Birddddy

e as I weakly push myself up into a seated position. Wincing, I tuck the bird I’m still holding close to my chest with one hand, and with the other, I partially cover

rom the drugs, I can’t help but fear it too. Corvin makes a sound under his breath, almost like a laugh. He says something in Russian that has Aquillus dragging that unnerving gaze from mine to his. Something works across his face, almost a smile, but not quite. It’s the most emotion I’ve seen the younger guy wear in the brief, fuzzy moments I’ve seen him. Still, he doesn’t say anything. He does move closer though, and it’s then that I hear the sound of plastic creaking. My head is still being held in a firm grip, but I’m able to dart my gaze down to what Aquillus holds in his hand. Corvin reaches for the half-full water bottle with his free hand. He brings it to his mouth, releasing the sports cap with his teeth, before lifting it to my chapped lips. My stubbornness takes a backseat to some primitive drive inside me, one that has me greedily sucking the water down, tipping my head back as he squirts it down my throat. This time, Corvin does chuckle as I near-choke on the tepid water flooding my mouth, droplets sliding down my cheeks and dripping off my jaw. It’s a deep, rumbling, wicked sound that feels like nails scraping across my brain. “Damn, look at her face,” he says. “So greedy for it.” I tense as Aquillus comes into my line of sight, stopping mere inches away from my face. I shoot my wide gaze to his, and this close, I can almost make out my reflection in his dark eyes, masked only by the light coming in from the hallway beyond.“You’d think we just pulled our cocks out,” Corvin goes on with a cruel laugh. I start choking on the water. While it’s not that cold going down my throat, it feels frigid sliding down my neck, my chest. Aquillus tilts his head, but doesn’t say anything. I swear something like curiosity moves through his gaze, lighting up his furrowed features, even if it’s just for a moment. “Maybe we should give her a taste of that instead, yeah?” Corvin taunts, ripping the bottle away from me and tossing what’s left of it across the floor. He tugs me closer, lifting me until I’m practically on my toes. He bends down, running a nose over my temple, his hot breath fanning across my cheek, warm and smelling of something sweet, but pungent. Whiskey, or maybe Scotch. “She’s gotta be starved. Lonely…” he says. “Hollow.” My body ices over at what he’s saying and wordless protests squeeze through my clenched teeth as he grips my wet chin with one hand, tipping my head back. The other twists my hair and pulls, yanking back until my neck tendons scream, threatening to snap. He looks down at me, his nose pressed right against mine. So close, I can feel it flare. His dark, soulless eyes bore into me. “That what you want, Ptichka?” he says softly. “Will that make you feel better?” Rather than spit in his face like I want to—like I’m pretty sure I did at some point, but I can’t remember when, or if it was even real and not just a fantasy I concocted to pass the time—I clamp down on my molars, jutting my chin up at him in silence.His mouth twitches. Not quite a smile, but not in displeasure either. His gaze flickers down and around, and this time, I know it’s a smile. A mean one as he hums to himself. “I bet it got real lonely in here. Real boring too. These birds your friends? Did they help?” My brow wrinkles as I try to keep up with what he’s saying, what I… think he’s implying. Aquillus makes a noise at the back of his throat, the first I’ve heard from him that I can recall. I flick a glance at him through the corner of my eye at the same time Corvin side-eyes him. He doesn’t immediately say anything. Slowly, then all at once, Corvin eases his grip on me, shoving me off him. Not expecting it, I stumble, nearly falling flat on my ass. He catches my elbow at the last second and makes a sound of disgust as I stumble for balance. “Yeah, on second thought, we might want to wait ’til she’s clean.” He tugs on a greasy strand of hair with his free hand; it looks nearly black in this lighting. “Who knows what might be crawling up inside her?” I shudder at the thought, but also feel oddly vindictive at the thought of them being disgusted by me. A small victory, even if it’s short-lived. Grabbing the paper bird still clutched in my hand—the one I forgot I was holding—he all but rips it away from me and throws it on the floor. Something splinters in my chest as I cast a long, forlorn look at the paper birds scattered across the cell. Are they gonna take them from me? I wonder, dimly aware of Aquillus making another soft huff. “Davai,” Corvin says, gripping my elbow before stomping toward the open door with me in tow and Aquillus at our back.Glancing over my shoulder, I catch Aqui