Chapter 152: Aftermath
"Are you sure you’re alright? You really won’t eat anymore?"
It was the seventh time Elise had asked, and I refused again with a slight shake of my head. My eyes drifted aimlessly from the bowl of soup to her face. Elise’s was as beautiful as usual, but the glimmering light in her eyes wavered in anguish. She reached across the table, taking my limp hand in hers and squeezing it.
"Please, just eat a little more. You’ve barely had half a bowl."
"I-I’m fine," I whispered, wincing as my throat strained painfully. Following several weeks of extreme dehydration, it even hurt to breathe, not to mention speak.
An entire day had passed since Soltair retrieved me from the dungeon, but my memories were a complete blur. Somehow, I’d ended up with Elise in the tower of the library where I’d often studied. It was one of the few places to survive the devastating attack unscathed.
Ignoring me, she slipped the spoon between my lips, practically forcing a trickle of broth down my throat. "No, you’re not. No one could be okay after all that." Her grip tightened on the spoon, her voice falling to a whisper. "There was so much blood...and even after I healed you, you’ve lost so much weight. How could such a thing have happened?"
"It’s okay," I whispered.
Her lips curved in a small frown. "I spent the past week searching for you night and day, but I never dreamed you’d be locked in the cells with the cultists. Gah, if I’d only thought to check! How did you end up there?"
"I-I’m sorry," I replied, my shoulders slumping. "It’s all so dark."