Chapter Eighty Five

Aria's POV

The smell of dust and something metallic... was it old engine oil or the coppery scent of my own blood?... pulled me toward a shallow, miserable consciousness.

My head throbbed. The world behind my eyelids wasn't blackness anymore, but a nauseating, swirling grey.

I tried to move my fingers, but they felt heavy, taped down by sleep and pain. Yeah, it had to be pain.

I heard the sound of the engine, the crunch of tyres on a gravelly road. Great. We were still moving.

I forced my eyes open.

We weren't on a highway anymore. The road was narrow, flanked by fields and scrubland.

Liam was beside me, his profile dark against the dim light, his hands steady on the wheel. He hadn't bothered to look at me.

I tried to speak. My throat was dry, and the sound that came out was a pathetic, choked cough.

Liam's head finally turned. His smile was gone. His expression now was cold, and utterly devoid of the warmth he'd always shown me.

"Oh, good. You're up." His voice was flat. "Don't bo