Page 10 of Lost and Bound

I wake up to sunlight streaming into my face, outlining the silhouette of a man standing at the mouth of the cave.

My heart beats so loudly, I worry it’s going to alert him that I’m awake. Without moving an inch or making a sound, I glance around to see my bags are now open, and most of my belongings are still packed exactly as they were when I went to sleep. Except for the injured creature and the second bag I found. Both are noticeably absent.

“Where is he? Give him back,” I blow up as I jump to my feet.

That’s all I manage before the pressure in my head implodes. Black comets race across my vision, and my legs give out. I crash to the cave floor, pain spearing in all directions.

Warm hands guide me onto my back, and while I can hear him speaking, his words get sucked into the spinning vortex.

I fight to stay awake, to get away from him, but no matter how hard I try to stay conscious, I get swallowed by darkness.

A slow, steady beep pulls me out of my sleep. The noise makes my pulse pound, and it also draws someone closer.

Taking a deep inhale, I crack my eyes open slightly, not surprised at all to see I’m in a medical-like room. God, I hope it’s not a hospital, although the sounds and smells I’m picking up on and trying to ignore suggest it is.

I look around, still unsure where I am, and a woman’s face appears before me.

“I’m one of the nurses here.”

“Where’s here?” I ask, though my voice is broken and hoarse as a result of my growing panic.

“The clinic.”

All the rising terror stops in an instant. I’m still worried about where I am and who she is, but a clinic I can manage. A hospital? Yeah, no chance.

She moves closer, holding a glass with a straw. “How about some water? Not too much, though. You’ve been out of it for a few days, so your stomach might rebel if you try drinking all of this.”

The cool water is refreshing. I take a sip, then lie back against the pillows. After what I just went through, I have about a hundred or so questions that need answers, but I’m not sure she’s the person I should be asking. I stick to the obvious one. “Where am I?”

She takes a moment, assessing me before she answers. “You don’t remember coming in?”

“No.”

She looks surprised, then pulls a chair over and sits next to me. “You were in bad shape when you arrived, so that makes sense. As well as being hypothermic and severely dehydrated, you were also concussed. You really shouldn’t have been out in your condition.”

She gives me a small, empathetic smile before she continues to explain. “You’re at Thales Academy.”

“Where?”

She holds the water for me again. “Do you remember leaving the human settlement?”

I freeze like a deer in headlights. Given that I don’t know where the heck I am, I’m not responding to her question in case I’m being set up by the enforcers.

“Well, you did. You were found in a cave on the edge of Lycadia, which is predominantly shifter territory. You were brought to the academy.”

“Why?”

“Your blood work confirmed you are not fully human. But honestly, if the results showed you were human, you would have been left at the wall from which you came. As to why you’re in Thales, well, it’s not that hard to figure out.”

“What? Why?” I feel like a parrot stuck on repeat, asking one-word questions.

“Why are you at Thales?” I nod and she continues. “You’re a student here. Your tuition has been paid in full, upfront.”

“I’m sorry, I’m not following. That makes no sense, I’ve already graduated.”

She hums as she makes an impressed expression, except it’s saturated in sarcasm. Even with a wicked headache, I can figure that out. “Well, Maya…”

“How do you know my name?”