"I've been spraying on rosewater to mask it." He smiled. "It's okay."
"I'm not so sure anymore…"
"What's happening here?"
I turned to see Clarissa approaching, her arms crossed as she looked between us.
I wrinkled my nose, frustrated that they even put themselves into such a position. "I don't want to deal with this."
"Deal with what?" She gave Kaius a stern look.
"She knows about the mark."
She lashes her head towards me. "Don't tell Vasilisa! She can't know!"
"I won't—" I balled up my fists, my canines threatened to grow longer and sharper. I really wanted to punch them. After all, how could they do this to themselves? To me? How could they put themselves in danger like this?
But I let my fists go. Fighting wouldn't make the mark go away. It's there now, and it's permanent. "I'm just…I'm afraid for you two."
She frowned. "She won't find out. I promise."
I grunted. Everything about that promise felt empty. "You two better be certain…"
Kaius went up to Clarissa and grabbed her hand. "We'll make sure." He gave me a soft grin, before turning to Clarissa. "She'll never know."
A split second later and I blink. I'm back in this room, my heart dropping down to my stomach and breath scraping against my throat.
This room is an empty lifeless room, where I only hear my breath as a deep melancholy fills the air.
My heart steadies as I start thinking of Kaius and Clarissa again. I try to gulp down the desire to cry as the images stay in my mind but I cave into it, letting myself choke out some sobs as tears spill from my eyes.
They're gone. They're dead and they'll never come back.
As the tears blur my vision, I look to my side table, where the charm of my new phone shines from moonlight. It's the one Amias had given me Sunday.
Amias.
I pick it up from the nightstand, touching the invisible box under the charm. I press on it and the phone appears in my hand. Typing in the password, my heart guides my fingers to where Amias showed me I could call or text him.
I sniffle. He obviously doesn't favor dreamscreechers at all… but he seems to be coming around. Besides, he's really sweet. He fought just to have me here in this place. He's been checking up on me constantly, and trying to make things comfortable…
It wouldn't hurt…to have him around…
To have someone who cares for once…even if they can't know the whole story…
I stare at the messages part of the screen, contemplating whether it would be of comfort to talk to him. Maybe it would soften the situation. Maybe it would make me feel less alone.
Minutes go by, and with soft whimpers, I abandon the thought, letting the phone fall out of my hands onto the blankets.
I'm not sure if I'm ready to share my pain yet. What if he gets suspicious? What if he figures it all out?
What if he turns me in to get killed?
I can't risk it. I've already said a lot.
Besides, how weak am I? How weak am I to need Amara's grandson’s help out of all people?
My eyes strain again. I look down to my fingers as purple fur grows, my nails turning dark again. As I scrunch my brows together, the nails and fur recede once more.
