Chapter 90. Conversations with the Abductor

Fiona woke up from her dr*g-induced sleep and found the Leopard Seal sitting by her bed. It was the stuff of nightmares. She was lucky not to have yanked the IV cord out of her hand, but she quickly regained her composure.

She stared at him, and he stared at her. It had to be one of the world’s most terrifying staring contests.

“Had a good sleep?” he asked eventually.

“Better than I’ve had in a while,” she replied. He nodded, giving her a one-sided, mirthless smile with a puff of air let out through his nose that passed for a laugh.

“I should thank you, shouldn’t I?” he asked. She couldn’t tell what he was playing at and simply gave up on giving him a fitting answer. She simply gave him an honest one.

“No,” she shook her head. “I owe you much more than that.”

“Really?” he said with a tone of mock intrigue, eyebrows rising as he adjusted his posture into one that looked like the statue of the thinker. “Tell me more.”

“A life for a life and al