Chapter One
Clove
Pain dragged me back into my body.
Not all at once.
It started as pressure—dense and pulsing, like my skull had been packed with sand.Every heartbeat echoed inside my head, slow and heavy.Each one thudded hard enough to make my vision flicker, even though my eyes were still closed.
I groaned, or at least I tried to.
The sound barely made it past my throat and came out as something thin and broken that scared me more than the pain did.
My tongue felt too big for my mouth.
That wasn’t good.
I forced myself to breathe slowly through my nose, the way Mom always told us to when we were little and hurt.In for four.Hold.Out for six.
The air smelled off.
Stale.Metallic.Like oil and old fabric and something sour underneath it all.
Not the clubhouse.Not home.
My heart kicked harder, and I tried to wake the rest of me up now that my brain had caught on that something was wrong.I cracked one eye open.
Darkness.
Not complete darkness, but close.Dim gray light seeped in through cracks somewhere I couldn’t see.The ceiling above me was low.Canvas, maybe.Or plastic.It bowed slightly in the middle, like it had been pressed down too many times and never quite bounced back.
I frowned, and pain flared sharp and immediate.
I hissed and squeezed my eyes shut again and rode it out until the worst of the dizziness passed.
When I opened them again, I took my time.
I was lying on the floor.
Cold linoleum pressed against my cheek.It stuck slightly when I shifted, like something had spilled and dried there.My shoulder throbbed when I tried to move it, that made my stomach roll.
I tried to lift my hands.I focused on my wrists and discovered they were bound.
Thick rope bit into my skin.My hands were pulled together in front of me, not behind, which would’ve been a small mercy if the fear hadn’t already settled into my bones.
I swallowed hard and tested them again, carefully this time.
No give.
My ankles were tied too.
I squeezed my eyes shut and forced myself to breathe through the spike of terror threatening to climb my throat.
Okay.
Okay.You’re tied up.You’re alive.
Start there.