Knot The One They Want

Lorali Pov

I slowly open my eyes. Luckily, they aren’t dry because of the countless times Ella or the doctor lady placed drops in them. The only thing my eyes aren’t prepared for is the sheer force of light. I slam them shut immediately, groaning like a vampire who hasn’t seen the sun in a gajillion years.

"Oh, sorry. I forgot to close the curtains," I hear Ella say. She hops away quickly, pulling the curtains shut with hurried movements. "Okay, it’s good now."

I try again, slowly opening my eyes after getting the green light. Though it stings a little, it isn’t nearly as painful as the first time.

"Where am I?" I croak, my voice cracking, followed by a dry cough. I notice I am not in the room I was in before I jumped out the window, this is no cabin. The room is big, and for some reason it looks exactly like my dorm back at Alma, down to the posters of a band I haven’t listened to in months.

The bed I’m lying on is exactly like the one back at Alma. Everything is the same. I’m impressed. I wonder if Ella seriously did this all from memory. She got my nest completely right, even the mattress.

"You are in my packhouse in Thali," Ella squeals, walking away from the now‑closed curtains. She rushes back and hugs me, instantly enveloping me in her scent. I hesitate before hugging her back. I’ve put her through hell over the past few weeks.

"I’m sorry, for everything, Ella. I didn’t mean many of the things I said back then."

"Don’t apologize. In fact, I should be the one apologizing. If we had done something the moment you weren’t answering your messages, this wouldn’t have happened." She pulls away from the hug with a smile. Now that she’s so close, I can see how tired she looks. There are bags under her eyes, and her skin is pale.

I was so lost in my pain. I failed to see that there are still people in this world who care about me. They may not outnumber the ones who don’t, but they outweigh them in my heart.

"When did I get to Thali? Isn’t this place on the literal other side of the world?" I cough, remembering her words about being in Thali. It’s the furthest place from Prone City. "And how am I not dying? You may not know, but if I am at a large distance from Oracle—the person who bit my shoulders—I’ll die." I slowly rise from the bed, my bones letting out an old cracking sound. The moment I sit up, I feel like I was a day away from becoming a skeleton itching for a walk.

"Oh, you don’t have to worry about that." She smiles mischievously. "Well, for the next two months you don’t have to worry. Ophelia, the person who’s been tending to you, cut off the skin of your shoulder, and that stopped the venomous bond."

"You guys cut off my skin?! Is that why I’m covered in bandages?" I gasp. The thought of my skin being cut sends shivers down my ancient, creaking spine.

"No. The reason you’ve been mummified is because you fell into the thorn rose bush that night. The bandages are to protect your stitches."

"How did you guys even figure out the venomous bond thing?"

"Ophelia is a really good doctor. I should go get her to check on you," she says, already turning away.

But I pull her arm. "It’s fine. I’m sure I’ve worked her enough." I sigh, sinking back into the pillows, my body heavy and my mind restless.

"I’d rather you fill me in on what’s been happening these past few weeks. I need some sort of crash course," I say, still gripping her arm, her warmth grounding me as I try to process everything she’s just said.

Ella sits down beside me, folding her legs on the mattress the way we used to back in Alma, when nights were spent whispering gossip we heard from a friend of a friend, stories that spread like wildfire through the dorms. Her presence feels familiar, almost nostalgic, and for a moment I can almost pretend we’re back there.

"It’s been chaos," she admits, her tone soft but edged with exhaustion. "After you jumped, everyone panicked. Ophelia worked herself to the bone keeping you alive. We couldn’t just stay in the cabin until you healed, people needed to get back to their lives or suspicion would arise. We all went home, and Vanya and Susie have been gathering information from the city. They told us Torin is trying to find you, so I asked one of my mates to throw him off the scent."

I close my eyes briefly. That’s a lot. I’ve missed so much, and yet I was the center of it all, the reason everything happened. The guilt presses down on me like a weight, but beneath it there’s a flicker of anger.

Ella hesitates, then smiles faintly. "I’ve been here. Watching you breathe. Making sure you wake up to something familiar. I thought... if you opened your eyes and saw Alma, maybe you’d remember what it felt like to be happy once."

Her words sting, not because they’re cruel, but because they’re true. I glance around the room again, the posters, the bed, the little details she remembered. Every piece of it is a reminder of who I used to be. "You did all this for me."

"Of course I did," she says simply. "You’re my friend. My family. I couldn’t let you wake up in a strange place and feel even more lost."

I swallow hard, guilt twisting in my stomach. "I’m sorry, again," I whisper, the first apology not enough. "I’ve put you all through hell. I didn’t mean half the things I said when I was drowning in pain. I just... I wanted it to stop, and I felt like you were on my back for no reason."

Ella reaches for my hand, squeezing it firmly, her grip steady and unyielding. "We know. As I said, we don’t blame you. But Lorali, you have to understand, we’re not giving up on you. Not now, not ever."

Her conviction shakes me. I look down at our joined hands, my voice trembling. "I don’t want Pack Spade to just die. I want to make them as miserable as they made me. That’s the only reason I woke up. You helped me realize I can’t let Spade have their happy ending while I melt away. I wanted to die, Ella. That’s the truth. If I kill them, it should be the easier way out, and it won’t erase the nights I begged for it to end. I want them to suffer before they die, to know what it feels like to be taken for a fool and used."

I know it sounds bad and selfish, but the mention of Spade and Yurena is the only thing that got me out of this bed. The realization that Walter has a bright future ahead of him gnaws at me, and knowing this was Yurena’s petty revenge for something I wasn’t even alive to witness makes me furious.

Ella’s eyes glisten, but she doesn’t look away. "If that is what you want, then that is exactly what we will do."