Page 47 of Soulmateless
"What are you doing here?" I yawn and lean against the door.
He squints, the twinkle starting to dim. "We were going to go shopping for food, remember? Are you okay?"
I shrug, my head sagging towards the ground. My lips curl into a frown thinking about last night.
The pain. The panic. The uncontrollable weeping.
How pathetic I was…
I meekly nod. "Yes…" I stab my teeth into my tongue.
His brows bunch together. “Can I be of any help?"
"I don't think you can." I mean, what was he going to do? Take away my nightmares?
"You're sure?"
I shake my head. "It's nothing anyways. I'll get over it."
His foot taps as his eyes gleam with worry. When I dodge his gaze at the clothes in his hands, he sighs.“I… bought some clothes for you to wear."
He passes the clothes to me, and I close the door on him.
"I'll be out in a second." I mutter.
"Okay…"
I put on the black shirt with a pink flower drawing and jean shorts, shaking my head as if it would do my hair any good. I’m honestly too exhausted to worry about it.
Then I open the front door, and brush past Amias, making my way down the hallway to the stairs. "Let's go." I call him as I run down the steps. I'm actually thankful something’s happening now.
I really need a distraction from last night.
???
In the silence, I keep my hands clamped on my lap instead of the white leather seats. I still can’t help but let my mind race with memories of the nightmare.
The voices. They were all so familiar and terrifying.
The room. That horrific empty dark room. The smell of rust and dirt. No way to escape.
"… dreamscreechers."
The mention jerks me away from my thoughts and I look at Amias. His hardened gaze is directed at the window.
What is he saying about dreamscreechers? Is it about me?
My body freezes before I follow his stare. It’s the castle-looking mall again, this time with windows busted through and half the building charred to black, much of it crumbled into ash and chunks of cement.
"I can't understand how a creature can be so cruel,” Amias hisses. He looks back at me, the vibrancy of his irises chased away. A storm brews within his eyes as if the lake had vanished. “Or how any person can love those things.”
I flinch as my muscles tense. Why was he so angry all of a sudden? "What?"
"The dreamscreechers," he growls. "The death toll is seventeen at the moment."
"Oh…" My vision blurs as I think back to the attack. "That's… terrible…” I thought our knights had better morals than that. Sure, we killed people unjustly under Vasilisa's orders, so maybe I shouldn't be surprised, but…we've always avoided attacking kids and killing mothers.
Vasilisa's getting more ruthless by the second. “I'm so sorry…”
