REYNA
My heart squeezed with terror. Without thinking of my safety or the consequences, I squeezed my body through the barred iron.
I prayed my ass wouldnât be the thing to get in my way. I was surprised my body was able to fit between two of the long iron rods.
I placed the lit candle on the cold stone, got on my knees, and tried to turn the beast onto his back. Damn, he was heavy.
Like a freaking building. It took me longer than Iâd expected before I could turn him sideways.
Cas gave a pained groan. I sat down, panting and huffing, then grimaced when I finally saw his face completely caked in his blood.
Tears sprang to my eyes. There were cuts all over his body, some old, most new.
Even his beautiful golden hair was dyed in his blood. But the worst was the long gash, as long as my hand from wrist to fingers, that had been sewn with thread crudely.
It looked like a letter Y had been carved out of his chest. His upper body wasnât glowing like it should; his inner glow had dimmed a lot.
Unbidden, my tears fell. âMy beast is going to die just like the other one. Theyâre killing him.â Still crying, I put my ear to his chest and felt his chest rise.
His heartbeat was slow, his breathing uneven and strange, more rattling. He needed a doctor, but I was one hundred percent sure a doctor had a hand in the state he was in.
The cuts and crudely sewn flesh were Dr. Elizabethâs handiwork. There was no doubt about it, as someone who was strict about her teachings.
I was shocked that she would do such a shitty job of stitchingâunless it was done deliberately, of course. I wasnât surprised at the fact I didnât like this new Elizabeth. I hated her, and I didnât even know when it started.
Had she always been like this? Or had what the beasts had done to the guards changed her? I wondered.
I couldnât think about that right now. I needed water to clean his wounds, to make his death a little less painful, since I didnât know how to save him.
My tears fell faster at the thought of Casvan dying. I didnât think I could bear it if I lost him.
An image of me smashing Dr. Elizabethâs brains out flashed in my mindâs eye. I should have been appalled by my violent thoughts, but surprisingly, I wasnât.
The thought pleased me, because if my beast really died, there was a real chance I could kill Dr. Elizabeth. A growl sounded deep inside me.
I startled, my eyes darting quickly to my beast, but he was still comatose. Then where did the growl come from?
I shook my head and concentrated on what I should do. âPriorities, Reyna.â
âHow do I save him?â I inhaled and tried to focus.
I mentally made a list of things I would need. âClean clothes, medicine, food and drinking water, also an extra candle and a blanket.â
I stood up and scooted my butt out of the barred iron, then hurried back to the servantsâ quarter. I was light on my feet as I snuck into the kitchen and got some of the items on my list, except for the medicine, clean clothes, and blankets.
~All these things are in my room. I have some medicine that could do wonders in my room.~
But Iâm scared of getting caught by the guardians. I hid all the things Iâd gotten under the stairs and ran up to my room, hiding whenever I heard people coming my way.
I sighed when I finally got inside my room. Fortunately, my nana had retired to her room.
I got the medicine from the shelves. It was a little glass vial with green liquid inside. Nana called it the witchesâ brew because Amara had given it to me after my public whipping months ago.
It had helped me heal faster, and surprisingly, it had had a pleasant minty aftertaste that Iâd liked. Iâd used half of it, saving the rest for a rainy day.
And I was so glad that I had. I grabbed another container, which was an ointment for wounds, burns, and bruises.
As fast as Iâd come, I was back in the dungeon. Using clean clothes, water, and soap, I cleaned up his face, hair, and body.
By the time I was done, he was decently clean, and the water had turned pinkish red. With the blood gone, I could see the extent of his injuries. It was much worse than I had first thought, and there was still blood caked around his waist, disappearing into his pants.
Had they castrated him? Fear clogged my throat. Iâd seen it done to some animals before.
I only thought about it for a few seconds and decided his health was more important than my sense of modesty. Which, to be honest, wasnât much now that Iâd gotten used to being naked around others. But wouldnât he hate me for this?
Somehow, I felt like he wouldnât mind. My hands shook as I stripped him down completely.
I kept my eyes above his waistline even as I wiped below and between his legs. Once or twice, my fingers grazed something hard, but I told myself this wasnât the time. I wasnât doing this for the pleasure of it.
I focused on my task. After I was done, I applied the ointments to the worst of his injuries, including the bruises caused by the chains. Then I covered him with the blanket after I put his pants back on.
The ointments werenât much. Some of his injuries didnât get any. I just hoped it would be enough.
My tears fell as growls kept rumbling inside me. I kept sniffing.
I felt like he was trying to tell me something through our connection, but I didnât understand âgrowls.â I opened the vial of the witchesâ brew and peeled back his lips, trying to force his mouth open. Cas growled low but was still weak.
âListen, beast, I canât help you if you keep growling at me. I only want to help, okay?â I said.
I didnât know if he heard me or not. I reached out and smoothed his soft golden hair back from his face.
Then I pried his mouth open and emptied the vial of medicine, forcing him to swallow it down. Feeling exhausted and knowing there wasnât much more I could do, I leaned against the wall, just watching him while that growling sound vibrated between us through the bond.
I almost gasped when I noticed his color was starting to go back to normal. I sighed in relief and began to pack everything Iâd brought inside the bowl.
âKitten?â It was a weak growl. My stomach fluttered when he said the nameâheâd just called for me. It meant he was coming around.
âGood, beast. Youâre getting better,â I said, and instantly winced when I lifted the blanket and saw he still looked the same.
I was lying. He wasnât healing. His body was still hot to the touch.
But Iâd done all that I could, and I hated that I couldnât do more.
His mouth moved. He was saying something, but it was so low it sounded like he was growling.
I crouched closer to his mouth and tucked my hair behind my ears.
âNot beast, call me Casvan,â he whispered.
Oh! I sniffed.
My heart skipped a beat. He was telling me to call his name.
Silly beast, didnât he know heâd always be my beast? Casvan was a nice nameâstrange, but nice. But I also liked calling him my beast.
He didnât say anything more. I decided I would stay with him just a little bit longer and leave before anyone knew I was here.
Casvan was truly gorgeous, even when wounded. He had massive shoulders and a broad chest I wanted to stroke.
His cheekbones were high, his dark lashes long.
When my eyes fell on his mouth, I wondered how it would feel to kiss him for real, not in a dream.
If I would like the act as others did.
I went lower still, over his dark tattoos and the place where his glow was stronger, brighter.
Due to his injuries, it wasnât as bright as the first time I saw him.
My eyes fell on the bulge under the blanket, right where I knew his manhood should be.
My cheeks burned. My heart started to pound faster.
Though he was unaroused, his penis seemed bigger and longer than Johnâs. Bigger than the only two Iâd ever seen.
It frightened me as much as it made me curious. I wanted to see it and touch it, maybe even suck on the head.
When he groaned, I blinked guiltily and quickly dislodged that dirty thought from my brain.
I couldnât believe I was lusting over him when he was in this condition.