Chapter 80

Thea hid like a coward in the bathroom. She'd jumped on the chance for a shower, locking the door behind her and stripping the stinking gown from her body. Oh, to feel clean again. She cranked the water until steam rose before she stepped in. The hot spray hit the gash on her thigh, and she hissed. In the mad flight down the mountain then the wild race to get away, she'd actually forgotten about it. Peeking down at it, she noted it didn't seem as ragged as before, the edges sealed together, healing already, impossible as it seemed.

Turning her attention away from the cut, she tilted her face into the spray to let its cleansing warmth wash the traces of her captivity from her skin. The tiny shampoo bottle that all motels seemed to stock gave enough to soap and rinse twice. As for the bar of soap, she scrubbed herself almost raw with it to erase the taint of her captors and scrub the vile remembered touches from her skin until she shone more red than healthy pink.