The Bell of Freedom (King and human romance)✔

Chapter Thirty-Two

I wake up before Cain which is always common. He must go to sleep much later than myself. He spent the last four nights sleeping on the couch at the other end of the room. He won't leave me alone and I can't decide if I like that or not. It's better than being completely alone but I still feel as though I am.

The only time he does leave is when he's called away but he always returns within the hour. Even though he won't say it, I know it's because of Blake. He thinks he's going to break in to my room and kill me like Dominic tried. Cain doesn't feel boredom like humans or even other creatures, he's the most patient of them all and even it just came down to sitting in a chair for the entire day doing nothing, he'd do it.

I'm still wrapped in the blanket above the bed sheets. It was nice to sleep naked, to not have the fabric of clothes scratching and tugging against my bruises all night long. But I can't stay like this all day. I clench on my teeth as I stand to my feet. I approach my wardrobe and I grab a handful of clothes, taking them back to the bed. I sit on the edge and I manage to get my underwear and pants on fine but the moment I raise my arms to try and fit the shirt over my head, I receive an agonizing shooting pain right down my spine. I cry out so loudly that Cain wakes up. Tears pinch my eyes as I drop the shirt from my fingers. He runs over to me as I hold my back.

"What is it?"

"Something's wrong," I say. "I can't. . . I can't move."

"Out of all the souls I consumed, why couldn't any of them have been a damn doctor?" he mutters to himself before charging towards the door. "Guards!" he screams. "Get me Blake, now!"

He comes back into the room but I'm in so much pain that I can't focus on anything else. My back feels like it's suddenly broken, like something has snapped in my spine.

"Bring me the painkillers," I cry.

I keep my hand outstretched for them desperately, he brings me the whole box and I swallow down four with a glass of water.

"You're not supposed to take-"

"I'll take as many as I damn want, you have no idea what pain feels like!" I scream at him.

"I do actually," he says. "When I dream."

"This isn't a dream, Cain this is real."

"What's wrong?" a voice says from the doorway.

"It's her back," Cain says. "She can't move. She's in too much pain."

"Put her face down on the bed."

Cain's hands bend down to grab me. "Don't touch me," I snarl, groaning loudly as I try and push my body away from him.

"He has to look at it," Cain says. "I know it hurts but I have to move you."

I close my eyes, nodding my head. Cain picks me up and turns me, I clench my teeth against the pillow.

"Can I examine her?" Blake says.

"Yes."

"Aurora, I need you to tell me where the pain is," Blake says. "I'm going to add a little pressure along your back, okay?"

"Okay," I say.

His hands press at the top of my bare skin and I remain quiet, he moves them to the lower half of my spine and I squeal into the pillow. He removes the pressure immediately.

"Her lower spine," Blake says. "It could be a fracture or a severe sprain to her lumbar. She needs to be taken to a breeding centre, they have hospital equipment. How has this gone unnoticed for five days?"