Chapter 40: Banished from the City

Clark’s voice was so hoarse that it was impossible to discern what he was mumbling. Giselle opened her mouth to speak, but words failed her in the face of such startling revelation. Hearing her approach, Clark weakly lifted his head, barely managing to open his eyes to look at her. Seeing it was Giselle, he gathered all his strength, causing the heavy chains binding him to sway and emit a shrill, grating noise. “Gi... Giselle...” His voice was a hoarse whisper, barely a breath. Giselle stepped away from Henry Jefferson’s embrace and moved toward her father, reaching out as if to touch his wound. Henry quickly caught her hand and pulled her back, slipping a pair of oversized finger cots onto her hands while explaining, “They’re filthy.” Despite the loose fit, Giselle’s slender fingers managed to keep the cots in place. She tentatively poked at her father’s wound, eliciting a shudder of pain from him, the chains clinking nonstop. “No, please, don’t... I’m your father, broken bon