Hostage by Cheryl Headford Page A

with the same thoughtful expression on his face. “Why do you hate me, Rowan? Why do you look at me as if you wish I were dead?”
    Rowan panicked. Astrin was asking all the wrong questions. Rowan was afraid something would slip out and all hell would break loose. This Astrin was different from the one who had first opened his eyes. Gods, was that really only this morning? This Astrin was bright and perceptive, and Rowan couldn’t lie to him.
    “I have to take you back to your room now, Astrin. It’s time for you to go to sleep.”
    Astrin stared at him for a moment, a puzzled expression on his face. Rowan held his breath. Then a shutter fell and Astrin’s eyes went blank. Without another word, he got to his feet and sat in the chair, although he had far less trouble than before.
    Astrin didn’t say a word all the way back to his room. When they got there, Rowan directed him to lie down, which he did without question or apparent thought.
    Rowan found himself looking down into the large, empty eyes and feeling strangely uncomfortable. For some reason he didn’t like Astrin being so “switched off” all of a sudden. It wasn’t that he’d started to like him— no way, not in any way —but somehow he’d started to get used to him and this… wasn’t right.
    Damn, he was getting soft. He had to keep in his mind what this boy represented. He was not going to go soft on him. This boy was living the life Rowan should have had, with parents who loved him. This boy was cared for and cherished by the very people who had ensured Rowan never would be.
    Roughly Rowan tugged the sleeve of the pajamas up and connected the tube. It gave him a strange kind of satisfaction when it clicked into place. Still staring into Astrin’s face, he pressed the button on the pump, and within moments Astrin gave a little gasp, and his eyes fluttered before they rolled upward and closed, leaving Rowan feeling somehow disturbed.
    He jumped, highly startled, when the door opened. Ragnor was smiling, somewhat smugly Rowan thought.
    “How did it go?”
    “It was awful. Just as I knew it would be.”
    Ragnor smiled infuriatingly. “And why would that be?”
    “Because he’s an insufferable little shit. All he did was ask questions, and at the end they were scary ones. I had to watch everything I said, and he was starting to tie me in knots.”
    Finally the smile was wiped from Ragnor’s face as he scowled. “In what way?”
    “Do you remember what I told him—that he’d done something awful, and that was why he didn’t remember?”
    “Yes, unfortunately I do.”
    “Melissa told him he hadn’t done anything. He went to sleep, and when he woke, he was different—clearer, more focused. He asked me which of us was telling the truth, or whether we both were.”
    Ragnor swore softly. “What did you tell him?”
    “Nothing. I didn’t know what to say, so I told him it was time to come back here and sleep, and he went completely blank.”
    Ragnor relaxed and nodded. “At least that piece of conditioning works.” He sighed.
    “What are you going to do?”
    “That is none of your concern.”
    “Are you going to hurt him?”
    To his own surprise, Rowan found he didn’t want Astrin hurt anymore.
    “Unfortunately, that is inevitable, especially as you are having such a hard time coping with him as he is now.”
    “I… I’ll get the hang of it. I… don’t really want you to hurt him anymore.”
    Ragnor smiled. “And why is that? Are you perhaps coming to see him as a person? Maybe even a nice one?”
    Rowan frowned. “No, not a nice one. I will never forget who he is and what he represents. He’s living the life I should have had—the one where my parents tuck me up at night and I sleep without dreams. I hate him for that. But… he’s still only a boy and when… just now when I put him to sleep, he seemed…. I was…. It just didn’t seem right.”
    Ragnor nodded and gripped Rowan by the shoulder. “That’s the prince I