Pressure built, her powers thrashing to be released, but the chains held.Her throat was torn from screaming, but the cell contained her voice, too.She blinked, and a face appeared on the other side of the bars.She turned away, refused to meet the feverish gaze that raked over every inch of her.
Once again, time lost all meaning.The pressure kept building and tearing her insides apart.Most days she wished he would just kill her.
‘Sing for me, siren.’The voice hissed.Wave refused, and it burned her.Oh it burned, that she had once thought she loved that voice.Cherished those eyes on her body.Shared her mind with him.She hadtrustedhim.
The voice morphed.‘See what happens when you don’t listen?’Her mother was shouting.‘You can never trust them.Never tell a soul.’
Blood, so much blood.It soaked her clothes, ran down her fingers.Desperately, she clawed at her throat, but it wasn’t her blood.It was his.The chains fell as the last of his life left his body.The gaping wound in his neck seemed to grin at her.Eyes that she had learned to hate stared emptily at her.
She blinked and was looking at Marc.His empty eyes, his hand reaching out for her.His hands holding the shackles.
Wave screamed.
Gasping for air, she lurched up and clawed at her throat to make sure it was intact.To make sure there was no collar made of iron and malice.
She barely made it to the bathroom in time before throwing up.She emptied everything and then kept dry heaving.Sobs racked her body uncontrollably and stuffed her nose.
Why now?She hadn’t thought about that year for a long time.Mother had gotten her out of that hellhole.Killed him and freed her with his blood.She wasn’t there anymore.
A cold towel pressed against her neck, and Wave jerked away until she recognized Ginny’s worried face hovering next to hers.Hesitantly, Ginny wrapped her fingers around her wrist, and Wave felt the phantom scars there.Weak healing magic trickled in from the contact, and slowly the nausea eased.Wave blinked a couple of times before looking up.
Ginny took the towel and wiped her face before helping Wave up.When she turned around, she realized Dianna and Chrissy were blocking the doorway and keeping Marc out.How they had known she needed distance from him, she didn’t know, but she was eternally thankful.
“Just a bad dream,” she croaked and turned toward the sink to rinse her mouth.She splashed cold water over her face and forced herself to take deep breaths.By the time she turned back around, she managed a feeble smile.
“I’m sorry for waking you all.”She could see that no one believed her.Everything felt too raw, she couldn’t deal with any of this right now.The past threatened to crush her voice, so she did the one thing she absolutely shouldn’t have.“Nightmare,” she whispered, letting her siren power rush out of her and slip into their minds.Just a little.“I’m fine now.Let’s go back to sleep.”
Letting even that much out was like throwing gasoline on the fire.Her siren side roared up and demanded to be let out.It raged inside of her, but Wave bit the inside of her cheek and kept her mouth shut.
Ginny was first to hug her.“Nightmares suck,” she comforted and then pushed her toward Chrissy’s waiting arms.Diana hugged her from behind, enveloping Wave between her and Chrissy, while they mumbled soft nothings at her, like she was a child woken up by a monster under the bed.
Then it was Marc’s turn, and Wave had to fight with all she had not to turn stiff when he lifted her up in his arms and carried her back to bed.
She didn’t expect him to sing, though.Marc began by humming softly.Once they were back under the covers, he added words to the tune.A lullaby.One to keep nightmares at bay.
Slowly, Wave’s heartbeat slowed, and her breathing eased.Marc kept singing the same song, over and over again, until her lids were too heavy.He kept singing quietly, but she heard him, even in her sleep.
Chapter 35 – Wave
Thenextcoupleofdays passed in a haze.Everyone seemed to know that she had gone to visit the Ulrichce mansion with Marc.They got a load of stares, but none asked anything directly from Wave.Even Elena ignored her completely.
Focusing on her classes was a good distraction, and it doubled as an excuse to avoid Marc.Wave knew she couldn’t put off seeing him or the others forever, but she needed a few days to get her nerves under control.
The nightmares kept plaguing her, but at least she didn’t scream the whole apartment awake with them again.What would happen if she slipped now?If someone found out?Mother had no way of learning about it.No one would come to her rescue.
Angrily, Wave shook herself.That was the risk she had been willing to take.She needed to learn the skills Tracthesian could teach.And she had friends here, to a degree.Besides, she still wanted to see if she could find anything about her father’s murder.
Under the veneer of civility and neutrality, there were plenty of politics and power plays going on at the campus.Things she couldn’t find out if she hid on some island.
She was eating a tasty lunch of tomato soup and garlic bread when Salis surprised her.He dropped a folder on the table and grinned.
“Dr.Johanson approved it.”
“Approved what?”
“My plan!Keep up, sugar lips, it’s important that I only have smart students,” he replied and pushed the folder over to her.
“Student…” Wave trailed off and then grinned.“You mean, you’re really going to teach me all the cool earth shit?”
