Realizing that screaming and struggling would get him nowhere, Alaric forced himself to think. Since violence wouldn't work, maybe, just maybe, he could reach the part of his mother that still loved him.
"What do you plan to do to me, Mother?" Alaric rasped, his voice hoarse and raw from shouting.
Zara paused mid-motion, a syringe halfway filled with a clear, viscous solution intended to use on him. Her hand stilled as she turned toward him, surprise in her eyes.
It was the first time Alaric had called her "Mother" since this nightmare began. Before now, it had always been "Zara" or "Bitch," as if the word mother burned his tongue.
For a brief moment, her expression softened. She set the syringe on the metal tray and crossed to his side.
"Alaric, baby?" she whispered, testing him.
