Page 44 of Soulmateless
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I twist the handle on the glass door, passing guards in white jackets and badges, and open up to a miniature foyer. The grand staircase and the golden rails lay before me, twisting to the hallway that leads to the bedrooms. I catch the aroma of Amara flowers set in a brown vase as I approach the stairs. Guards stand tall by the door it leads up to, standing rigid with their hair slicked back, almost like a colored statue.
I skim over swirls carved in the railing and the paintings of Grandmother on the walls, when I catch a glimpse of a flowy pink dress awaiting me on the top of the stairs.
My eyes snap up to meet teary gray ones. “Grandmother?”
Grandmother sniffles and runs down to me. Shesqueezes me like her life depended on it, almost sucking the life out of me.
I jerk back, but I'm still trapped in her embrace. My nose scrunches. "Grandmother?"
She pulls away with her hands on my shoulders. "You could've died today! I almost lost you!"
I perk my brows. The attack at the mall. It already felt like the event was a while ago. I guess Clara distracted me from what happened. "Oh… well… I'm fine really. Just got a few stitches."
"I know," She pinches my cheek. "It was still terrible that you had to endure that. My sweet Valley Lily should never have to encounter those monsters."
Images of the people that I saw, the dead silence, the lifeless in the atmosphere, fill my mind. Loathing feeds off each thought, making my body rigid. "Yeah… those creatures."
Grandmother looks away towards the walls. "There were… many deaths today. The death toll is up to seventeen now."
"I saw them.” Disgusting creatures. “They slaughtered them like they were nobody.”
"Yes. All innocent people. A six year old girl was killed. There was an innocent thirteen year old that was also killed." She squeezes my shoulders. "A father of three as well as he protected his kids. An elderly woman who was celebrating turning seventy."
Lava seeps through my veins. "That's awful."
"Yes. All mangled without a second thought." Her eyes become glossy. “Those creatures don't care about who they kill.They just kill." She sighs. "With that warning from Cosmo I got this morning…I'm more certain than ever he’s warning me about them."
I nod, forcing my foot down as I realize it's tapping. Instead, my fists ball up, nails digging into my palm. It could've been me. It could've been me that never came home. It could've been me whose last moments were spent watching a dreamscreecher tear me alive.
If it weren't for that one dreamscreecher, I would've died. That dreamscreecher, though unintentionally, saved me just in time.
But this attack confirms everything we've known about those dreamscreechers. They are freaks of nature that don't deserve to live.
“I'm going to get rid of them with my Cosmo's wish.” I murmur. “I can't let the kingdom suffer any more.”
Grandmother's brows scrunch. “Now, it's not your issue. You've been through too much today already.”
“No. After what I've seen today, I can't let it slide.” My lips twist as I think over my wish. “Every dreamscreecher…” My eyes catch a painting up ahead with Grandmother and Mother standing in the middle of our flower garden,black star flowers in the background.
Tenebris flowers, the flower that burns your flesh with a single drop. A brutal death fit for a heartless beast.
I look back at Grandmother. “Every dreamscreecher should be poisoned by Tenebris flowers.” Make them suffer, like they have done to everyone else. “Let every prey they catch and every piece of food their lips touch soak in the flower’s poison.”
Grandmother gasps “That's a rather cruel death. You know the consequences of the Tenebris flowers right?”
“Seeing the way they left their victims, I think it's a more fitting punishment.” They will feel the pain that they've caused.
“Oh, sweet Valley Lily, is this what you really want dear?” She reaches out and strokes my hair. “Maybe you can be like your mother and Erasmus and go for something less gruesome.”
“Well, it hasn't helped anyone has it?” I snap. “You said so yourself! I want to do something that will actually make a difference! If I need to kill those creatures, I will!”
Grandmother gapes, as if wondering how I could do such a thing, but I’ve had enough. I was really done with them after hearing about their devastating attacks, but after seeing their damage in person…
… It would be cruel to let them live.
“They can't be alive,” I say firmly. “They can't be alive after what I saw today. They've proven they have no ounce of mercy or humanity within them.”
