Was she not in enough discomfort?
She winced away from the familiar voice. It was becoming a vaguely annoying routine.
Though if she was truly honest with herself she knew that deep ... deep down she was secretly thankful for the company no matter how high-pitched and chatty it was. The sound of the other girl's heartbeat and breathing were the only things at the moment that let Aislinn know she was actually awake and presumably then ... alive.
Maybe she should give the girl a break.
"Sorry I scared you." Aislinn managed to get out. Hearing the hoarseness of her voice the girl placed the water bottle to her lips.
But not without more babbling of course. For the sake of the cool soothing water Aislinn decided to let it go.
"I was so scared. You went back to sleep and I was like 'okay here we go again' I'm gonna go crazy talking to myself and then like a few hours later you went nuts. I didn't know what to do you were in so much pain. But I didn't want them to know you were awake but you kept screaming and there was so much blood. And oh god I don't know how your alive. I just ... that was flipping the scariest thing I have ever ever seen."
"I'm okay." Aislinn said when the water stopped.
"Okay!? ARE YOU INSANE?" Aislinn winced at the volume.
Obviously seeing it Ciera took on her whispered yelling voice again. "Sorry! But are you like insane?" she demanded but before Aislinn could answer she was off again. "You are not okay. You are about as un-okay as a person can get. I mean let's ignore the whole being in a like coma for two weeks without food or water thing for a minute. And just ... have you even like seen yourself?"
Aislinn didn't even try to answer that. She could barely open her eyes how the hell was she supposed to have examined the extent of her injuries. She could feel them though and had a pretty good idea of the level of damage that had been inflicted. It wasn't good, but she'd had worse ... maybe. Not thinking that her assessment would help the situation any she decided to treat the question as rhetorical and stayed silent. Keeping her opinions to herself.
The girl humphed when it became obvious she wasn't going to speak. "Your wrists and ankles are ... well ... Goddess Aislinn they don't even look like they belong to a person anymore. I can see your bones." Her voice was faint and horror filled by the end.
"I'll heal."
"HEAL!?"
The whisper yelling was better but it still did a number on her.
"You're going to heal from that?"
"Yes." By now she was only half paying attention to the conversation the rest of her focus was tuned inward as she mentally probed and prodded her body. Taking note of the various injuries. She needed to try and gauge how fast she was healing, not to mention how much energy she had managed to store up and how to start accessing her wolf.
"You're crazy."
Ignoring her Aislinn asked more important questions. "They still make rounds every four hours?"
"Yeah. How'd you know that?"
"Lucky guess. They wake you with lights and water?"
"No, not anymore. In the beginning they would. But when you never responded they stopped. Now they usually just bang on the door and look in."
"Good."
"How'd you know that stuff?"
"A hunch. Do they know I've woken up at all?"
"No. At least I don't think so. I don't know if they have this place monitored or not. But both times the guards have come you've been out or well the last time you were in too much pain to move or anything."
Finally a bit of luck.
"It isn't monitored."
"What?"
"The cell, there isn't any cameras or mics in here."
"How the hell do you know that? I'd bet my favorite purse you can't even see."
"Told you lucky guess. How long till they're due back around?"
"Umm I don't know exactly, it's hard to keep track I'd guess less than an hour."
That wasn't enough time. Aislinn let out a sigh. She'd have to endure the restraints a bit longer. At least she'd be able to get more of her strength back.
"I tried to get you out." The voice was hesitant, nervous almost.
"I know."
"I really did, but it hurt and then they saw and I haven't shifted yet and..."
"Ciera I know. You wouldn't be able to anyway, you'd be hurt trying to get them out. Not to mention end up just like me if you actually managed to free me. It isn't worth it. I told you I'll be okay."
"How can you say that?"
"You ask a lot of questions."
"You answer none of them!"
Aislinn rolled her eyes at that. If only she knew, Kaiden would probably be dancing on the spot, if he knew she was even talking to his sister. The thought made her heart squeeze painfully. Tears sprung to her eyes. She had to blink them away rapidly so they didn't fall. Taking a deep breath she tried desperately to dispel the image of his smiling face that clouded her vision. Her heart couldn't take it. She felt like she was being torn in two.
"Don't worry he'll come I know it." Ciera's voice was gentle this time. Her words filled with such conviction Aislinn couldn't help but let herself believe them if only for a minute.
"It won't matter because we're getting out of here."
"Out?"
"Yes."
"You can't be serious. This must be the blood loss talking. Maybe you have a fever. Although I don't know if werewolves can get fevers? But then I also didn't know we had weird creepy dungeon lairs were we tortured people so what the fudge do I know!? Hell maybe we can get syphilis and cataracts. I mean the plague would sure love this place. So you know, why not? Let's all just have a total laugh fest at how much I don't know. Please continue." Her voice was all squeaky and high at the end and Aislinn could hear her heartbeat picking up as her breathing became labored.
"Ciera calm down."
"Calm down! Sure yeah no problem why I don't I go meditate amongst the rats and piles of shit!? Sounds wonderful. Please tell me more oh wise one. Should I do some yoga? Maybe we can go shopping after you Houdini your way out of here?"
"You're a lot more sarcastic then your brother." Aislinn pointed out calmly.
"Yeah well you try growing up with four brothers and all their annoying overbearing friends and you might get an attitude too. Although my mother would have everyone believing I'm having some type of mental breakdown. She tends to be the dramatic one in the family." She fell silent for a minute.
Aislinn strained her hearing trying to detect any hint of someone approaching while trying to imagine a family where someone other than her cellmate was considered the overly dramatic one. She internally cringed at the thought.
"Do you think they're okay?"
"Who?" Was that a boot she heard? No. Damn she needed to heal faster if they had any hope of this actually working.
"My mum and brothers? Do you think they're okay?"
Oh that's what she was worried about. Aislinn hadn't considered the implications for the rest of her mate's family. She should have especially after discovering that his sister was being imprisoned here with her. She just wasn't used to being actually connected to people, where her actions and decisions affected others that she generally cared about. It was a completely foreign concept. Of having lives tangled and intertwined with her own.
In truth the reminder was more than a little disconcerting and slightly unsettling. Better to leave those thoughts alone. She had made her decision and regretting it wasn't going to change anything. She loved her mate but she needed to do this for herself.
Giving up everything she was and who she had become just because he was willing to give her everything she ever dreamed of was simply not an option. In fact it was that alone that made her decision even easier. He had given up everything for her, risked everything all because of her. She wanted it. All of it. But she could never truly have it when they were still out there. And perhaps together they might have been able to take them out but she wasn't willing to risk it. To risk him. It was selfish, perhaps even cowardly, but hell she had never pretended to be anything else.
She wasn't throwing away five years of planning and eight years of dreaming all for a boy. She just wasn't. So here she was being tortured in a disgusting dungeon hoping that her tormentors would come back instead of being snuggled and safe in the arms of her mate. Brilliant.
"I'm sure they are okay."
"How do you know that though? I mean god I'm down here! No offence."
Aislinn rolled her eyes again. "Look, your dad wanted me. You unfortunately saw something you shouldn't have and that got you here but so long as the rest of your family doesn't know anything they'll be safe."
"Safe!? They're living with a monster. My dad's just turned into this like totally evil crazy person! How can you possibly say they're safe with him? And what the hell does he want with you anyway?" Ciera demanded indignantly.
"He was a monster long before this." Aislinn said off handedly her mind re-focused on trying to sense any bodies coming near them.
"Oh My Goddess! That's how you know. How you knew all that stuff." Aislinn attention was pulled back from the hall although she made sure to keep enough on it to hopefully be able to tell if someone was coming. She couldn't risk getting caught.
"Hmm?" Aislinn hummed trying to follow the latest trail of incoherent babble.
"How you knew all the stuff about this place! You've been here before!" She said it as if it was more of an accusation then a question. Aislinn didn't dignify it with an answer.
"Are you going to answer me?" Ciera demanded when she didn't respond.
"Are you going to ask a question?"
That got a snort and growl out of the girl before she gritted out "Have. You. Been. Here. Before?"
"Yes."
"OH MY GODDESS! Holy Shit!"
"Ciera you need to calm down."
"You've been kept here before?"
"Yes."
"By my dad?"
"Yes."
"I'm going to be sick."
"I really wish you wouldn't."
"Yeah well I wish my dad wasn't a f*cking psychopath so you know cheers to that." And then she proceed to heave up whatever little bit of water and food she had in her system.
Aislinn let out a sigh. "I really wish you hadn't have done that."
"What's it to you? I'm sorry did I suddenly ruin the ambience? Put you off your appetite? Sully your poor senses?"
Teenagers.
"No. You're going to need your strength when we get out of here and it would be helpful if you weren't faint, weak and completely useless from dehydration and hunger."
"You're actually serious."
"I've told you this. Yes. Yes I am going to get out of here and yes I am going to get you out. I just need you to be quiet."
And miraculously she did. Not that Aislinn actually thought it was because she had asked. More likely she was finally shutting down after succumbing to some type of shock. Oh well either way at least she could listen uninterrupted and her ears could stop ringing.